Alternate names: Kasanlăk, Kazanlăk, Kazanlek, Kazanlik, Kazanlk, Kazanlŭk/Казанлъ̀к [Bulg], Σευθόπολις (Seuthopolis) in Greek and Thracian. 2011 population: 47,325
This center of rose oil extraction is known as The Town of Roses. Source [Sept 2014]
"In the small Balkan town of Kazanlak an ancient Jewish coin, reputed to be the only one in existence in the entire Balkan area, was recently discovered. The coin dates back to 138 B.C.E." Source [Sept 2014]
CEMETERY:
"There are no Jews in Kazanlak now, but a part of Kazanlak's Jewish cemetery survives, but most of it was demolished to make room for the Kazanlak bypass. About a dozen graves remain, most in an appalling condition. At the entrance of the now unfenced and unguarded cemetery stands a lonely Christian effigy of a weeping woman. The inscription on it has been obliterated by the elements, but according to local hearsay the woman buried here, had been excommunicated by the Orthodox Church. The reasons for this have been lost through the years, but the poor lady was banned from the Christian section of the cemetery and instead, her body was laid to rest with the Jews. Kazanlak's Jewish cemetery also used to be the last resting place of 22 Bulgarians sentenced to death by the Communist." Source [Sept 2014]
The Stadiona Quarter Jewish cemetery has about 500 visible limestone gravestones, mainly from the 19th century with Hebrew, Bulgarian, and Ladino inscriptions. The last known Jewish burial in the unlandmarked cemetery was 1960. Vegetation overgrowth is a year-round problem while water drainage is a seasonal problem. see photos from US Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad.