Shipka Freedom Monument

Monuments / Shipka Pass, 1,326 m

890 steps up to a 31 m tower on the peak where Bulgarian volunteers and Russian troops held the pass in August 1877.

The Shipka national park-museum keeps the positions of the 1877 battle. The stone tower (1934) has a four-floor museum and a viewing platform over the Balkan range and the valley. Thousands gather here each year around 26 August and on 3 March. Bring a jacket even in summer; the peak is 10 degrees cooler.

Good to know:

22 km from Kazanlak on road 5 through Shipka to the pass; car park at the top. No regular bus to the peak; Gabrovo buses cross the pass, ask at the bus station.

Closed · Opens at 09:00

distance

1–1.5 hours including the climb

duration

#14 / 24

sights

Address: Shipka Pass, 1,326 m
Opening hours: May–September 09:00–18:00 (tickets until 17:30); October–April 09:00–17:00
Tickets: Adults about €3; the pass car park is paid in season.
Phone: +359 431 62495
Website: shipkamuseum.org

Hours and prices come from public sources as of September 2026. Check before you go.

Photo: Vislupus, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons