The town of Kotel has a population of 6 800 inhabitants and lies at a distance of 72 km northeast of Sliven. It is located at a small picturesque valley in the eastern part of the Stara Planina Mountains at an altitude of 500-550 m. Kotel is the centre of a municipality with 26 component settlements.

The settlement develops around the biggest spring in the valley. In 1573 the settlement is mentioned in the Ottoman documents with the name of Kazan binar. Kotel has been established in the first years of the Ottoman yoke by Bulgarians from the adjacent settlements looking for salvation from the Turks. During the Revival period Kotel is the centre of the Bulgarian education and culture. It is the home town of Dr. Peter Beron/ the author of the first Bulgarian student's book/, Georgi Rakovski / ideologist of the National liberation movement/, the literary men Sofronii Vrachanski, Neofit Bozveli, the public figures Gavril Krastevich, Aleko and Stefan Bogoridi and captain Georgi Mamarchev. During the Turkish-Russian liberation war a lot of battles have been waged in the vicinity of the town. The headquarters of the Russian general Stoletov and that of the famous Russian poet Alexander Pushkin are located in the very town of Kotel.

The tourist sighs of the town are: the old part of the town, proclaimed for an architectural-museum reserve, the Galatansko School, the ethnographic museum, the churches "Sveta Troitza"/ Holy Trinity/ (1871) and "St. Peter and Pavel" (1834).

In the region of Kotel are also located the architectural reserve Zheravna (14km), the village of Medven (12 km), the village of Katunishte (15 km), the village of Gradetz with architectural monuments from the Revival period (17 km).

Tourist sights

The architectural reserve "Zheravna" - the village of Zheravna in the Municipality of Kotel is situated in a small valley in the eastern part of the Stara Planina Mountains at an altitude of 640 m. It lies at a distance of 14 km south of Kotel. The village is established in XI-XIV c. and has preserved its Revival period outlook with its narrow cobble-stone streets, single or double-floor wooden houses surrounded by stone walls. Some of the houses are more than 300 years old.

The architectural reserve "Katunishte" - the village of Katunishte has preserved its authentic Revival period houses. It lies at a distance of 15 km southeast of Kotel.

The Galatansko School in Kotel is built in 1869. Here are displayed samples of traditional Kotel carpets, canvasses with religious scenes and original wood carving.

The Ethnographic Museum in Kotel is located in the Kyorpeev's house. The museum displays exhibits reproducing the atmosphere of the Revival period of this region of Bulgaria.