Spa Resorts: Devin

The town of Devin (6018 inhabitants, 710 м above sea level) is situated on the two banks of Devinska River, in a small hilly valley in the very heart of the Rodopah Mountain. It is 196 km south-east of the capital city, 46 km north-west of Smolyan, 57 km and 82 km south of Krichim and Pazardzhik respectively, and 40 km north-east of Dospat. The town is a well-known balneology resort.

History: As early as the Thracian period an ancient settlement and a sanctuary existed at that place. The ancient settlement was situated in the present boundaries of Selishte Area, on the left bank of Vucha River and was then called Diove. When the Slavs came, they gave it the name of Dyovlen, meaning most probably a small valley, narrow lowland. The village was desolated during the attempts to convert the Bulgarian population to Islam in 1666-1671. Some of the inhabitants of the old village moved to the Vlas' huts, where they laid the foundations of the present town. A Medieval necropolis dating back to 13th-14th century was found in the centre of the town. The names of the surrounding localities and peaks prove that this land was populated by Bulgarians ever since. The most ancient document, which mentions the name of Devin, is of Turkish origin and represents a list of dzhelepkeshani (cattle breeders) in 1576. There are no other documents on the remote past of the settlement - most probably they were destroyed during the two devastating fires, which burnt almost everything to ashes in 1904 and 1912. The town was under Turkish Rule until the year 1912. After 1912 many newcomers moved from the surrounding villages to Devin and thus they helped its economic growth. The town was named Dyovlen up to 1934.

Present: There is no other town in Bulgaria and on the Balkan Peninsula with so many healing mineral springs. At the same time its microclimate is one of the healthiest climates at all - the rocky and green hills prevent the town from the strong and cold north-west winds, there is a great number of sunny days within the year, the winter is extremely mild, the summer is cool and there is not a single industrial polluter. The proximity of the beautiful coniferous forests, the rivers, exuberant in trout, the wild goats (a scene, quite seldom for the Rodopah Mountains) and last but not least the hospitality of the local mountain dwellers give a final touch to this favourable picture. All these predetermine the development of the town as an extremely promising balneology and mountainous resort of national and international significance. This resort is strongly popular in the Scandinavian countries. It has its balneology sanatorium and open-air mineral beach.

Landmarks: The town's Museum of History (40, Osvobozhdenie St., in the central part of the town). St. Georgi Chapel dates back to 18th century (in the western part of the town, close to the stadium). St. Joan Rilski Church (10, Drouzhba Str, in the central part of the town).

Accommodation: Grebenets Hotel (2A, Drouzhba Str., in the central part of the town) is the largest hotel in Devin. Manolov Hotel (50, Osvobozhdenie Str, in the central part of the town). There is some other family type hotels in the town as well as private lodgings, available for tourists and visitors. There are also sufficient catering and entertainment facilities.

Tourist Information: Tourist Information Centre, 4800 Devin (5, Osvobozhdenie Str, tel.: 03041 4161, fax: 03041 3902). Orpheus Tourist Association (46, Osvobozhdenie Str., tel.: 03041 2751), as well as at the hotels.

Transport: The only public transport available in Devin is the bus transport. It has regular bus lines to Pazardzhik, Plovdiv, Krichim, Smolyan, Dospat, Gotse Delchev, Shiroka Luka, Pamporovo and other smaller villages within the region. The bus station is at the very entrance of the town, on the right bank of the river (24, Osvobozhdenie Str, tel.: 03041 2077).

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