The town of Pleven is located in the central part of the Danubian plain, past the Vit river. It is situated at a distance of 174 km to the north – east of Sofia and 35 km to the north of Lovech.
Pleven originated in Thracian times on the place of today’s park of Kailuka and it was named Storgozia, which name was preserved in Roman times too. After its destruction by the barbarians, the Slavs rebuilt it under the name of Kamenets. A second settlement was set up to the north of it which was named Pleven. Later on the two settlements were united and they were first mentioned under the name of Pleven in 1266. After the 12th century the town developed as a craftsman’s and trade center. During the 17th and the 18th centuries the Bulgarian population in the town grew in number and took the trade and the handicrafts in their own hands and started to develop its cultural life as well.
Pleven became famous most of all with the events, which took place during the Liberation Russian–Turkish war of 1877 – 1878.
Pleven is the 7 th biggest town in Bulgaria as of the present moment.

Landmarks
Most of the landmarks here are related to the Russian–Turkish war. About 200 monuments remind to the generations about the most sanguinary battles, which took place here. There is a Mausoleum-Ossuary on ‘Vazrajdane’ square dedicated to the Russian and Romanian soldiers killed during the war in the center of the town.
The Museum of Liberation of Pleven stands not far from it. Another landmark is the Panorama “Pleven Epopee 1877”, created in honour of the 100th anniversary of the Pleven Epopee.
Monument to Victory raises on the high hill past the Vit river. You also can visit the Museum of History erected in honor of the local citizens who gave their lives in the Serbian–Bulgarian war in 1885. The unique of its kind park of Kailuka is situated in the immediate proximity of the town on the south in the valley of the Tuchenitsa river.

Surrounding areas
The village of Grivnitsa is situated at a distance of 6 km east of the town. During the war of Liberation the population of the village and region took active participation in it. A mausoleum in memory of the killed Romenian soldiers was built. It is located amongst a spacious park with a lot of monuments.
The town of Pordim is situated at the distance of 21 km to the east of Pleven. The General Headquarters of the Russian army and of Emperor Alexander the 2th was located here during the war of Liberation. There is another museum – “Rumanian soldier 1877 – 1878”.
A green zone was built up around Pleven about 25 thousand decares, involving the parks of: “Kailuka”, “General Lavrov”, “General Genetski” and others.
The village of Vulchi Tran is situated at the distance of 22 km south–east of Pleven. Here Valchitran gold treasure was found in 1924.
In the town of Dolni Dupnik at the distance of 15 km to the west of Pleven with a lot of monuments from Pleven Epopee. There are three lakes in its surroundings. They are a favorite place for recreation, water motor sports, water tourism and fishing.