Travel Guide Smolyan (Смолян)

Isolated as it is in the mountains, Smolyan is not new! The site has been occupied by man since prehistoric times and has been influenced by several civilizations, including the Thracians and the Slavic tribe of Smoljani from which it takes its name, before becoming part of the Byzantine Empire and passing under the domination of various Bulgarian kingdoms. The modern town of Smolyan was created in 1960 following the merger of the villages of Ustovo, a trade center, Rajkovo, a craft center, and Ezerovo, above the lakes. In the heart of the Rhodopes, in the valley of the Černa (black) and Bjala (white) rivers, Smolyan, the district capital, is at the foot of Bulgaria's most popular ski resorts. At an altitude of 1,000 m, the modern Smolyan, a city in the mountains, surprises in this remote region and confuses, because it does not really have a center. With its wide avenues, it stretches for miles, like an American city. With its 40,000 inhabitants, the Rhodope metropolis was set up by the communist leaders as a city of the future in order to bring the region out of its archaic state. If it has become a very modern city, Smolyan does not offer a very attractive urban landscape with its string of uniform buildings. One appreciates all the more the houses of the national renaissance and the picturesque sites on the slopes of the valley. A good base camp for exploring the natural wonders around, including the Trigrad Gorge, the site of the Wonderful Bridges, canyons and waterfalls, ancient villages in the mountains, and of course for hiking in the Rhodopes.