Troyan is located in the major northern economic region of the Republic of Bulgaria. It is situated on the abundantly terraced banks of Beli Osam river, at the northern foot of Troyan-Kalofer part of the Stara Planina mountain, not far from the Troyan pass, at an altitude of 400 meters. That geographical location provides conditions for good transport connections.
The town has a convenient road connection with Southern Bulgaria through the Troyan pass. The distance to Sofia is 160 km. Troyan is final railway junction. The nearest civil airports are Gorna Oryahovitsa (105 km) and Sofia. The nearest river port is Svishtov (110 km) and the nearest sea port - Burgas (245 km).

Quick facts about town of Troyan
In Bulgarian Alphabets: Троян
Location: North-Central Bulgaria
Distance to capital city: 117 km from Sofia
Latitude: 42.883 N
Longitude: 24.717 E
Altitude: 300 - 499 m above the sea level
Province: Lovech District
Municipality: Troyan Municipality
Area size of town of Troyan: 60.243 sq km
Population: 22 348 inhabitants (to 01/01/2007)
Post code (ZIP): 5600
Phone code: 0670 from Bulgaria; 00359670 from outside.

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 arbitary 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 kurdhalii (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 i nthe town and within the region - in 1835 St. Paraskeva Church in Troyan and The Assumption Church in the Troyan Monastery were built. In 1839 the St. Nikolai Letni Church was erected in the area of Goumoshtnik whose wood-carved iconostasis is an unique of its kind work of the Bulgarian Revival Art. In 1879 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 commettee was set up there at Levski's initiative. During the Russian-Turkish War of Liberation in August 1877 Troyan was devastated by the bashibouzouks (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 a 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.

Landmarks
Craft's and Applied Arts Museum - The only specialized Museum of national crafts and applied arts in the country is an institute for preservation, research and development of the distinctive national folk art. The purpose of the Craft's Museum is not only to collect, preserve and restore the splendid collection of ceramic and metal-work, national folk clothes and costumes, artistic wood decoration, fine and applied art, but also to find and popularize through its scientific editions the folk art and history of the region. The total number of exponents is 131 326.
The St. Paraskeva Church dating back to 1835. An architectural ensemble around the house of Vlassi Vlaskovski (Vassil Levski Street). The homes of Ivan Hadzhiiski and Minko Nikolov. An architectural ensemble (houses over the river) next to Marko's Bridge. The architectural complex Nounki (in the central town part, next to the river - restored houses of the traditional Balkan mountain architectural type). It is a hotel at the moment. The house of Dona Milina (next to the church). Architectural and ethnographic ensemble along Tsar Kaloyan Street. Balev's houses at Gen. Kartsov Street.

Surrounding areas
The historical Troyan Monastery must have been in existence long before the 15th century, as legends suggest. It flourished again about the year 1600. From the oldest church it is only the throne stone that has been preserved. Towards the beginning of the 19th century the monastic brotherhood re-erected the monastery. In 1835 master Konstantin built a wonderful main church which was painted by Zahari Zograph in 1847-1849. The Troyan Monastery, is known above all for the creative work of Zahari Zograph who painted both the exterior and the interior - a rare practice for the time - of the main church built in 1835, 7 km from the town of Troyan. It is a fine example of the impact of the popular conception of the world and the influence of housing architecture on religious construction. Here, Zahari Zograph repeated the social and moral in religious painting (the compositions Doomsday and the Wheel of Life), left his second self-portrait signed with amazing self confidence in spite of the Ottoman bondage, and painted the figures of Bulgarian and Russian saints. Besides, he painted a completely secular group portrait of the monastic brotherhood in the refectory - something highly unusual for the time. In the beginning of the XIX th century the monastery was already very big. Òhe two-storey, even three-storey residential corpuses, which surrounded the yard, were very unusual for the century. Along with the marvelous frescoes in the Troyan Monastery are preserved precious works of the applied arts and crafts. Among them special attention deserve the silver cover of the Gospel, a magnificent chalice, a silver ossuary with gold ornaments and precious stones. The monastery is famous for its miraculous icon the Virgin Mary, the Three-handed. It was a famous literary centre and contributed to the publishing of many books during the Bulgarian Revival period.
National Fair - Crafts and Applied Arts in the village or 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 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. 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 Troyan Pass in the Troyan Balkan Mountain (about 1300 metres above the sea level). There are a lot of private country-houses, public catering establishments, a hotel cokplex 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 mark of the sword of a Cossack is located ar about 1 km south of the central part of the complex. Beklemeto is a point of departure for tourist hiking tours round the Troyan Balkan Mountain - fot the Dermenka Chalet (about 3 hours), for the Kozya Stena Chalet (2.30 - 3 hours) and others. All the regular buses passing through the Troyan Pass stop at Beklemeto. The village of Shipkovo - 18 km to the west, on the road for Teteven, among the northern elevations of Vassilov's Mountain. A balneotherapy resort with holiday houses, private country-houses, an open-air mineral beach with swimming pool. Private lodgings are offered as well. The mineral spring is with the output rate of 55 l/sec at the temperature of 52^o C. The mineral waters there cures hypertension, gastric, liver, kidney and nervous diseases. It is the point of departure for the Vassilov Chalet (a 2-hour walk) under the higher peak in the Vassilov's Mountain. 5 buses run daily between Shipkovo and Troyan. A great part of the Troyan Balkan Mountain is within the boundaries of the Central Balkan National Park within the framework of which the Steneto and Kozya Stena Biosphere Reserves are located. The fisrt is included in the list of UNESCO and comprises an area of 3602.4 hectares around the upper course of Cherni Osum River. It is characterised by lots of rocky formations, karst shapes and caves. A regular bus running to the village of Cherni Osum may be used and one can walk from there on. The second is the smallest reserve in the park and it was created mainly for the preservation of the endemic kind of old mountainous edelweiss. One of the most beautiful peaks of the Balkan Mountain is situated here - Mt. Kozya Stena. It may be reaced most easily from Beklemeto (about a 2-hour walk). Troyan is one of the most important point of departure for tourist hiking tours around the Central Part of the Stara Planina Mountain and, in particular, around the Troyan Balkan Mountain.
Sopot Dam - at about 30 km to the north-west, by the village of Golyama Zhelyazna, it is a wonderful place for recreation, sunbathing, water motor sports, water tourism, fishing. There are good conditions for camping as well as holiday houses, private country-houses, public catering establishments. All the busses passing by have a stop there.