The first art gallery outside the capital was established in Kazanlak. It was formed back in 1901 by the artist Ivan Enchev – Vidyu.
Kazanlak is known as the town of "hundred artists." Dozens of iconic names in the history of Bulgarian art were born there, such as Petko Klisurov, Ivan Milev, Ivan Penkov, Dechko Uzunov and Nenko Balkanski.
The town of roses houses the world's only museum dedicated to a single painting. This is the Ahinora museum, which is home to Ivan Milev's masterpiece of the same name.
There is a single artist depicted on the Bulgarian banknotes. We are talking about the BGN 5 banknote with the image of one of the greatest Bulgarian artists, Ivan Milev, who was born in Kazanlak.
Kazanlak today houses the largest collection of works by the renowned painter Nenko Balkanski.
The gallery in Kazanlak houses more than 5000 works of art, as well as the largest part of the documentary and artistic heritage of Ivan Milev.
In Kazanlak there are houses and museums of two of the brightest Bulgarian artists – Dechko Uzunov and Nenko Balkanski. There you can see some of their paintings that are significant for our history.
The gallery in Kazanlak houses a rich collection of icons
The only Thracian town, Seuthopolis, that has been fully explored so far is located under the waters of the Koprinka Dam – founded by the Thracian king Seuthes III in the last quarter of the 4th century BC. The town has developed as a first-rate political, economic and cultural centre, capital of the Odrysian state.
One livelihood is characteristic of the Kazanlak region – yahnadzhiystvo /production of walnut oil, charlan/. You can learn about this craft in Yahnata, a site of Iskra History Museum.
After the Liberation of Kazanlak on January 8, 1878, the Headquarters of the Russian Army were located in Papazov's house and the first negotiations on the terms of the future peace treaty, signed on March 3, 1878 in San Stefano, took place here.
In 1902, the Nativity church was opened in Shipka.
The first Bulgarian opera Siromahinya was written and staged in Kazanlak. Its author is Emanuil Manolov, the first Bulgarian professional composer.
The Tsar's or Lion's Fountain is one of the symbols of Kazanlak, opened in 1903 – it was designed by the Italian sculptor Arnaldo Zocchi – among his notable works are: The Garibaldi Monument in Bologna (Italy); Monument to General Lafayette in Massachusetts (USA), Monument to Christopher Columbus in Buenos Aires (Argentina), monument to St. Francis of Assisi in Cairo (Egypt), Alexander III monument in St. Petersburg (Russia).
Kazanlak is the second electrified town in Bulgaria, as on December 31, 1913, at midnight, during the traditional New Year's party, the salon of the Studious Group Iskra was lit up. In the first days of January, factories, workshops, shops, houses were supplied with electricity. The electricity was produced at the Enina HPP, which was the first Bulgarian HPP for public electricity supply outside the capital. It was built in 1913 by Petko and Gencho Stainov and currently is still in operation.
In 1922, just graduated from the Higher Art School, Dimitar Chorbadzhiyski – Chudomir and his wife Mara Nonova – Chorbadzhiyska, started working as art teachers at the Kazanlak Pedagogical School. In 1932, a law was passed by the People's Bloc, according to which only one member of a family could be a teacher in a state job. Chudomir himself gave up his teaching position in Favor of his wife.
On May 22, 1933, the first monument to the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius was established in Bulgaria.
The text of the army anthem "Great is our soldier" was written by the journalist Lt. Konstantin Gerogiev, who was born in Kazanlak. Originating first as a march of the 23rd Infantry Shipka Regiment, "Great is our soldier" became one of the most combative marches of the Bulgarian army. For political reasons, the original test of the anthem underwent several dramatic changes, the most drastic being the change after September 9, 1944. Since 2001, it has been declared the anthem of the Bulgarian Army.
The Thracian tomb of Kazanlak is the first Bulgarian site to be included in the list of the World Organization for the Protection of Unique Cultural and Natural Heritage. In 1979, it was declared a monument of world importance protected under the auspices of UNESCO.
On May 7, 2013, the State Patent Office patented the right only to Kazanlak to organize the Rose Festival.
On May 28, 2013, the Megalith above the village of Buzovgrad was declared a natural landmark.
Kazanlak is the largest town in Bulgariat that is not a Province capital;
The Museum of Photography and Contemporary Visual Arts, which opened in 2015, is one of its kind in Bulgaria.
The Rose Museum is the one of its kind in Bulgaria. It was opened in 1969. Since 2016, it has been moved to a new building in Rosarium Park.
In 2017, a post stamp, an illustrated envelope with the sign "Rose Festival, town of Kazanlak" and a special postmark were solemnly validated. The uniqueness of the postage stamp is in its original vision – for the first time in the history of Bulgarian philately, a decorative representation of the rose through Bulgarian embroidery was used. The post stamp features traditional embroidery from the Kazanlak region.