Montana is the centre of an administrative region situated in northwestern Bulgaria along the banks of the Ogosta river. It originated in Roman times as a fortress, became a town in 1891 and has been called Montana since 1991. The region includes the western plain of the River Danube. This, together with the numerous dams here, which include the Montana, Drenovets, Hristo Smirnenski, Kovachitsa and Shishmanov val offers a wide variety of water sports and fishing activities.
The natural reserves of Gornata Koriya and Ibisha, and the protected areas of Kopren, Ravno buche, Kalimanitsa and Deyanitsa are full of old beech forests, waterfalls and cascades, rocky outcrops and glades full of wood crane's bill.
The major towns are Montana (district centre), Lom (administrative centre and harbour on the River Danube), Kozlodui and Byala Slatina,
There is the Roman fortress of Kastra ad Montanesium just south of Montana with a history museum exhibiting collections of tools, armour, and jewellery dating back to Prehistoric, Roman and Thracian times. If you visit the villages of Belotnitsa, Ohrid, Yakimovo and Mokresh you will see the remains of prehistoric settlements.
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