Seven kilometers east of Gotse Delchev at the entrance of the village of Garmen, in an area of 14 square kilometers, are the ruins of the Roman town Nicopolis ad Nestrum – more than 16 centuries old.
This is the only place of its kind in the Rhodope Mountains, but also one of the few partially preserved Roman towns in Bulgaria. The town’s name means “City of Victory”, and it sits on the river Mesta. It was founded in the year 106, on the foundations of Alexandopolis, during the rain of Emperor Trayan in honor of his victory of the Dacians. Avars and Slavs ravaged the city in the 6th century, which ceased its development. It was reborn from the ashes in the 9th and 10th centuries under the name Nikopol and stood until the 13th century when it was destroyed, this time by the Crusaders. The population gradually moved west, to create the town of Nevrokop – now known as Gotse Delchev.
Fortress/ruins
Bulgaria
Macedonia
Romania
Garmen