LOVECH

town, north-central Bulgaria, on the Osum (Ossam) River. A rapidly developing industrial town, its manufactures include bicycles, motorcycles, automobiles, agricultural machinery, and leather goods. Once a prehistoric settlement, it was later a Roman town and then a large Turkish centre. In the twilight of the Turkish era in the 19th century, Lovech played a leading role in anti-Turkish sentiment. The national hero and revolutionary Vasil Levsky was hanged at nearby Kakrina; the Vasil Levsky house museum commemorates his life. Other historic attractions are a covered bridge that is a facsimile of an older wooden structure destroyed by fire, the Stratesh Hill, and the Devetashka Cave. The last, a prehistoric dwelling and now a park, contains a large cave with stalagmites, stalactites, an underground river, and a waterfall. Pop. (1992 est.) 51,945.