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Sliven is one of the leading towns in Bulgaria in historical, economic and cultural aspect.
The town below the famous Blue Stones Mountain has been among the leading towns for centuries, since 19th century when the national renaissance of the Bulgarian people in the boundaries of the Ottoman empire spread irresistibly. The site where the present town is situated, has been inhabited for thousands of years that have left their permanent material and spiritual trace.
The historical sources about the existence of the settlement are comparatively rich. The remains of a fortress above the town of today provoke one's imagination and testify with certainty that life had been in full swing there since the time of the Thracians, in the late antiquity and the Middle Ages. It is evident from an inscription on a stone that the name of the fortress was Tuida. In the historical literature the town is mentioned under the name of Istiliphounos (Al Idrisi – XII-th century), Islimie (Evliya Chelebi), etc. Other travellers of different epochs admire its beauty as well.
The setting up of the first textile factory in 1834 in the Ottoman empire by Dobri Zhelyazkov, an inhabitant of Sliven, puts the beginning of Bulgarian industry. This fact is very important for the later development and the modem aspect of the town. The industrial development, together with the other social and economic factors, has led to the increase of the population for the last 100 years by five times.
Today Sliven is the centre of a municipality. It has 106000 inhabitants and is the eighth biggest town in the country.
The intellectual interests in this Bulgarian town have always gone hand in hand with its enterprise in trade, the crafts and the overall industrial progress. A great number of writers were born in Sliven. Some of them are among the classics of Bulgarian literature.
The inhabitants of the town take pride not only in their rich cultural past. This tradition goes on nowadays as well. The town art gallery preserves one of the best collections outside the capital. There is a symphony orchestra, a chorus school, two big libraries and a number of smaller ones and some cultural clubs. The historical museum preserves and enriches the memory of the town in several sites of national and local importance.
The temperate climate of the region, the nearby mountain, the fertile valley of the Toundja river and the vast fields to the East are the other advantages, blessed by God, that have given rise to and kept throughout the centuries a constant centre of European culture and the Bulgarian national spirit in this town.
To the modern tourist, two more gifts of nature are quite attractive. These are the mineral water springs and the park "Blue Stones" . Both of them are of national importance.
In the SPA which are situated at about 12 km away from the central part of the town, there are sanatoriums, restaurants, holiday houses, a hotel and a regular transport.
The Blue Stones park spreads over about 7000 hectares and is the third biggest park in Bulgaria.
Prevailing part in the modern economy of the municipality is taken by the textile, food and wine industry.
Today, the Municipality of Sliven is a part of the Bulgarian South-Eastern Planning Region and is an active participant in a lot of European projects in the spheres of infrastructure, ecology, social activities, culture etc.
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