Arch of Freedom Monument

Close to the Troyan Pass is the Arch of Freedom monument on Goraltepe Peak, located 15 minutes drive east of the highest point of the pass. It is reached by a narrow and paved road. The monument is on a platform from which you can see the valleys of Beli Osam and Troyan, as well as a view of the Sredna Gora, the Rhodope Mountains, Rila and the most famous peaks of the Balkan Mountains, including the highest - peak Botev. The monument is dedicated to the Russian liberators and Soviet army - to the Troyan detachment's crossing of the Balkan Mountains and the fighting in early 1878 during the Russo-Turkish Liberation War, as well as to the Red Army that entered Bulgaria in 1944. The monument is a massive concrete structure 35 m high. The arch depicts Bulgarian outlaws and partisans as well as Russian and Soviet soldiers in bas-reliefs.