Svilengrad (Bulgarian: Свиленград) is a border town in the Upper Thracian Plain in Bulgaria, close to the point where the national borders of Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey meet. It's one of the most important border crossings in the country, and there are a few interesting places nearby.

Understand

Mustafa Pasha's Bridge

Administratively, the municipality of Svilengrad is a part of Haskovo Province. The town is adjacent to two border checkpoints - Kaptian Andreevo/Kapıkule to Turkey (close to Edirne) and Kapitan Petko Voyvoda/Ormenio to Greece (Didymoteicho).

In the 16th century the Ottoman Empire built a large bridge over the Maritsa river, and a settlement formed around it. Despite a sizable Bulgarian population, after the Liberation War (1877-1878) the area remained outside of the newly created Bulgarian state. It was granted to Bulgaria only after the First Balkan War (1912-1913). Originally named after the bridge, the town was officially renamed to Svilengrad in 1913. The name literally means "Silk Town" or "Town of Silk", reflecting the local practice of silk farming - in the early 1930s, Svilengrad produced about a third of Bulgaria's silk output.

Svilengrad's disproportionate number of casinos is explained by the fact that gambling is banned in Turkey and Edirne is close across the border.

Get in

By train

One of the stops on international trains from Turkey (Istanbul-Sofia or Istanbul-Bucharest).

• 1 Railway Station (ЖП гара, Zhe-Peh Garah). Svilengrad's train station is 5 km (3.1 mi) from the city centre, in the outlaying neighborhood (absorbed village) Kapitan Petko Voyvoda. Walking is not an option, as the road lacks sidewalks/pavements. Thankfully, Svilengrad's only bus line connects the station and the city. Buses run on an irregular schedule between 05:40 and 21:30. (updated Feb 2024)

By bus

From Sofia: there's at least one daily direct bus (Central Bus Station); buses to Haskovo are more frequent, and there you can get some of the frequent local buses that go to Svilengrad.

• 2 Bus Station (Автогара, Avtogara), ul. "Tsar Simeon Veliki" 55 (from the roundabout at the east end of the main street, follow the large street north-east to the next roundabout - bus station is on the left (west) side). A single-storey building. Like many places elsewhere in Bulgaria, it's shared with unrelated small businesses and each transport company has its own separate ticket office, so finding what you need may be confusing. (updated Feb 2024)

By car

Two European Routes pass through Svilengrad - E80 (from Portugal through Southern Europe to Turkey) and E85 (Lithuania - Belarus - Ukraine - Romania - Bulgaria - Greece). It's also an end point of Bulgarian Motorway A4 ("Maritsa"), which runs to the north-west and merges into Motorway A1 ("Trakia", Sofia - Plovdiv - Burgas) east of Plovdiv.

See

• 1 Mustafa Pasha Bridge (Stariyat most, The Old Bridge). Completed in 1529. (updated Feb 2024)
  • On the eastern side, there's an equestrian monument to General Nikola Ivanov (1861-1940), who lead the Bulgarian troops that liberated Svilengrad during the First Balkan War.
• 2 History Museum. (updated Feb 2024)
• Monument to the Fallen (in front of Hotel Svilena and the Municipality building) - a simple war memorial with name lists on its sides.

Sleep

A number of hotels and other accommodations, due to the border crossings.

• 1 Hotel Svilena (Хотел "Свилена"), pl. "5-ti Oktomvri" 1 (the same Bulgaria Blvd as the main street, 5 min walk east of the pedestrian part). Renovated Communist-era hotel, with a decorative mosaic relief on the facade. 3 stars, close to the Municipality building, the Old Bridge and the west end of the main pedestrian street. Double: 87 лв, suite (double bed): 105 лв, double deluxe: 115 лв. (updated Feb 2024)
• 2 Park Hotel Romantica (Парк Хотел "Романтика"), ul. "Dragan Tsankov" 4. Modern 4-star hotel overlooking the city park. Double/twin: 120 лв, double deluxe: 140 лв, etc. (updated Feb 2024)

Nearby

Ruins of the Mezek Fortress

Ruins of the Matochina Fortress

For some reason (remote border region?), two of the best preserved medieval fortress ruins in Bulgaria (with minimal restoration) are in Svilengrad Municipality.

Mezek

A village 10 km (6.2 mi) west of Svilengrad.

• 3 Mezek Fortress (overlooks the village). (updated Feb 2024)
• 4 Thracian domed tomb (east of the village centre, within walking distance). Underground tomb or heroon (sanctuary) dated to 4th-3rd centuries BCE, discovered in 1931. A 20-metre (66 ft) gallery leads to a circular domed chamber. Open to visitors as a small museum; ask at the tourist information centre in the village for access. Tomb only: adults 5 лв, students & pensioners 3 лв. (updated Sep 2024)
• 5 Sheynovets Peak (връх Шейновец) (about 6 km (3.7 mi) by hiking trail or paved (?) country road west-southwest of Mezek, starting at the fortress). The site of the first skirmish of the Balkan War (1912). Altitude 703 m (2,306 ft); there's a modern TV tower, a monument-ossuary to the Bulgarian border troops killed in that battle, and an old pillbox (bunker) from WWII or Communist times. (updated Sep 2024)

Matochina

Matochina (Маточина) is a tiny village 30 km (19 mi) west of Svilengrad, close to the border with Turkey. Named after the lemon balm herb (Melissa officinalis), it has an official population of 15 (!) as of 2024. With a car, you can continue north through the villages of Prisadets (Присадец) and Radovets (Радовец) towards Elhovo and ultimately, Yambol. Svilengrad's history museum offers guided tours by advance arrangement, but it's unclear if this includes transport. Without a personal vehicle, Matochina is hard to reach. Theoretically, it's possible to get there by bus from Svilengrad once a week (on Wednesday) - there's a bus in the morning (07:00), and another in the early afternoon (13:30), so you can go there with the first and return with the other, but Matochina is the end point of the line and there's no accommodation in the village, so better not miss the return bus... Bus schedule in Bulgarian on the Svilengrad Municipality website, you can search for "Маточина".

• 6 Matochina Fortress (Boukelon). (updated Feb 2024)

Go next

Routes through Svilengrad

Plovdiv ← Haskovo (Junction N / S) ←

W  E

→ Kapitan Andreevo/Kapıkule → Edirne