The town of Kazanlak has a population of 53 000 inhabitants and is the municipal centre of 19 settlements. The town is situated in the Kazanlak field at the southern foot of the Stara Planina Mountains. Kazanlak lies at a distance of 34 km northwest of the district centre. The town is a famous centre for the production of rose oil. The oil-bearing rose which has been imported from India through Persia, Syria and Turkey has found favourable conditions for growing in this part of Bulgaria. In 1820 in Kazanlak is opened the first rose trade's house. The Kazanlak's rose oil has won gold medals at exhibitions in Paris, London, Philadelphia, Antwerp, Liette and Milan. However, the world fame of the town is the Kazanlak's Thracian tomb. It is included in the UNESCO Cultural Heritage List. The tomb is built in IV-III c. B.C. It is supposed that here is buried a Thracian ruler. The murals are of the highest artistic value.

The Thracian town of Sevtopolis -centre of the Odrysi tribe, at the end of IV c. and the beginning of III c. B.C., is discovered in the period of 1948-1954. Sevtopolis has been built by Sevt III as a capital with a fortified wall, straight streets and a citadel at the southeastern part. Here have been discovered coins with the image of Sevt III, ceramic objects, silver and bronze decorations. Today Sevtpolis is located at the bottom of the Koprinka dam-lake. The many tombs discovered in the recent years are the reason the region to be called the Valley of the Thracian Kings.

The present-day town has originated at the beginning of XV c. In documents from 1430 the settlement is described with the name of Akche Kazanlak, meaning "the beautiful Kazanlak". During the Revival Period the town is a merchant, craftsman's and educational centre. Kazanlak is liberated in 1878.

Kazanlak is the home town of the composers Emanuil Manolov and Petko Staynov, the writer Chudomir, the artists Dechko Uzunov, Nenko Balkanski and Ivan Milev.

The tourist sights of the town are: the history museum, the ethnographical complex, the art gallery, the museum of the rose, the houses of Dechko Uzunov and Nenko Balkanski, the churches "Saint Joan the Forefather" (1844), "Sveta Troitza"/Holy Trinity/ (1834), the Nunnery (1828), the Kazanlak's Thracian Tomb.

Every year in Kazanlak is held the Rose Festival which is celebrated with choosing "The Queen of Roses", demonstrations of rose-picking and rose distilling rituals, performance of many Thracian songs and dances.

The Kazanlak mineral baths are located at a distance of 5 km southeast of Kazanlak.

Tourist sights

The Thracian Tomb is discovered in 1944. The frame of the tomb consists of a brick burial chamber with a bell-shaped dome of 3,25 m height and 2,65 m diameter of the foundation and a diameter of the truncated top of 0,47 m. The entrance of the tomb is a rectangular door, formed of huge hewn stone blocks, which passes into a brick tunnel leading to the burial chamber. The corridor has a rectangular shape of 1,95 m length, 1,12 m width and a height of 2,24 m.

The whole brick frame of the tomb is covered with a stone lining of chiseled stones fixed with clay. The tomb is world famous for its murals. The walls of the corridor and the chamber are covered with white smooth plaster over which there is a picturesque decoration occupying an area of 40 m². There are plant and architectural ornaments in the murals. The mural painting in the burial chamber is of extremely high artistic value. The Kazanlak's Thracian Tomb is included in the UNESCO Cultural Heritage List.

The history museum of Kazanlak has a collection of 70 000 exhibits. The museum has five sections. For many years the famous Bulgarian writer Dimiter Chorbadzhiyski - Chudomir has been the director of the museum.

The art gallery of Kazanlak is located in the same building as the history museum. In its collection there are icons, Revival-period engravings, paintings and works of the applied arts.

The ethnographic complex "Kulata"/The tower/ demonstrates some of the old crafts. The exhibits are displayed in two restored houses from XIX c.

The church "Saint Joan the Forefather" is built in 1844. During the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-1878 the murals of the church are destroyed. In 1936 the murals are painted again by the artists Stefan Ivanov, Nikola Marinov, Dechko Uzunov, Mara Chorbadzhiyska (wife of Chudomir).

The monastery "SvetaBogoroditza"/Holy Virgin/ is established in the period of 1864-1866. The monastery has survived the horrors of the Turkish violence during the Liberation War when the church and the housing buildings have been used as warehouses. After the Liberation the monastery is restored and widened with new housing buildings.

