The distance from Bratan to the town of Kotel is 14km; to the city of Sliven – 33km; to the town of Bourgas - 108km; and 250km to the capital Sofia.

Kotel Municipality is located in South-East Bulgaria in the District of the city of Sliven. The municiplity consists of one town – Kotel – and 25 villages. Some of them are: the village of Borintsi, Filaretovo, Gradets, Jeravna, Katounishte, Medven, Neykovo, etc. You can find detailed information for most of these places in the areas descriptions on our site, too.

Kotel Municipality has well developed communications and there are many asphalt roads reaching all population centers.

The Kotel Pass is an important transport corridor connecting northern and southern Bulgaria. Road II-48 Omourtag – Kotel – Gradets reaches the Petolachkata transport junction from where there are road connections to Bourgas, Sliven, Stara Zagora, Sofia (the Trakia highway, which is under construction), Straldzha railway station, and the town of Yambol.

Kotel is a municipality rich in cultural and historical sights. Five architectural reserves are located on its territory, namely: Galata suburb in Kotel town, Zheravna village, Medven village,Gradets village,Katounishte villageThere are 780 declared monuments of culture.

The area of Kotel Municipality is environmentally clean because there are no large industrial companies to pollute this place.

The natural sights and protected areas and reserves offer an opportunity for development of eco tourism. These areas include: The Orlitsa reserve, the protected areas Orlovi Skali, Demir Kapia, Korenik, Vida peak, the caves Lednika, Prikazna, Maarata, Karvava Lokva, Tsarevets, the rock formation Ouroushki Skali, and The Izvorite forest park.

Historical Monuments and Cultural events, taking place in the District of Sliven:

• The most popular symbols of Sliven: the Blue Rocks, the Karandila locality, the Old Elm Tree, the monument of Hadji Dimitar, the monument of the Seventh Cavalry Regiment - Orleto /the Little Eagle/, the town's clock tower, and the Factory of Dobri Zhelyazkov. There are three state institutions - a theater, a puppet theater, and a national museum of the textile industry. The Museum of History has over 80,000 exhibits. 

• The Art Gallery – has one of the richest collections in the country, consisting of over 6,000 paintings and three permanent exhibitions.

• The District Library - keeps over 250,000 books on a wide variety of topics.

• Some of the most attractive and most frequently visited places of interest include the Museum of the Textile Industry, the Museum of Sliven Ethnography, Hadji Dimitar's House, the Art Gallery, St. Sofia Church, and St. Dimitar Church. 

• Festivals held in Sliven - the International Children's Folk Dance festival, the National Festival of Children's Books, and folklore festivals.

Additionally, The first International Mountaineering Film Festival was held in Sliven in 2003.

 

In order to see the exact location of the village of Bratan on the map and to obtain more info for the area, please click on the link below: