The Clock tower of Botevgrad (Bulgarian: Часовниковата кула в Ботевград) is the symbol of the town and a part of 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria. Its clock mechanism still rings every hour with a respective number of bell rings based on the current hour. It was constructed in 1866.

The clock tower is one of the few architectural monuments in the municipality of Botevgrad that date from the Bulgarian National Revival. It is located in the very center of the town.

Architecture

The tower consists of three proportional sections with the total height of 30 m, which makes it the tallest clock tower in Bulgaria. Distinctive features are its baroque elements and frescoes decorating the corrugated cornices. It contains similar architectural elements to those of the Plovdiv and Koprivshtitsa houses of the National Revival period, and a pointed cube reminiscent of the forms of Islamic architecture. It is decorated with blue frescoes. The building materials included stones from a quarry near the village of Bozhenitsa and timber from the Vrachesh area.

The lower section of the tower is square, reaching a height of 11 m. It has stone masonry with a door, which leads inside for servicing and winding the clock mechanism. The middle section is narrowed and its edges are outlined by half-columns, ending with cornices, and the walls are slightly wave-shaped, which adds elegance to the building. The upper section rises over the cornice and the cornice narrows even further. It has a hexagonal shape and houses the clock and the bell. In 1870 a weather-cock was placed on its very top. From the entrance of the tower to its last section, there are spiral-shaped wooden stairs, which lead to the clock mechanism.

Clock mechanism

The original clock mechanism is made by Gencho Nakov “Kantardjiata” and is exhibited in the Botevgrad History Museum. The new one is made by masters of the Etar Architectural-Ethnographic Complex and still counts the hours by bell rings with bell ringing audible within a radius of 3 km.