The small town of KOPRIVSHTITSA (pronounced "Kop riv shtitsa"), in the upper reaches of the Topolnitsa valley, is a lovely ensemble of half-timbered houses nestling amid wooded hills which, thanks to its elevated position 1060m above sea level, escapes the soaring summer heat experienced by much of lowland Bulgaria. It would be an oasis of pastoral calm were it not for the annual descent of summer visitors, drawn by the superb vernacular architecture and the desire to pay homage to a landmark in the nation's history. From the Place of the Scimitar Charge to the Street of the Counter Attack, there's hardly a part of town that isn't named after an episode or participant in the April Rising of 1876 , when Bulgaria's yearnings for freedom from the Ottoman yoke finally boiled over. It was Koprivshtitsa's role as a centre of commerce that provided the material basis for such an upsurge in national consciousness. Sheep and goat farming formed the backbone of the village's wealth, and the resulting wool and dairy products (including carpets, socks and cheese) were traded throughout the Levant. By the time of the Rising, Koprivshtitsa had a population of 12,000. After the Liberation, however, commercial life began to shift to the lowland towns, and places like Koprivshtitsa stagnated - leaving it as a kind of fossil. These days, its much reduced population of around 2600 relies heavily on tourism, yet, despite its museum-town status, it also remains a working agricultural community, with horsepower still a vital and visible part of everyday life. Horse-drawn carts loaded with hay, farm workers or shop goods trundle along the cobbled lanes, and if you're in town on a Friday morning, you can take a wander round the market on the main square, where horseshoes, harnesses, farm tools and other rustic necessities are put out for sale.

Koprivshtitsa also occupies an important place in the Bulgarian folk music calendar. The Koprivshtitsa national music festival , a huge gathering of musicians from all over the country, takes place on a hill outside the town every five years (the next one is due in August 2005). A smaller regional festival involving local folk groups is held annually (except when the big event takes place), usually on the weekend nearest to the Feast of the Assumption ( Sveta Bogoroditsa ), on August 15. Other traditional celebrations to look out for are Iordanovden (6 January), when the priest throws a wooden cross in the river and local lads dive in to retrieve it, and the feast of Todorovden (St Theodore's day, the first Saturday of Lent), which is celebrated with horse races on the meadow at the northern end of the village.