The Valley of the Thracian Kings is a region in the Kazanlak area. During the First millennia Before Christ here has lived the Odrysi Thracian tribe. During archaeological research of the site have been discovered 1 000 mounds of which only 100 are studied. In 1992-1997 have been discovered 11 sub-mound facilities - Zapryanov's mound, the Little Mound, the Big Arsenal mound, the Ostrusha mound, the Helvetia mound, the Shushmanetz mound, the Sarafov's mound, the Sasho's mound, the Slavcho's mound, the Gryphons mound and the Gabarevo mound.

The Ostrusha Mound in the region of the town of Shipka has the biggest cult tomb facility dating from IV c. It occupies an area of 100 m². There are 6 chambers in two lines of three chambers oriented to the east-west. The central chamber has the form of a sarcophagus hewn from a monolithic stone block with a weight of 50 tons. The sarcophagus has a covering tile imitating the roof of a temple. There are murals of rare artistic value, a silver jug, a silver phial, an iron breast piece of gold coated silver cover and other objects. The tomb has most probably been a tomb of Sabazius.

The Sasho's mound on the territory of the village of Sheinovo dates from III c. B.C. The Thracian tomb consists of a corridor and two chambers along the main line. The tomb is built of huge blocks of white, red, green and black stone. The buried Thracian ruler is placed on a stone bed. The tomb is decorated with murals along the side walls from the entrance to the burial chamber. There have been discovered a knitted iron chain armour, a bronze helmet, an iron sword, a gold fibula and others.

The Little Mound on the territory of the village of Sheinovo consists of a corridor and a rectangular chamber. The tomb dates from the second half of the IV c. B.C. A Thracian ruler has been buried in the chamber. There have been discovered symbols of royal power, gold and silver jewelry, vessels and other objects.

The Big Arsenal Mound on the territory of the village of Sheinovo dates from the end of V c. and the beginning of IV c. B.C. It has a rectangular chamber of double-layer roof with a dome of stone slabs. On the floor there are three concentrating lines around a round stone symbolizing the sun, the sky, the earth and the underground life. In the tomb have been discovered horse's bones, gold and silver jewelry and other objects.

The "Svetitzata" mound dates from V c. B. C. It is a stone tomb-sarcophagus in which is buried a man (there are preserved fragments of a jaw and lower limbs). In the summer of 2004 there is discovered a unique gold mask of a man's face, a bronze chain armour, an iron curved sword and a knife, bronze arrows and other objects.

The Slavchov's mound in the village of Rozovo is a Thracian cult building dating from the beginning of IV c. B.C. It consists of a narthex and a burial chamber. The chamber has a semi-cylindrical vault. Here have been discovered armaments, jewelry and a scepter. The building has been a mausoleum or a temple of a postmortem deified ruler.

The Griphons Mound on the territories of the villages of Shipka and Sheinovo is a similar cult building to the Big Arsenal mound. It dates from the end of V c. and the beginning of IV c. B.C. Many gold objects have been found in the mound.

The Shumanetz Mound in the town of Shipka dates from V-IV c. B.C. It is built of stone blocks. It consists of a corridor, a narthex with a semi-cylindrical roof supported by a column and a round chamber with a dome.

The Zapryanov's Mound in the village of Dunavtzi imitates the cult tombs. The Thracian tomb dates from IV c. B.C. The corridor and the chamber are filled with stones. In the middle of the chamber there is an oval pit. In the Zapryanov's Mound has been buried an armed warrior.

The Helvetia Mound in the town of Shipka is a Thracian cult building dating from IV c. B.C. It consists of a wide corridor, a narthex and a rectangular chamber. The tomb is built of treated stone blocks. In the chamber there is a stone bed and benches by the walls. The facility has been used as a temple.

The Sarafov's Mound in the village of Krun dates from IV -III c. B.C. It is a cult building with a stone corridor with a double-layer roof and two chambers built of bricks with a cover. The floors and the walls are painted in horizontal belts of red, pink, orange, black and purple.

The Gabarevo Mound in the village of Gabarevo is a Thracian tomb dating from V-IV c. B. C. It has a corridor and a rectangular chamber with a flat cover of 4 stone tiles.