VELINGRAD - SPA CAPITAL OF BALKANS
It is situated in the west part of the Chepino Valley, which connects the Rila and Rhodope mountains, at an altitude of 740 meters. Legends said that the present-day bed of the Chepinska river was once occupied by a large lake on whose bank Orpheus was born and spent his life. Another legendary belief is that this is the place, where the great story of Spartacus began. The beautiful nature, the mild and pleasant climate, the 80 and more mineral springs, the 46 balneohotels and sanatoriums, turn Velingrad into the biggest and the most visited balneological resort not only in Bulgaria, but also in the whole Balkan Peninsula. That is the reason why in 2009 Velingrad was announced for the SPA capital of the Balkan Peninsula. See map
MINERAL WATERS
The town has the biggest resource of mineral water in the country and on the Balkan Peninsula with total capacity of 143 l/sec. There are over 80 springs in Velingrad, issuing from 3 mineral water deposits with different physics and chemistry characteristics, which deposits take the names of the districts they are located in. The mineral water from the Chepino spring /the biggest mineral spring in the town/, from where the balneocomplexes Saint Spas and SPA Club Bor are supplied through with their own water-main, is hypothermal with temperature 48оС and general mineralization 187 g/l. It has the following characteristics: hydro carbonate, sodium, fluoric, silicon, radon, with hydrosulfide. The capacity of the spring is 70 l/sec. The water is appropriate for drinking, inhalation and bathing, and the indications for prophylaxis, healing and recreation are for the following diseases: musculoskeletal system, peripheral nervous system, respiratory system, metabolism, gastrointestinal tract, nephritis and urological diseases, gynecological diseases, skin diseases, functional disorders of the nervous system. Content of mineral waters
The main water resources in the region are rivers, dam lakes, Karst and mineral springs. The numerous mountain springs and rivers - Lepenitza, Lukovitza, Elenka and Vlasa, come together in the Chepinska river, which goes about 90 km. to flows into the Maritza river. In the last 50 years, huge hydro-technical construction was built in the region. The dam lakes “Belmeken”, “Dospat”, “Shiroka polyana”, “Batak”, “Beglika” were constructed. These objects are not more than 40 km. far away from Velingrad and you can practice there different kinds of water sports and fishing.
The Chepino Valley, where Velingrad is situated is the place with the greatest number of sunny days in Bulgaria - 215 per year, the solar radiation has increased. The conditions for air ionization are good. The climate in the region is mostly mountainous, but in the Chepino Valley it is continental with Mediterranean influence. The summer is cool and the winter is mild. There are no severe colds or great heats. The rain, which falls here, is not so much - 500 mm annually. The raining maximum is in June. The fogs are rare occurrence. There are 15 foggy days in a year. Velingrad and its surroundings are the gentlest place in Bulgaria. The wind is at the rate of 1 m per second. Here is blowing the falling wind (foehn wind), which is called from the local people “belan” and is melting the snow. The most typical for the microclimate of the resort is the evening wind. It brings coolness of the torrents and the surrounding mountains and brings about the cool evenings and the peaceful sleep. The average annual temperature is 9°С compared with 10,5°С for Bulgaria at all. The absolute air humidity is 6,8 mm, and the relative one is 75%. The atmosphere pressure is low - 693 mm of the mercury scale.
There are differentiated “health paths” in the surroundings of Velingrad. These eco paths that lead from the town to different mountain huts and nature objects, are a big attraction for the tourists and may be used all year. During the all seasons, the clear weather and the sun are very good for your stay at the mountain. The summer, the spring, the winter and the autumn might be used for outdoor climate healing. This holds out great opportunities for the path-cognitive and the walking tourism.
HISTORY
Marks from the past
The oldest evidence for using the mineral waters dates back to the times of the Thracians and the Roman Empire. Through Chepinsko passed the Roman road Nikopolis ad Nestum - Besapara (the capital of the Bessi), traces of which still exist near Dorkovo village on the Karkariya hill. The Bessi are known as one of the toughest Thracian tribes, strong in spirit and firmly attached to the motherland. They defended decisively their freedom and independence. It is not a coincidence at all that they were the last to fall under the power of the Romans during the time of the emperor Claudius - 1st century AD. For 46 years ancient Thrace lured both with its fertile planes and its sharp proud mountains hiding in their bosom priceless mineral springs. Emperors and rulers honored these healing places and as a sign of gratitude to the generous nature they left behind magnificently built baths, relics of which have been found during the reconstructions of the baths in Chepinsko. The local population was building sanctuaries of gods related to health. Such a sanctuary is the one of Asclepius Zemidrenski in the near village Batkun. During the time of Khan Pressian (836-852) this region fell within the boundaries of the First Bulgarian Kingdom. In the notable work of St. Zahariev "Description of the Tatarpazardzhishka Kaaza - 1870” we read about a document found by him in the ruins of the St. Spas monastery which was located near Belovo village. This document was a worn out sheet from a handwritten skin book "without beginning and end”, according to which the Bulgarian kings came to the monastery to worship the miraculous icons of the saints archdeacon Stefan and Ivan Bogoslov, and then went to bathe in the „Tsepinski Baths”. The tradition of using mineral waters continued in the Middle Ages as well. In the middle of the 17th century Ban Velyo – governor of the surrounding villages, as a sign of gratitude for his healing, built a bath, summoned the abbot from St. George monastery on the Ostrets peak to sanctify it and donated it to his fellow villagers. The bath was repaired and remade but it bore his name for four centuries and bears it even today.
