abstract:Shipka (, "Rosa canina") is a town in central Bulgaria, part of Kazanlak municipality, Stara Zagora Province. It lies in the Central Balkan Mountains, at , 650 metres above sea level.
Some 57km over the mountains from Shipka lies yet another historic settlement - Veliko Tarnovo, the "City of the Tsars" - famous for being the medieval seat of Bulgarian power.