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Writer's pictureStefan Ivanov

The clock tower in the town of Zlatitsa

Updated: Jun 11, 2023

"Grandpa went to Zlatitsa,

lost a glove.

There she played on the lawn

little mouse Grizana,

the glove it saw

and get in it to the warm inside"

I will always connect this town with the lovely childhood story of Elin Pelin.

I return to Zlatitsa again.

This time I will visit the famous tower in the center.


The clock tower has become over the years the most popular place and even a symbol of the town of Zlatitsa.



How to get here?



It has been declared a cultural monument, and the bell of the clock measures the time unmistakably and accurately.


Once upon a time, in the 18th century, the village was the center of the whole district, and the presence of a clock tower was a sign of progress and importance.

The tower was built in the distant 1777.

At the time, it was also used as an observation and defense facility, which can be judged by the way it was built and the openings left in specific places on its walls.


The Czech historian Konstantin Irecek visited the city in 1883 during his tour of liberated Bulgaria. According to the information gathered by him, this is one of the oldest clock towers in our country and more or less appeared at the same time as other similar ones in the towns of Shumen, Svishtov and Berkovitsa.


According to the legend, the bell rang between the two mountain passes Galabets and Koznitsa at a time when there was no noise from car engines and passing trains.

The building itself has a quadrangular shape, the base is square.


It is 18 meters high, together with the pointed roof with metal fittings.

Stone and wood were mainly used for the construction.

The materials with which the tower was built are traditional, but it has lasted all these years because it was built by excellent craftsmen from Zlatitsa and the surrounding villages.


The first clockwork was dismantled after the Liberation and its fate is unknown.

The tower gradually fell into disrepair, but local resident Pencho Nedev managed to restore and strengthen the building with his own funds. He hires workers and orders a mechanism from abroad, driven by stones and ropes. The new mechanism was precisely calculated according to the dimensions of the old city tower.


Today, the interior of the tower is inaccessible to visitors. The space is narrow and an old wooden ladder leads to the top.


The city garden is located around the tower in Zlatitsa. The space is well maintained, landscaped and a favorite place for walks of locals. There is an outdoor café here, and the tall pine trees, which rival the height of the clock tower, create a feeling of freshness on hot summer days.


Nearby the town of Zlatista you will find the great ruins of Elenska Basilica you should definately visit!


I wish you an exceptional and impressive walk!


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