Shishmanovo Kale

Shishmanovo Kale is an ancient and medieval town destroyed by the Turks at the end of the 14th century, an episcopal centre, also called "the old Samokov", located 3 km south of today's town, at the foot of the Dospey Mountain - Lakatniska Rila at Shishmanova Gorge, about 300 m east of the road to Beli Iskar and Mala Tsarkva on Shishmanov Peak - a hill above the village of Dospey. An ancient Thracian settlement occupies the strategic height with a view over the entire Samokov field and the roads through the mountain and was inhabited by Romanized Thracians and a number of Goths, and in late antiquity there was a Roman garrison. The path to the Fortress is not maintained.