History: The name of the town comes from the ancient Roman road crossing the Balkan Mountain through today's Troyan Pass - Via Trayana, which linked Misia with Thrace and the Aegean Sea. The origin of the today's settlement is thought to go back somewhere at the beginning of the 15th century, when, after Bulgaria fell under Ottoman Rule, a lot of Bulgarian refugees settled down in this hard-to-reach and forested region running away from the arbitrary rule of the Turks. Later on the migrations continued and Troyan grew up but about the year 1800 the town suffered three invasions of the kurdzhalii (Turkish brigands) who devastated it. In spite of this during the 19th century the town reached a high material and cultural prosperity. The crafts were those, which reached their greatest development, pottery and woodcarving in particular. More than half of the population of the town made their living on the basis of these crafts till World War II. The bright and intelligent mountain dwellers realised that their future lays in faith and enlightenment. Talented master builders created magnificent patterns of the Bulgarian Revival church architecture in the town and within the region - in 1835 Saint Paraskeva Church in Troyan and The Assumption Church in the Troyan Monastery were built (refer to the Stara Planina related chapter herein). In 1839 the Saint Nikolai Letni Church was erected in the area of Goumoshtnik whose wood-carved iconostasis is a unique of its kind work of the Bulgarian Revival Art. In 1870 a Community Cultural Centre was set up in Troyan, in which 2 years later the commencement of the theatrical activities in the town was set up with the performance of "Genoveva the Martyr".
In 1872 the "Yellow School" was built up in the town, in which the modern secular program of teaching was introduced involving studies of the French language as well. The inhabitants of the town of Troyan did not let the revolutionary processes go past them either. In 1869 they enthusiastically met the Apostle Vassil Levski and Matei Preobrazhenski - Mitkaloto. Two years later a secret revolutionary committee was set up there at Levski's initiative. During the Russian-Turkish War of Liberation in August 1877 Troyan was devastated by the bashibozouks (Turkish army of volunteers), but its population rendered invaluable assistance to General Kartsov when his army passed the Balkan Mountain through the Troyan Pass. After the liberation the town was rebuilt out of the ashes.
In 1911 the first electric bulb was lit and soon after that Troyan became the third electrified town in Bulgaria (after Sofia and Plovdiv). The building of the railway line Lovech - Troyan gave an impetus to the development of the town - it commenced in 1929 and was completed in 1948. Troyan is the birthplace of Ivan Hadzhiiski (our greatest sociologist and nations psychologist), Prof. Dr. Nikola Shipkovenski (psychiatrist) and a lot of other outstanding names. In the autumn of 1998, 130 years of the proclamation of Troyan as a town were solemnly celebrated.
Transport: Bus and railway transport. There are regular bus links with Sofia, Pleven, Lovech, Cherven Byiag, Veliko Turnovo, Gabrovo, Sevlievo, Plovdiv and Karlovo as well as with almost all smaller settlements within the region. Troyan is connected to the national railway network through Levski railway station. There is a town bus transport as well.
Surrounding areas: The historical Troyan Monastery is located at the distance of 10 km to the south-east from the town of Troyan (refer to the Stara Planina related chapter herein).
A local biology teacher created the Museum of Natural Science in the village of Cherni Osum (12 km southeast from the town of Troyan and 2 km to the south of the Troyan Monastery). Working hours: 8.00 a.m. - 12.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m. - 4.00 p.m. all the week round. There is a regular bus line between the village and the town. There are accommodation facilities in Cherni Osum (refer to the Stara Planina related chapter herein, Troyan Monastery section). The village is a point of departure for hiking tours around the Troyan Balkan Mountain (refer to the Stara Planina related chapter herein).
National Fair - Crafts and Applied Arts in the village of Oreshak (7 km to the east of the town). Articles of the modern masters of art crafts and the applied arts not only from Troyan and the region but from all over the country, often of foreign guests, are is exhibited in the numerous halls there. A part of the exposition is a bazaar, too. Demonstrations of masters and tasting of the famous Troyan plum brandy (rakiya) are organized upon a preliminary request. Working hours: 9.00 a.m. - 5.30 p.m., all the week round, tel.: 0670 2318, 2317. There are accommodation facilities in the village as well (refer to the Stara Planina related chapter herein, Troyan Monastery section). All the buses from Troyan to Cherni Osum, the Troyan Monastery, Apriltsi, etc. have a stop in the village of Oreshak.
Beklemeto - a resort tourist complex in the area of the same name, 22 km to the south-west from the town and 3 km under the Troy--an Pass in the Troyan Balkan Mountain (about 1300 metres above sea level). There are a lot of private country-houses, public catering establishments, a hotel complex named "Bulgaria" with 50 beds, a restaurant.
Battles for control of the Troyan Pass by Russian units and Bulgarian volunteers were held there during the Russian-Turkish War of Liberation (January 1878). The historical Kartsov Buk (Beech-tree) bearing a
