ALEXEI SLAV FORTRESS (СЛАВОВАТА КРЕПОСТ)

The remains of the fortress that dominates the city, built by Alexei Slav in the ^13th century, is quite difficult to access. It is located just above the church of St. Nicholas and offers a splendid view of the mountain. Its romantic silhouette can be admired from the opposite heights of the village. Alexei Slav was a Melnik nobleman of the Asen dynasty who became governor of the Rhodope Mountains and played a political role in the Second Bulgarian Empire.