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Sliven ( ) is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality in Northern Thrace. It is situated in the Sliven Valley at the foothills of the Balkan Mountains.
Sliven is famous for its heroic Hajduk who fought against the Ottoman Turks in the 19th century and is known as the "City of the 100 voyvoda", a voyvoda being a leader of haiduti.
The famous rocky massif Sinite Kamani (Сините камъни, "The Blue Rocks") and the associated Sinite Kamani Nature Park, the fresh air and the mineral springs at Slivenski Mineralni Bani offer diverse opportunities for leisure and tourism. Investors are exploring the opportunity to use the local wind (Bora) for the production of electricity.
Another point of interest and a major symbol of the city as featured on the coat of arms, is the more than thousand-year-old Stariyat Briast (Старият Бряст, "The Old Elm"), a huge Smooth-leaved Elm in the center of the city. During Ottoman rule, Turkish officials used to hang Bulgarian revolutionaries on it. Today the city is helping the tree to live on by frequent evaluations and reinforcing its base. It was elected Bulgarian tree of the year in 2013. On 19 March 2014 the results of an online poll were revealed at a ceremony in the European Parliament. The Old Elm was voted European Tree of the Year 2014. The city also served as an important strategic centre for the Bulgarian Army, with the headquarters of the Bulgarian Third Army located in the centre of the city, being situated relatively near to the sensitive Turkish border.
Sliven Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Sliven.
West of the city lies the so-called Peach Valley which contains large peach orchards. The city is also known for the mineral baths at Slivenski Mineralni Bani some 12 km southeast, whose water is used to treat diseases of the liver and nervous system.
The most visited geographical location and attraction in the city is the Karandila (Карандила). It is a hilltop 1050m above sea level, with great sights overlooking the city. The rock formation Halkata (Хaлката, "The Ring") is located on the Karandila. It is a rock protrusion with a peculiar hole in the center. According to myth, one would have their most sincere wish granted upon passing through the ring. Karandila is the site of the annual Sarakatsani festival, organized by the Federation of the Cultural and Educational Associations of Karakachans (ФКПДК) in Bulgaria each July. Annual Karakachan Festival, Karandila
Karandila is located in Sinite Kamani Nature Park, whose peak Bulgarka (1181 m) is the highest in the eastern Balkan Mountains.
In Sliven Municipality, 88,750 declared as Bulgarians, 12,153 as Roma, 4,209 as Turks, and 18,641 did not declare their ethnic group. The city of Sliven, Sliven Municipality and Sliven Province have the largest number of Roma in Bulgaria.
The 2nd century BCE marked the beginning of the Roman conquests of northeastern Thracia. Sliven was conquered by Rome around 72–71 BCE when the ThraciansFol, Aleksandar. The Thracian Royal city of Kabyle. - In: Settlement Life in Ancient Thrace. IIIrd International Symposium “Cabyle”, 17–21 May 1993 Jambol. Jambol, 53-55. Kabile and later GreeceAn Inventory of Archaic and Classical Poleis: An Investigation Conducted by The Copenhagen Polis Centre for the Danish National Research Foundation by Mogens Herman Hansen,2005,Index cities of Kabile and Sozopol are conquered. With the emergence of the Roman Empire the region of the city became part of the Thrace province of the Roman Empire.
A new stage in the city's history began around 2nd-4th century. The first written records of the settlement's name, Tuida/Suida/Tsuida date to this period. This name is most likely of Thracian origin. Its etymology is currently not understood. It is also mentioned by Hierocles, who identifies it as one of the four cities in the province of Haemimontus, established as part of the Diocese of Thrace under Diocletian and also by Procopius of Caesarea. The Roman road from Anchialos (today Pomorie) along the Tundzha to Serdika was built.
In a written record from the 3rd century, the settlement was called ''Tarzhishte" and most likely belonged to the territory of the city of Augusta Traiana (today Stara Zagora).
