It is a small and picturesque village situated just 17 km to the east of the town of Gabrovo. Today it is a historical ethnographic reservation. The village achieved its greatest prosperity in the 18th century when the articles produced by the smiths, carpenters and other craftsmen of Bozhentsi found a ready market in the Ottoman Empire, Austria, Russia and other countries. Then the houses of Bozhentsi began to be built – usually two-storeyed, with spacious wooden verandahs and heavy stone roofs. Inside they were decorated with wood carving done by masters of the Tryavna wood-carving school.
ETUR
An ethnographic historical reservation and museum, situated on both banks of the Seneka River, 8 km south of the Etur Smolyan town of Gabrovo. Craftsmen's workshops have been restored here, which in the 18th century won Gabrovo the fame of a centre for shoes, wrought-iron articles, earthen-ware vessels, jewellery, wooden articles, etc. A Hungarian traveller justly called the town at that time 'a tremendous workshop'. Today true copies of those old workshops function in Etur, forging knives and bells, turning round wooden bowls, fashioning silver filigree objects, etc.
In Gabrovo the Balkan Hotel (with restaurant) is at your service (1st class). It is run by Balkantourist and has 127 beds; Balkan 295 beds – tel. 26-31; Yantra, 1st class, 321 beds – tel. 23-72 ephesus daily tour.
SMOLYAN
The highest Bulgarian town – it is at an altitude of 1,010 m above sea level in the Western Rhodope Mountains. In the past it was a small, declining town without a future. During the years of people's rule it has become the natural centre of the region and marked a rapid growth. It was merged with the former villages of Raikovo and Oustovo, which are now parts of it, and its population grew to well over 20,000. Side by side with its economic prosperity, Smolyan also developed as an exceedingly attractive centre of international tourism. Its wonderful scenic beauty and healthy mountain climate helped not only the town, but also its whole district, develop into a resort zone with great potential. Side by side with the already famous resort of Pam- porovo, there are many other attractive localities and settlements here: the Smolyan Lakes, Chepelare, Progled, Rozhen, the Haidouk Meadows, the Trigrad Walls, Shiroka Luka, the Yagodinski Caves, Momchilovtsi, Manastir and Mogilitsa. With the Pamporovo resort, they are all included in the big Rhodope Mountains Resort Complex 'Orphei'.
Of particular interest to tourists are the natural phenomena such as the Rock Bridges, the Trigrad Gorge, the Smolyan Lakes, and the peaks Mourgavets, Snezhanka, Sokolitsa. But the greatest cultural wealth of the town are its old architectural monuments, preserved first of all in the Raikovo and Oustovo town districts as well as in the village of Shiroka Luka – the most original village in the Rhodope Mountains. A veritable architectural masterpiece is the Pangalova House in Raikovo district, housing the District Ethnographic Museum. Another remarkable architectural monument is the only feudal ensemble in our country – the Agoushev House in Mogilitsa village.
Hotels: Sokolitsa (with restaurant), Lenin Street, tel. 30-85; Orphei (with restaurant), Lenin Blvd, tel. 20-41; the hotel and restaurant at the Smolyan Lakes, tel. 27-72; a bar and tavern, Lenin Blvd, tel. 23-95.
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