The picturesque town of Tryavna is cuddled in the northern folds of the Central
Balkan Range, along the Tryavna river.
Traces of the Thracian and Roman ages can be found in the historical
and cultural layers on which the town sprang up. A number of villages and hamlets, inhabited
by Bulgarians predominantly, lie about the focal settlement. Major roads
cut through the Tryavna pass connect Misia to Thrace. A historical record testifies to the
"passage" character of the young settlement.
The earliest document to certify the existence of Tryavna dates back to
1565. At the time of the Ottoman Empire, owing to the "harbalii" or pass
guards, regularly provided by the local population, the settlement
enjoyed certain privileges. According to priest Yovcho, a local chronicler,
Tryavna used to be "a free and quiet place, exempt from taxes ... and no
other clan ever practiced in this village."