The fortress avoided the Gothic War, but was destroyed in the Huns' raid in the 5th century. During the reign of Emperor Anastasius I Dicorus, it was rebuilt, which retained the previous one's plan, but was considerably fortified.
In the ancient fortress' interior and near its eastern wall, are excavated the remains of a basilica with a baptistery, which functioned in the 5th-6th centuries. (2025). 9789542972174 ISBN 9789542972174 It was likely destroyed by the Huns and rebuilt under Justinian I. A larger church was founded in the south of the fortress, built in the 5th century and enlarged in the 6th century. This indicates that the settlement was not limited to the territory of the fortress, but also expanded in the surrounding area.
The city of Tuida/Tsuida was the seat of a bishop, subordinate to the Metropolitanate of Adrianople. Until that time the bishop seat was in Cabyle. In the 4th century, most likely due to the proximity of the two cities, which were in different provinces, Cabyle was abandoned and its population moved to Yambol. The seat of the bishop, however, for unknown reasons, was moved to Tuida, which very likely marked the beginning of the proverbial rivalry between Sliven and Yambol.
Tuida ceased to exist around 598-599, when it was again destroyed, most likely by the Pannonian Avars and Slavs. There is a theory that this happened as part of a major battle between the Avars and the Byzantine general Comentius.
Paleoornithologist Zlatozar Boev discovered bone remains of 14 species of wild and domestic birds in Hissarlaka from the 10th-12th centuries. The findings of Hawk eagle (Aquila fasciata) and grouse (Tetrao urogallus) are among the rarest in the country.
The town continued to exist after the dissolution of the first empire. The Pechenegs briefly controlled it in mid-10th century, after which it began to decline. In 1153, the town was rebuilt. The fortress was abandoned and ceased.
During the Second Bulgarian Empire, twenty-four monasteries were built in its vicinity, which formed a complex. Under Tsar Ivan Alexander, Sliven was a town near the Byzantine Empire.Димитър Ангелов, Въпросът за политическите емигранти в отношенията между Византия и средновековна България // В: Античная древность и средние века. – Вып. 10. – 1973. – С. 121. During the Ottoman invasion of Bulgaria, the medieval town was destroyed and the monasteries were burnt. The city was known as "İslimye" by the Turks.
In 1738, the population of Sliven was predominantly Turkish. In a register from 1792, Sliven Sanjak is mentioned for the first time. Many Sliven residents participated in the Greek War of Independence. Hadzi Hristo was made a general and took the lead of the troops of Bulgarians, Albanians and Greeks, and was later elected to the Greek parliament. The inhabitants of the town also supported the Brăila revolt, Crimean War and participated in the Second Bulgarian Legion.
During the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829, the troops of General Hans Karl von Diebitsch entered Sliven. Continuous massacres of the Muslim population and desecration of mosques were made, involving both Bulgarian and Russian soldiers and local residents. (2025). 9789543220199, Akademichno izdatelstvo "Marin Drinov". ISBN 9789543220199 The first Russian consulate was opened here in April 1830. (2025). 9789543220199, Akademichno izdatelstvo "Marin Drinov". ISBN 9789543220199 After the withdrawal of the Russian troops, more than 15,000 people from the town and surrounding villages were displaced to southern Russia, Bessarabia and Wallachia, while only 2,000-3,000 Bulgarians remained in the town. (2025). 9789543220199, Akademichno izdatelstvo "Marin Drinov". ISBN 9789543220199 With this, Sliven suffered a severe demographic and economic blow, which blunted the momentum of its former development.
During the Bulgarian National Revival, Sliven emerged as an important trade, craft and cultural centre. The town was divided into residential, commercial and craft and administrative parts. Through the efforts of Dobri Chintulov and other Sliven notables, the Zora Community Centre was founded in 1860. The founder of the Bulgarian theatrical work was the Sliven-born public and cultural worker Sava Dobroplodni, who wrote the first play in Bulgarian history - "Mihal Mishkoed". In 1843, the first textile industrial enterprise in the Ottoman Empire was established in Sliven, with Dobri Zhelyazkov as its head. In 1864 a second one was opened, and in 1872 tobacco and spirit factories were established.
