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Belene Location
The town Belene is situated on the Danube, 64 km north-east of the provincial center, Pleven. Travel distance by car to Belene from: Sofia – 220 km, Plovdiv – 350 km, Varna – 275 km, Burgas – 325 km, Ruse – 109 km. You can find places to eat and stay in Belene here
Our suggestions for places to visit in Belene
This is our selection of the 11 most important and attractive sites in Belene and the nearby islands. These are indicated by the white dots on the map below. You can visit them virtually, by clicking on the dots in the interactive map, or visit them in person. Eight of the sites are connected to the history of the Belene camp, and three are local landmarks. When selecting each of the white dots, you will get detailed and visually appealing information about each site. The numbering of the sites is thematic. They can be viewed virtually or visited in person in a different order.
You can organize your visit yourselves.
Our recommendation for visiting the island is to ask for assistance from a local guide. There is a working prison located on Persin Island and in order to visit it, you need to seek permission from the Ministry of Justice. The guide will organize the necessary permissions on your behalf. They will also organize a boat trip to other places on the nearby islands. To request a tour with a guide you need to book a tour.
Our tours
For your convenience, together with the local guides we have developed three tours and combinations between them that include almost all the featured sites. You can make your selection based on your interests and the time you will have available. You will pay the fee for your visit directly to your guide. The Sofia Platform Foundation will not receive any funds from your visit to Belene.
Short Tour
The short tour will take you to the main sites related to the history of the Belene labor camp (Camp sites 1, 2 and 3). The tour will also introduce you to part of the Persina Nature Park and its incredible biodiversity as well as The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic church, which was built in 1860. The tour will take about 2 – 2.5 hours. It starts from the Catholic church, where there is parking available and a drinking water fountain. To see the full itinerary, please click on the Short tour button below. If you want to find out more information about the sites featured in this tour, please click on the white dots on the interactive map.
Price: BGN 35 per person (free for children under 10)
Long Tour
The long tour builds on the short tour and includes two additional stops – the Dimum ancient Roman customs house and the so-called Hooligan Barracks from the Belene camp system. Тhe tour will take 3 to 4 hours. It starts from the Catholic church, where there is parking available and a drinking water fountain. To see the full itinerary, please click on the Long tour button below. If you want to find out more information about the sites featured in this tour, please click on the white dots on the interactive map.
Price: BGN 40 per person (free for children under the age of 10)
Boat tour
This tour will allow you to experience some of the Danube islands around Belene by boat. The tour includes the islands of Magarets and Persin which are part of the Persina Nature Park and the former labor camp. The tour will take 1 to 2 hours. It starts from the beach in front of the Prestige Hotel. Please note that visitors below the age of 18 need to be accompanied by a parent, guardian or a teacher. To see the full itinerary, please click on the Boat tour button below. If you want to find out more information about the sites featured in this tour, please click on the white dots on the interactive map.
Price: BGN 130 per boat (one boat accommodates up to 3 persons, in addition to the captain)
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Coming soon
Coming in June – your opportunity to visit Belene and the site of the camp by selecting your tour guide and booking a date for your visit in advance.
Tsvetana Dzhermanova
4 years and 4 months in labor camps
Offense: anarchist
Tsvetana Dzhermanova (1928-2024) was born on March 20, 1928. Tsvetana attended the primary school in the village of Leskovets and completed her middle school studies in the village of Batanovtsi.
She became interested in the ideas of anarchism in 1946. At the age of twenty, Tsvetana was arrested on December 16, 1948 in a drive against anarchists in Bulgaria. She was sent to the forced labor camp in the village of Bosna, near Silistra, in January 1949 where she remained until the late fall of 1952. In December 1952 she was transferred to the women’s section of the Belene camp (Shturcheto camp), where she remained until April 30, 1952. Tsvetana, along with many other internees, was released from the camp after the death of Stalin. According to the State Security archives Tsvetana signed a declaration for cooperation while in the Belene camp, however, there is no documental evidence that she ever provided any information.
