Kazanlak Valley

The valley is enclosed between the Triglav, Shipka and Tryavna divisions of the Balkan Mountains to the north and the Sarnena Serdna Gora division of the Sredna Gora mountain range to the south.^[1] The Strazhata Ridge (610 m) separates it from the higher Karlovo Valley to the west, while the Yamurdzha Height (433 m) and the Mezhdenik Ridge (604 m) form the divide with the Tvarditsa Valley further the east.^[2][3]

It spans a territory of 780 km², making the third largest among the Sub-Balkan valleys after the ones of Sofia and Sliven. It reaches a length of about 70 km in direction west–east; the width is 10–12 km. The average altitude is about 350 m with inclination in eastern direction.^[2][3]

Geologically, the Kazanlak Valley is a tectonic depression that sank during the Neogene and Quaternary periods. It consists of two grabens — Sheynovo in the west and Kazanlak in the east, separated by a low transverse threshold running north–south. The western part is narrower and has a rather hilly surface with numerous alluvial cones formed by the rivers flowing from the Balkan Mountains. The altitude in the western zone reaches 400–500 m. The eastern part is more extensive, flatter, and much lower, in places below 200 m.^[2][3]

The entire basin is filled with Neogene–Quaternary sediments with a thickness of up to 600 m. At the foothills of the Balkan Mountains, the Quaternary sedimentation consists of a thick layer of deluvial–proluvial debris. The slopes of the Balkan Mountains are steep, with exposed Paleozoic crystalline rocks, granites, Triassic and Upper Cretaceous sediments, partially deforested and heavily eroded. The slopes of the Sredna Gora mountain range are low and gentle, composed of granites.^[2][3]

The valley is in the transitional zone between the temperate continental climatic zone and the continental Mediterranean zone. It is characterized by milder winters, relatively few days with snow cover, shallower snow depth, low absolute minimum temperatures, and relatively lower winter precipitation. Summers are moderately warm, with high summer precipitation. Compared with the Upper Thracian Plain to the south, summers are relatively cooler and not as dry. The second half of summer and early autumn are characterized by prolonged droughts. The mean annual temperature is 10.7 °C with average January temperature of –0.5 °C and average July temperature of 21.8 °C.^[2]

The valley is drained by the river Tundzha of the Maritsa drainage and several of its tributaries, including the Tazha, Turiyska reka, Gabrovnitsa, Eninska reka, Maglizhka reka, Vetrenska reka, etc. In its central part is located the Koprinka Reservoir and in the easternmost reaches is the Zhrebchevo Reservoir, both on the Tundzha. There are mineral springs at Pavel Banya, Yagoda and Ovoshtnik.^[1][2][3]

The valley had been continuously inhabited since at least 10,000 years.^[1] During the antiquity it became a prominent center of Thracian politic and culture. It its western–central part was located the ancient city of Seuthopolis, founded in 325–315 BC by Seuthes III as the capital of the Odrysian kingdom. There are over a thousand mounds from that period scattered across the region, hence the name the Valley of the Thracian Rulers. The most remarkable of these is the Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak, inscribed as one of the 10 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Bulgaria due to the well-preserved frescoes depicting scenes from Thracian life. During the 1990s and early 2000s many remarkable Thracian tombs were discovered in the valley, including Ostrusha, Golyama Arsenalka, Helvetia, Griffins, Shushmanets, the Tomb of Seuthes III, etc. Many treasures and artifacts were discovered during excavations in the region, such as the golden mask of Teres I, the bronze head of Seuthes III, gold wreaths.^[1][4]

In the Middle Ages the area was part of the First and Second Bulgarian Empire. The town of Kran in particular rose to prominence in the 13th–14th centuries as the center of an influential province of the empire, first mentioned as such in the 1230 Dubrovnik Charter of the Bulgarian emperor Ivan Asen II. It was the seat of the noble Aldimir (fl. 1280–1305), brother of emperor George I Terter, who had significant role in Bulgarians politics at the time.^[5] The valley was eventually conquered by the Ottoman Turks in the aftermath of the Bulgarian–Ottoman wars in the late 14th century. During the Bulgarian National Revival of the 18th–19th century the local population was active in promoting Bulgarian culture by constructing churches, monastery schools and chitalishta.^[1] The Shipka Pass, which connects the valley with northern Bulgaria via the Balkan Mountains, was the site of one of the most important battles of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, which led to the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule. After the liberation, the town of Kazanlak rose was an important cultural and economic center.^[6]

Administratively, the valley is situated in Stara Zagora Province. There are six towns, Kazanlak, Pavel Banya, Maglizh, Shipka, Nikolaevo and Kran. The villages are 39 — Aleksandrovo, Asen, Buzovgrad, Vetren, Viden, Gabarevo, Golyamo Dryanovo, Gorno Izvorovo, Gorno Sahrane, Gorno Cherkovishte, Dolno Izvorovo, Dolno Sahrane, Dunavtsi, Dabovo, Edrevo, Elhovo, Enina, Zimnitsa, Koprinka, Kanchevo, Manolovo, Nova Mahala, Ovoshtnik, Osetovo, Panicherevo, Rozovo, Razhena, Skobelevo, Tulovo, Turia, Tazha, Tarnicheni, Hadzhidimitrovo, Cherganovo, Shanovo, Sheynovo, Yulievo, Yagoda and Yasenovo.

The valley is served by five roads of the national network, as well as local roads. From west to east Kalofer and Nikolaevo it is traversed by a 73.3 km stretch of the first class I-6 road Gyueshevo–Sofia–Karlovo–Burgas. From north to south from Shipka to Yagoda runs a 31.1 km stretch of the first class I-5 road Ruse–Veliko Tarnovo–Stara Zagora–Makaza. In the easternmost reaches is a 3.9 km section of the second class II-55 road Debelets–Nova Zagora–Svilengrad. In the western part of the valley in direction northeast–southwest runs a 23.3 km stretch of the second class II-56 road between Shipka and Turia. In the central area is a 3.7 km section of the third class III-608 road Shipka–Brezovo–Plovdiv.^[1][7]

A section of railway line No. 3 Iliyantsi (Sofia)–Karlovo–Sliven–Karnobat–Varna served by the Bulgarian State Railways crosses the valley in direction west–east between the railway stations of Kalofer and Nikolaevo. The valley is also traversed by a section of railway line No. 5 Ruse–Stara Zagora–Podkova between Dabovo and Razhena.^[1]