The town of Panagyurishte was erected on land inhabited since ancient times. Prehistoric monuments, Iron Age settlements, Thracian settlements were found here.
In its current location, the town was formed on the basis of the surrounding hamlets and the medieval fortresses of Dushkovchenin and Krasen around the 15th century. The first information about the town of Panagyurishte can be found in the Turkish register from 1576. Two re-settlements – of Macedonian refugees in the 16th century and 200 families from the village of Voynika, Yambol region – together with the local population determined the purely ethnic composition of the population for several centuries to come. During the Ottoman slavery, Panagyurishte had the status of a military settlement and enjoyed significant privileges.
Legends connect the founding of the town with the dramatic times after the Ottoman invasion of the Balkans at the end of the 15th century. The town got its name from the small fair that was held on the bank of the river (panagyur is a synonym for fair in the south-western Bulgarian languages). During slavery, the Turkish name Otlukkioy was also used, and the name Kamengrad was also mentioned.
In the second half of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, Panagyurishte experienced great economic and cultural prosperity.
There is a number of archaeological monuments – witnesses of the ancient and medieval past found around Panagyurishte. In 1949, the unique and worldwide famous Panagyurishte gold treasure was discovered near the town. Panagyurishte is one of the centres of the Bulgarian Revival and the struggle for national liberation.
Panagyurishte is a name – a symbol of the national liberation struggles in Bulgaria against Ottoman slavery. During the April Uprising, the town was the centre of the 4th revolutionary district. Here, the population rose up in the most massive and organized way to fight against the centuries-old slavery. Oborishte – the place where the decisions about the Uprising were made – is the forerunner of Bulgarian parliamentarism and democracy. In the Panagyurishte region, the apostles Georgi Benkovski, Panayot Volov, Georgi Ikonomov, the chronicler Zahari Stoyanov, the local figures who became national heroes – Pavel Bobekov, Nayden Drinov, priest Gruyo Banski, Dimitar Koklev, priest Nedelyo Ivanov and the Panagyurishte voivodes Ivan Parpulov (Orcho), Ilyo Stoyanov and Kroycho Samohodov realized their talent for revolution organizing. The feat of the legendary maiden Rayna Knyaginya became one of the symbols of the struggle. The freedom-loving spirit of the Panagyurishte citizens involved them in the struggles for national liberation and social justice, in which they gave more than 1100 dear sacrifices.
The Oborishte historical area is located about 7 kilometres northwest of Panagyurishte, hidden in the bosom of Sredna Gora. Here, in the spring of 1876, the First Bulgarian Grand National Assembly was held. The monument built in 1982 preserves the names of its participants and reminds of the purity, heroism and self-sacrifice of the Bulgarian people. Every year, during the National celebrations in honour of the anniversaries of the April Uprising, Bulgarians from all over the country gather in front of the Oborishte monument on May 2 as a national day of worship.