After her release from the camps, Tsvetana was forcibly resettled a number of times and was engaged for a long time in low-skilled jobs.
Tsvetana Dzhermanova passed away on February 19, 2024 at the age of 94.
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The testimonies published here present survivors’ personal memories and accounts and reflect their individual experiences. They do not substitute professional historical research and may contain inaccuracies.
Nikola Daskalov
9 months under arrest and in a camp
Offense: son of a provincial governor in the Kingdom of Bulgaria
Nikola Daskalov (1934-2025) was born on September 8, 1934. His father, Dimitar Daskalov, was a provincial governor of Plovdiv and Xanthi in the Kingdom of Bulgaria. He was tried by the People’s Court following the events of September 9, 1944, and his death sentence was executed in February 1945. Nikola and his mother were forcibly resettled from Sofia to Gorna Brestnitsa, near Lovech.
Nikola came from an “enemy” family and in 1953 he was arrested following staged accusations. After nearly four months under investigation, he was sent to Belene for three years of “re-education”, of which he spent just over five months in the camp.
Nikola was recruited by State Security at the age of 18 while he was interned in Belene. In a series of interviews as well as in his testimony here he openly talks about State Security’s repression and the trauma of those who were recruited.
After his release from the camp, Nikola had different low-skilled jobs; he later became a photographer and worked for different state institutes. After the fall of the communist regime, he was active in public and political life and held different roles, including deputy minister.
Nikola Daskalov passed away on January 15, 2025 at the age of 90.
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The testimonies published here present survivors’ personal memories and accounts and reflect their individual experiences. They do not substitute professional historical research and may contain inaccuracies.
Kolyo Vutev
42 days in the Sunny Beach camp near Lovech
Offense: "hooligan", son of a member of the opposition
Kolyo Vutev (1940-2022) was a wrestler and a wrestling coach, born on September 10, 1940, in the village of Toros, near Lukovit.
He was interned, without trial or sentence, in 1959 when he was only 18 years old, in the labor camp near Lovech, which was also known as Sunny Beach. The reason for his internment was his unruly nature for which he was considered a hooligan. It is likely that contributing factors for his internment were that his father opposed the expropriation of the villagers' property and the formation of the cooperative labor agricultural farms, while his grandfather had been a mayor of the village.
In his testimonies Kolyo indicated that he spent forty-two days at the Sunny Beach camp in the period June – July 1959. In fact, the period of his internment should be after September 1959, when the camp was created. During his time at the camp, Kolyo witnessed brutal and sadistic murders of fellow internees. He was taken out to replace another wrestler in a competition and was fortunate not to return.
Kolyo Vutev passed away in 2022 at the age of 82.
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The testimonies published here present survivors’ personal memories and accounts and reflect their individual experiences. They do not substitute professional historical research and may contain inaccuracies.
Todor Anastasov
9 months under arrest and in a camp
Offense: an attempt to escape from Bulgaria
Todor Anastasov (1932-2023) was born on September 23, 1932 in Pleven in the family of an officer in the Bulgarian King's army. After 1944, his family was forcibly resettled to Botevgrad.
In November 1951, Todor made an unsuccessful attempt to escape from Bulgaria, which became the reason for his arrest. After fifty-one days of investigation, he was sent to the Belene camp for two years, without a sentence.
Of the two years, Todor spent seven months in the camp – from December 29, 1952 to August 5, 1953 – when he was released early. After his release from Belene, he was able to enroll in university and complete a degree in physics. He worked as a teacher in Pernik, then at a research laboratory, and in 1963 he became a research associate at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
After the fall of the communist regime, Todor Anastasov was chairman of the Union of the Repressed by Communism in Bulgaria.
Todor passed away on December 29, 2023 at the age of 91
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The testimonies published here present survivors’ personal memories and accounts and reflect their individual experiences. They do not substitute professional historical research and may contain inaccuracies.
