Pleven is the seventh largest city in Bulgaria and it is located at equal distance from Danube and from Stara Planina, almost in the centre of the wide Danubian Plain. The city has a thousand-year history that can be traced all the way back to the Neolithic. The remains, related to the Thracians' material and spiritual culture, play an important role of the historical development of Pleven. The Valchitran Gold Treasure is one of the most emblematic ones found in Bulgaria. The city's development during the Roman and Early Byzantine eras is related to the road station of Storgosia, the remains of which can still be seen today. The town remained occupied during the Middle Ages, as evidenced by various archeological finds and fragments of Byzantine pottery.
Pleven became famous during the Russo-Turkish Liberation War of 1877-1878. The battles for the city's liberation in 1877 continued for five months and played a decisive role in the course of the war. One of Pleven's symbols is the Plevenska Epopee 1877 Panorama, built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Pleven's liberation from Ottoman rule. Among the city's other landmarks are the Regional History Museum, Skobelev Park, Tsar Liberator Alexander House Museum, Svetlin Rusev Collection Art Gallery, Iliya Beshkov Art Gallery, Saint Nicholas Church, Kaylaka Park and the Museum of Wine — the only one of its kind in the region.