The town of Haskovo is the centre of the district with a population of 80 000 inhabitants lying at a distance of 222 km southeast of Sofia. Haskovo is a municipal centre with 36 component settlements. It is situated along the Haskovska River not far away from the Greek and Turkish borders. A road connecting Europe and Asia crosses Haskovo. The symbol of the town is the monument of the Holy Virgin opened in 2003.

The settlement is the successor of a middle age fortress with the mane of Marsa. During the first half of XIII c. here is waged one of the most successful battles of King Ivan Asen II (1218-1241) which hits the Byzantine governor Todor Komnin by defeating his troops near the village of Klokotnitza. During the Ottoman yoke Haskovo is an agrarian and craftsman's town. It is mentioned in the Ottoman documents under the name of Has Kyoi. The town is liberated by General Gurko's troops in 1878. After the Liberation the settlements develops fast and becomes one of the centres of the tobacco manufacturing industry. Haskovo is the home town of the great Bulgarian professor Ivan Zlatarov.

The tourist sights of the town are: the old town with the churches "St. Archangel Michael and Gavril" (1861), "Sveta Bogoroditza"/Holy Virgin/ (1837), Eski Mosque (1835); the Revival period houses - The Shishmanov's house and the Paskalev's house.

The region is rich in historic sites. There are dolmens, Thracian niches and sacred places, over 100 Thracian mounds, the medieval fortress "Bukelon", where the Latin emperor Balduin Flanderski has been captured.

The cultural-historic sights on the territory of the district are: the Thracian dome tomb at the village of Mezek, the Thracian and Middle Age fortresses near the village of Lyutitza, the Ustrem Monastery, The Thracian tomb at Aleksandrovo.

Among the most famous protected sites and natural landmarks are: " Boraka" "Dolnata Ova", "Oludere", " Lozenski Kat", the rocky phenomena " Kovan Kaya", " Gluhite Kaman" /The death stones/, " Kush Kaya" "Kaleto", "Dervishka mogila", "Brasnarski stol"/ Barber's chair/, " Pobit kamak" and "Orlova Skala" /Eagle's Rock/. Important ornithological sites on the territory of the district are Yuzhen Sakar, Madzharovo and Byala Reka.

The Haskovo District has traditions in the manufacture of wine and alcoholic beverages. The top quality wineries in the region are: Haskovo, Stambolovo, Lyubimetz and Ivailovgrad.

Tourist sighs

The monument of Holy Virgin in Haskovo has been opened in 2003. It is situated on the top of the Mladezhki Hill. It is 32,80 m high with a 15 m-long statue weighing 80 tons.

The rocky ensemble "Angel Voivoda" in the village of Angel Voivoda is one of the most numerous groups of trapeze and semi-circle shaped niches hewn in the rocks with a combination of staircases, rooms, pools and canals.

The Rocky niches in Haskovo District are one of the strangest and inexplicable phenomena of the megalithic culture of the Eastern Rhodope region. The niches are hewn very high on well-shaped rocks or mountainous massifs in hard-to-reach places most often on the sun-lit side of the slopes. Predominantly there are trapeze-shaped niches with a height of 0,60-1,00 m and depth of 0,45 m. There are also bigger niches of up to 2 m height and depth of 1,50 m.

The Thracian tomb of Aleksandrovo lies at a distance of 17 km from the district centre. The tomb has been discovered in 2000 and dates back to the IV c. The mural paintings in the tomb are well preserved and are a new important source for the physical characteristics of the Thracian people, their clothing and weapons.