Brashlen

Brashlen is a village in northern Bulgaria, Slivo pole Municipality, Ruse District. It is located 37 km east of Ruse, 14 km in the same direction of Slivo pole, 82 km west of Silistra and 341 km northeast of Sofia.

The village was founded by settlers from the Elena Balkan by about 200 years ago.

After 1944 an irrigation system was built. Part of the drainage canals date back to Roman times and are used ever since.

Cultural and natural attractions:

Orthodox Church "St. Nicholas".

Ruins of “Zemlen val” (about 1 m high and wide in places up to 3 m) located 2 km northeast from the village in the "Chiflikchiyskata forest" ("Ivy Forest" by K. Shkorpil), known to locals as the "Cantona". It comes from the First Bulgarian Empire.

In 2005 the territory of the village enters into the so-called "wetlands" project. The aim is to flood again the fields drained years ago near the Danube and thus become a habitat for many birds. Wetland covers the Kalimok-Brashlen Swamp. The protected site Kalimok-Brashlen is one of those unique places in Bulgaria. It is located in the Tutrakan valley and includes Bulgarian Danube Islands: Mishka (en. Mouse), Small Brashlen, Large Brashlen, Piasachnik (en. Sandstone), Bezimenen, Kalimok, Radetzky and Tutrakan. This area of ​​about 6,000 ha was proclaimed as protected in 2001. It includes lands of the villages in Slivo pole and Tutrakan Municipalities.

Festivals:

For Easter is held a sacred liturgy. A traditional dance is organized in the village centre.

The St. Trifon's Day, the Day of wine grower, is celebrated on 14 February.

There are potentials for development of organic farming and ecotourism.

Source:  http://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%91%D1%80%D1%8A%D1%88%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD