Dryanovo

The town of Dryanovo is amphiteatrically situated along the two banks of the Dryanovska River, a right tributary to the Yantra River. It lies 22 km. from the city of Gabrovo with its ethnographical sites, 24 km. from the Medieval capital of Bulgaria- Veliko Tarnovo , 17 km. from the town of Tryavna , famous for its architectural ensembles and 34 km. from the town of Sevlievo.

The settlement is mentioned as a fortress on the Strinava Plateau by Byzantine chroniclers in 1186 for the first time in relation to the Uprising led by the members of the Assen dynasty (1185-1187). It is mentioned under the name of Diranav (Diranava) in a Turkish register of 1430. In existence as early as in the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, it was subsequently destryed and re-built on two occasions. It was restored in its present location - in the Dryanovo River gorge, 4 km away from the town of Dryanovo - in 1845. During the 1876 April Uprising an armed detachment of 200 men who, purued by the enemy, found shelter behind the walls of Dryanovo Monastery. Throughout nine days, they engaged in fierce battle before being crushed: the insurgents and monks were killed, the monastery burned to the ground. Relics of the April epopee are preserved in the monastery museum today, along with some valuable icons.

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