The village of Emona is located 2km away from the cape Emine and just a few km to the south of the town of Obzor. The village’s name Emona, comes from the ancient name of the Stara Planina mountain range, Aemon(later called Hemus). During the Middle Ages, the cape  hosted a virtually inaccessible fortress, called Emona.

An unusual rock phenomenon named Ritlite can be seen in the Iskur gorge, near the village of Liuti Brod. They are situated on the two banks of a river. The four formations on the left bank are much more noticeable and resemble stone walls.

The length of each varies from 200 to 400 m and the thickness changes from 2.6 to seven m. The walls rise 80 m above Iskur River and the space between them hosts dense forests.

According to scientists, the formations appeared 120 million years ago, when the area was covered by sea.

Romans used the walls as natural defense facilities. Parts of them were used in the construction of the medieval Koritengrad fortress. Archaeologists discovered the remains of nine churches in the area.

Rashov Dol historic region is situated nearby. In the spring of 1876, 10 of Hristo Botev’s revolutionaries died there. An ossuary was placed in Rashov Dol. You can go to the region walking and it will take you only half an hour to reach it from Ritlite.

Archaeologists found a castle,belonging to a governer, appointed by the Mediaeval Bulgarian tsar Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria, reports BNR.
Its remains are on top of Perperikon, near the only tower in the stone city. Perfectly shaped premises and corridors have been uncovered. The foundations of the buildings are 3 metres high.
The history chronicles reveal that after conquering the Rhodopi Mountains in the middle of 14 century, Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria appointed his representative for the region.
The evidence lies in the ruins of the old castles, where coins and fragments of expensive porcelain were found. This is the place, where the only golden seal belonging to Ivan Alexander was discovered, now property of an American collector.
According to the head of the expedition Nikolay Ovcharov, this fortress was of utmost importance, because of its highly secure fortification and the immediate proximity to Bulgaria’s biggest goldmines.

source: news.bg

Lom is a town in northwestern Bulgaria, part of Montana Province, situated on the right bank of the Danube, close to the estuary of the Lom River. It is 162 km north of Sofia, 56 km southeast of Vidin, 50 km north of Montana and 42 km west of Kozloduy. It is the second most important Bulgarian port on the Danube after Rousse.

Antiquity and Middle Ages
Lom was founded by the Thracians under the name of Artanes in Antiquity. After them the Romans called the fortress and the town Almus, from where the name of the today’s city and of the Lom River comes.

There are no reports proving that there existed a big settlement in the Middle Ages. It was not until Ottoman rule that it enlarged but for a long time it was under the shadow of the dominant towns of Vidin, Nikopol and Silistra. It is assumed that the Ottoman village was founded in 1695 by Kara Mustafa and Murad Bey, who were defeated at Vienna in 1683 and who came here sailing rafts along the Danube.Ottoman rule and

Bulgarian National Revival
The name Lom Palanka was mentioned for a first time in 1704. The settlement then called “palanka” was something between a village and a town in size and importance. In 1798 Lom suffered from brigand raids. With the development of shipping along the Danube after 1830, the importance of the town grew. The road to Sofia contributed to its progress and turned it into a main export port to Vienna (Austria). By 1869 there were 120 shops, 148 trade offices, 175 food shops, 34 coffee bars, 6 hotels and 2 mills. The town was centred around the old Kale (fortress), which was entered through three kapii (gates) – Vidinska, Belogradchishka, Sofiyska. The tradesmen from Lom offered goods at the biggest fairs in the region and beyond. In 1880 there were 7,500 inhabitants in the town.

Lom is proud of its traditions from the period of the Bulgarian National Revival. In 1856 the first community centre in Bulgaria was founded in the town, the first women’s society in the country was also established in 1858 and one of the first theatre performances took place in the town. Krastyu Pishurka, a noted educator, also worked in Lom.

Until the Second world war it was a major market town. After the 1944 the industry developpes – sugar factory, can factory, grain industry. It becomes a port for the southwestern part of Bulgaria.