Velichko Velev
2.5 years under arrest and in a camp
Offense: participant in the anti-communist resistance
Velichko Velev was born on March 18, 1933 in Boyana, Sofia. His father’s restaurant was expropriated at the onset of communism, along with all the family’s property and assets. His father narrowly escaped execution, and the family lived in a tent in their own yard.
As a student, Velichko actively supported the Goryani movement, an armed resistance movement against the communist regime, and organized armed student resistance groups.
Velichko was arrested on April 27, 1951 in Sofia. He spent six months under investigation, during which he was subjected to systemic beatings, starvation and torture. While in poor physical condition, Velichko was sent to the Belene camp without a term of internment or a sentence. He remained there until September 1953.
After his time in the camp, Velichko was arrested three more times on fabricated charges. He was persecuted by State Security throughout his life and never regained his family’s expropriated properties.
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The testimonies published here present survivors’ personal memories and accounts and reflect their individual experiences. They do not substitute professional historical research and may contain inaccuracies.
Tsvetko Georgiev
3 years under arrest, in a camp and prisons Offense: Agrarian, member of the opposition
Tsvetko Georgiev was born on February 26, 1935, in the village of Potop, near Elin Pelin. His father was killed in an exchange of fire with communists in Macedonia, and the family was declared to be kulaks.
Tsvetko joined an opposition organization, for which he was arrested and tried for armed struggle against the "power of the people". The prosecution demanded the death sentence, but at the end of the trial Tsvetko was given twelve years in prison.
Interned in Belene in October 1953, Tsvetko remained there until May 1955 when he was transferred to the prison-hospital in Kyustendil because he had contracted tuberculosis. He was then moved to the prison in Pazardzhik, from where he was released on August 27, 1956. Following his release, Tsvetko had to perform hard manual labor and worked in mines and metal furnace facilities in Kardzhali, Pernik, Gorna Oryahovitsa.
After 1989, he was an activist in the reinstated Bulgarian Agrarian National Union - Nikola Petkov, and was an advisor to its leader. Tsvetko was deputy-chairperson of the Union of the Repressed by Communism.
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The testimonies published here present survivors’ personal memories and accounts and reflect their individual experiences. They do not substitute professional historical research and may contain inaccuracies.
Zheko Stoyanov
3 years and 1 month under arrest and in and political prison
Offense: participant in the anti-communist resistance
Zheko Stoyanov is a political prisoner, a member of the opposition, and a politician. He was born on May 4, 1939, in the village of Lyulin near Yambol. Accordin to the State Security archives he was recruited at the age of sixteen through extortion - he was promised that in exchange, his father would be released from prison. Five years later he was removed from the files because he didn’t provide information.
In 1961, Zheko was sentenced to death for resistance to the communist authorities. Subsequently, his sentence was changed to lengthy imprisonment.
In 1964, Zheko Stoyanov received an amnesty and was released from the Stara Zagora prison. In order to earn his living, he did hard manual labor, working as a porter, a painter on construction sites, and a miner. For twenty-two years he worked in underground mines.
After the democratic transition of 1989, Zheko Stoyanov entered politics and in 1997 he was elected a member of parliament for the United Democratic Forces. At the age of sixty, he completed a degree in economics.
In 1961, Zheko was sentenced to death for resistance to the communist authorities. Subsequently, his sentence was changed to lengthy imprisonment.
In 1964, Zheko Stoyanov received an amnesty and was released from the Stara Zagora prison. In order to earn his living, he did hard manual labor, working as a porter, a painter on construction sites, and a miner. For twenty-two years he worked in underground mines.
After the democratic transition of 1989, Zheko Stoyanov entered politics and in 1997 he was elected a member of parliament for the United Democratic Forces. At the age of sixty, he completed a degree in economics.
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The testimonies published here present survivors’ personal memories and accounts and reflect their individual experiences. They do not substitute professional historical research and may contain inaccuracies.
Alfred Foscolo
2 years and 8 months under arrest and in political prison
Offense: dissemination of anti-communist leaflets
Alfred Foscolo was born on April 24, 1942, in Sofia to a Bulgarian mother and a French father. In 1949, after the establishment of the totalitarian regime in Bulgaria, the Foscolo family was forced to leave the country and settled in Paris.
