The municipality of Asenovgrad possesses an exclusive cultural and historical resource integrated into a unique natural environment. One of its attractions is the availability of a system of cultural sights from various epochs.

Here is the greatest concentration of cult places in Bulgaria:

A Neolithic cult find in the area of Lopkite in the vicinity of the village of Dolnoslav – the biggest on the Balkan Peninsula and one of the first of its kind discovered in the world.

The Thracian rock sanctuary Belintash, located in the heart of the mountain. Remains of sanctuaries of other cultures – Muslim, Hellenic, etc.

The Christian sanctuary Krastova Gora is the ultimate place of pilgrimage. Legend has it that part of the Lord’s Cross was buried there.

The architectural historic monuments in the region encompass four monasteries – Bachkovo, Gorni Voden, Mudavski and Arapovo, 33 churches, some 200 chapels – over 50 in the urban area and many more across the territory of the region, in the municipalities of Asenovgrad and Laki.

Asenovgrad Municipality is a strategic place in the national and European network of transport and cultural corridors. The territory is an entrance to the pilgrims’ pathways to the Rhodopes and the Aegean. Here lies the largest cloister agglomeration in the Rhodopes (The Rhodope Mount Athos), connecting the Balkan corridor Via Ignacia with the cultural axis “South-North” (along transport corridor N 9) to the Veliko Turnovo Mount Athos and the Romanian monasteries.

Another advantage of the regional cultural resource is provided by the diversity of other cultural values like a specific local cuisine, traditional wine-production in one of the key wine-growing areas in Bulgaria, a rich system of holidays and rites, legends, ethnographic and folklore heritage.

Asenovgrad Municipality applies for PHARE projects for development of Bulgarian cultural tourism, the main idea being to create and promote a complex regional cultural-tourism product called “The Rhodope Mount Athos”.

A series of cultural events were also included in the framework of the project:

A spring show “Wedding Rituals of the Regional Ethnic Groups”. The topic of the festival is associated with Asenovgrad’s traditional production of wedding attire and accessories (its history dates from the mid-19th c.).

A multimedia show “Sound and Light Asen’s Castle”, reproducing the myths and legends about Asen’s Castle.

The festival “Winter Christian Holidays”, reproducing local folk traditions with the participation of Bulgarian and foreign choirs.