The town of Berkovitza has a population of 15 000 inhabitants and is the municipal centre of 19 component settlements. It lies at a distance of 24 km southwest of Montana. The town is located at the western part of the Stara Planina Mountains in a small valley by the Berkovska River at an altitude of 405 m.

The town is the successor of an old Roman settlement located on the road Lom-Sofia. The Petrohan pass is the shortest way to the White Sea on the western part of the Danube River. To the west of the town have been discovered the remains of a fortress and a church dating from the IV c. The first evidence for the existence of the town is from the time of king Kaloyan. The town is mentioned with its present-day name in an Ottoman document from 1491. During XVII-XVIII c. the settlement is a craftsman's centre. During the Revival period many public buildings have been built such as the clock tower, some churches and a school.

The tourist sights of the town are: the church "Rozhdestvo Bogorodichno"/ Virgin Mary's Birth/ (1843), the clock tower (1762), the church "St. Nikolai Chudotvoretz" (1871), the ethnographic museum, the Klissura Museum( 11 km from Berkovitza), the remains of a Roman and medieval fortresses, the Haidushki waterfall. The village of Barzia lies at a distance of 6 km south of Berkovitza. The village is a spa and mountainous resort. The mineral waters in the region have a temperature of 31^oC.

Tourist sights

The clock tower is the symbol of Berkovitza. It is built in 1762-1764. The tower has a square body of 11,80 m height. It is built of stone with mortar solder.

The church "St Nikolai Chudotvoretz" in Berkovitza is built in 1871. The murals are painted by Stanislav Dospevski, Nikola Dospevski, Nikola Obrazopisov and other talented Bulgarian artists.

The church "Rozhdestvo Bogorodichno"/Virgin Mary's Birth/ in Berkovitza is built in 1843. The church has precious mural paintings and an iconostasis made by Dimiter Zograf.

Kaleto is a site near Berkovitza where there are remains of a Roman and a medieval Bulgarian fortress. The fortress has been built in a terrace manner with three defense girdles. The foundations of early Christian churches from IV-V c. have been discovered during excavation works.

The Klissura Monastery in Berkovitza is founded in 1240. In 1862 it is completely demolished by the Berkovitza pasha Yusuf Bey on the St. St. Cyril and Methodius day and all worshipers and the monks are killed. In 1869 the monastery is built again by the archimandrite Antim Damyanov. The complex includes two churches, three housing buildings, a yard and a kitchen building.