Koteł is a tourist town with preserved buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries. It played an important role in regaining independence by Bulgaria from the Turkish occupation as a center of national movement.
The village is located in a mountain valley, under the Razbojna peak, which is 1,128 meters above sea level. For this reason, it is a good starting point for mountain hiking. In the local Museum of Natural History you can learn about the nature of the surrounding mountains.
The beginnings of the village are related to the period of the Turkish occupation, when it was a place of refuge for refugees and partisans fighting the invaders. As early as in the 18th century, a strong insurgent center functioned here, and members of insurgent groups lived in the area.
In the past, the entire center of Koteło had wooden buildings. Unfortunately, only a few houses have survived due to fires. In the nineteenth century, they were supplemented with brick buildings, which today form the city's architectural reserve.
The most important attractions of Koteło are places associated with the birth of the Bulgarian national movement. There is the Rakovski Pantheon and the National Revival Museum, as well as the Stone Guard Monument and the Galatan School. One of the houses from the period of the National Revival, Korpeeva House, is also open to the public.