After the Emancipation the number of tourists increased incredibly from close and distant parts of the home country. In 1932 the Kleptuza park was built in the Chepino village, which included the biggest and most popular karstic spring in Bulgaria and became a symbol of the rediscovered resort. A restaurant and a casino were built around the lake. In a 1933 Bulgarian tourist guide we read about Ladzhene: „Nature has never given such rich gifts as the ones to the Ladzhene resort”, „Ladzhene – the new resort town stands always tidy and clean, bathed in the natural healing pine air”, „The public works policy and hygiene of this resort are ahead of any other Bulgarian resort”. From the guide we understand that during that time in Ladzhene there were more than 10 well-arranged hotels with about 500 beds and restaurants. In addition, a state teachers' vacation complex was being built for the cost of 25 000 000 BGN consisting of 140 rooms and about 300 beds – a huge building for its time. In the early Spring of 1937, the Ladzhene branch of the popular bank offered a credit to the municipality. The money could be used either for paving the main street or for building a bathing beach. An argument rose between the municipal councillors and the mayor Yosif Shniter about what exactly to use the money for. On one of the meetings accidentally happened to be an ordinary villager from Ladzhene who asked „Is the pavement going to bring the beach or is the beach going to bring the pavement?”. Thus, a decision was taken to build a beach. For the purpose, the technical manager of the project went to Sofia to examine in detail the newly built beach Dianabad. The construction was completed within a few months only and the result was impressing. On 22 August 1937 a mineral bathing beach was officially opened and it was the biggest in the country and the second biggest in Europe, with two hot mineral pools, five trampolines for jumps, individual cane changing rooms, sea sand specially brought from Varna and lighting for the pools so that they can be used during the night. The capacity was planned for more than 1000 visitors and 1000 wooden grilles were fitted for the purpose. The first beauty pageant "Queen of the Beach" was also organized. Sensational advertising campaign began in the capital press. This brought incredible interest and only a few days later more than 10 000 tourists crowded the Ladzhene village of population three thousand. With the opening of the Zdravets hotel in the system of “Balkantourist” in June 1968 the beginning of building of luxurious hotels started. In order to meet the needs of the numerous customers, the luxurious Bor restaurant is being opened.
LANDMARKS
The most remarkable and beautiful place in Velingrad is Kleptuza. This is the biggest Karst spring in the Balkan Peninsula – a real wonder of the nature, for which there were legends said. There are 570 l. of water with stationary temperature flowing out of it each second. Two beautiful lakes are being formed after which they flow into the Chepino River. Green pine-tree forests, which form the “Kleptuza” park, are stretching southwards of the Karst spring.
18 km away from Velingrad is situated the Lepenitza cave – two-storied, with underground river and lakes, 1525 m long. 18 km away eastwards from Velingrad on the land of the Dorkovo village is situated the Cepina ancient Bulgarian fortress, temporary residence of the Bulgarian possessor the Aleksiy Slav despot. 16 km away westwards from Velingrad at the border between the Rhodope Mountains and the Rila Mountain, is situated the Yundola mountain resort. There is a ski track, where in 1981 the world ski run championship was held. 47 km away from the town in the Rila Mountain is situated the Belmeken high-mountain place (2000 m above the sea level). There you can take advantage of the indoor sports hall – 53 m. х 25 m., which is suitable for basketball, volleyball, handball, track-and-field athletics and football. There are also equipped halls for wrestling, boxing, weightlifting, outdoor track-and-field athletics path with red covering, asphalt-paved path for summer and winter biathlon and ski orientation. Here the national teams in different kinds of sports all over the European continent carry out their training camps. Even if you only ride a bicycle in marked paths on that altitude, you will feel an improbable effect and you will be toned for many days after that. 40 km away from Velingrad in the Rila Mountain is situated the Kurtovo place (1800 m above the sea level), where is the only place in Bulgaria for mountain climate healing. 12 km away from Velingrad is situated the town of Rakitovo – a famous resort and historical place. 28 km away from Velingrad is situated the town of Batak, known by its historical landmarks, where the one of the oldest churches in Bulgaria is situated. 15 km away from Velingrad is situated the Syutka place (2186 m above the sea level). It is determined that at this place in Bulgaria, the snow during the year stays the longest and it is suitable for ski sports. Here a big ski centre will be constructed. Sirona tour offers
FLORA AND FAUNA
The forest vegetation is one of the most important components of the region of Velingrad. The pine-three forests are one of the main elements of the landscape. The spruce and the white pine-tree predominate. There are also birch, hornbeam, lime-tree and elm-tree. There are many places here, where wild ecologically pure fruits grow – raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and strawberries. There are 66 protected nature objects with total area of 5165 hectares in the forest fund. There are many does, deers, wild boars, chamoises and capercaillies. You can rarely see brown bears. Balkan trout has been raised in the numerous rivers and water basins. There are two nature reserves here – in the Beglika place and on the land of Rakitovo. Hunting tourism may be organized in the nature and hunting reserves.