The inhabitants of Sliven became actively involved in the national church struggle. In 1859, the people of Sliven expelled the Greek bishop, and the Diocese of Sliven entered the borders of the Bulgarian Exarchate established on 28 February 1870. The first spiritual leader of the diocese was Metropolitan Seraphim of Sliven.
During the April Uprising, Sliven was the centre of the Second Revolutionary District. Battles were fought near the town during the Russo-Turkish Liberation War of 1877-1878 which in return burnt 800 shops and 100 houses in the town centre. Metropolitan Seraphim is particularly credited with saving Sliven and a number of settlements and in the region from complete destruction. Sliven was liberated by Russian troops on 16 January 1878.
In the 19th century, the town was a district centre and was one of the largest towns in Bulgaria with a population of over 20,000. The majority were Bulgarians. For a short period a centre of a department in the autonomous province of Eastern Rumelia before its inclusion in the Principality of Bulgaria in 1885.
During the First World War it was the site of the Sliven prisoner of war camp, the largest such camp in the country. It was the place of internment for Greek and Serbian civilians and soldiers, with peak numbers of 19,000.
From the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in Bulgaria in the late 19th century until the beginning of the socialist economy in 1945, the industry was concentrated in the northern parts of the city. The new Socialist government gradually began to consolidate the existing factories and built new ones, with industry concentrating around the newly built station. At some point the industrial workforce numbered 20,000, 1/2 of whom were in textile production - wool and cotton textiles. The second most important is the food industry and the third is the machine building industry (ZMM - Sliven, Dinamo Plant, etc.).
As one of the most significant cultural centres during the Bulgarian National Revival, with much of its old heritage still preserved and enriched, modern Sliven offers to its citizens and visitors a lot of opportunities for cultural life. It served as the birthplace of many prominent Bulgarians, including Hadzhi Dimitar, Dobri Chintulov, Ivan Seliminski. Another notable native is Anton Pann who composed the national anthem. Another notable resident is Yordan Letchkov, whose goal in the 1994 World Cup eliminated defending champion Germany. Letchkov was mayor of Sliven from 2003 to 2011.
In the 2011 local elections, the BSP candidate (and non-member of the party) General Kolyo Milev won in the second round with 52.94% of the votes counted against the GERB candidate (also non-member) Yordan Letchkov.
Since 2015, the mayor of Sliven has been Stefan Radev, nominated by PP GERB (2015 and 2019), re-elected with 64.75% in the second round of local elections in 2019. On 11 November 2019, he officially took office.
Following the beginning of communist rule in Bulgaria in 1944, most industries were nationalized and much industrial building and development was spurred. Industry continued to develop until the fall of communism, at which point much of the previously built industry stagnated; many plants and factories were shut down and there was little development.
In contemporary times, Sliven has experienced a surge in economy with increased investment, banking establishments and new industries have begun to emerge. The dairy industry, which has long been present, continues to grow and thrive. The wine industry, with companies such as Bulgarian wine and Vini Sliven and about a dozen others, continues to grow as grapes are easily grown due to the climate conditions. In terms of heavy industry, the city produces electric lights and electrical machines. The city has also become notorious as a source of young girls who are trafficked into the sex industry.
Light industry in Sliven is mostly devoted to textiles with many companies making wool clothing, socks, and food.
In 2024, it was reported that a gang based in Sliven had been receiving up to £200 million annually in fraudulent welfare payments from the British government.
The city has a trolleybus system which opened in 1986.
The State Puppet Theatre – Sliven was established in 1961 (then an amateur theatre, since 1971 a state theatre), it is located in the renovated in the 1980s building of the former cinema "Balkan".
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