After 1958, Alfred was granted the right to travel to Bulgaria, where he spent his summer holidays. There he got to know the new reality of the country and met other like-minded individuals who were dissatisfied with the regime and with whom, in 1968, he distributed printed leaflets against the Communist Party.
Arrested on August 28, 1968, for the distribution of these leaflets, Alfred was sentenced as a spy to fifteen years in prison, of which he served three in the Stara Zagora prison. Following diplomatic pressure, he was released on April 30, 1971, and left Bulgaria. He later returned to illegally take his beloved out of the country, succeeding through a complex and risky plan.
After settling in France, Alfred actively collaborated with groups fighting for human rights in Bulgaria and helped illegally take other political prisoners out of the country. He currently lives in Sofia.
After 1958, Alfred was granted the right to travel to Bulgaria, where he spent his summer holidays. There he got to know the new reality of the country and met other like-minded individuals who were dissatisfied with the regime and with whom, in 1968, he distributed printed leaflets against the Communist Party.
Arrested on August 28, 1968, for the distribution of these leaflets, Alfred was sentenced as a spy to fifteen years in prison, of which he served three in the Stara Zagora prison. Following diplomatic pressure, he was released on April 30, 1971, and left Bulgaria. He later returned to illegally take his beloved out of the country, succeeding through a complex and risky plan.
After settling in France, Alfred actively collaborated with groups fighting for human rights in Bulgaria and helped illegally take other political prisoners out of the country. He currently lives in Sofia.
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The testimonies published here present survivors’ personal memories and accounts and reflect their individual experiences. They do not substitute professional historical research and may contain inaccuracies.
Mehmed Turker
Four years in camps and in forced resettlement
Offence: disagreement with the change of Turkish names to Bulgarian
Mehmed Türker is a Bulgarian citizen of Turkish origin. He was born on May 20, 1950, in the village of Sindeltsi, near Kardzhali. He completed his secondary education in Krumovgrad and obtained а degree in Turkish Philology from Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski. He then worked as a teacher in his home region, where he befriended the author and activist Ömer Osman Erendoruk. This friendship led to Mehmed’s arrest and investigation.
Mehmed was arrested on January 3, 1985, and interned in the Belene camp. After his release from Belene, he was moved to the camp near Bobov dol and later forcibly resettled to a village near Kyustendil. In 1989 he was expelled to Turkey where he became a journalist, worked for the Türkiye newspaper and wrote his memoirs. As a reporter, he covered the events around the so-called Big Excursion and the forced deportation of Bulgarian Turks to Turkey in 1989.
Mehmed Turker is well known for his civic and public contributions. He is the author of several books, numerous articles and a documentary film that depict the experiences of the Turkish minority in Bulgaria in the second half of the 20th century.
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The testimonies published here present survivors’ personal memories and accounts and reflect their individual experiences. They do not substitute professional historical research and may contain inaccuracies.
Start here: The Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary catholic church/Shrine of Eugene Bosilkov
Belene is home to one of the largest catholic communities in Bulgaria. The church is the oldest building in Belene – it was built in 1860. It also serves as a shrine to Monseigneur Eugene Bosilkov, who was killed by the communist authorities in 1952, along with Father Pavel Dzhidzhov, Father Kamen Vichev and Father Josaphat Shishkov.
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Site 1 of Belene Camp
Two main camp sites existed during all periods of the existence of the camp (1949-1987) – Site 1 and Site 2. Site 1 is the closest to the bridge between the town of Belene and Persin island. It was used to house the people interned in the camp. Its construction began in July 1949 and initially it consisted of barracks and dug-outs for about 300 people. By 1952, approximately 2,000 people were housed there.
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Site 3 of Belene Camp – Dairy Farm
The internees were forced to perform hard manual labor on a daily basis.
This is the location of what was known as Site 3, where a number of ox and cow sheds were built in early 1952. Pigs, sheep and chickens were kept elsewhere around the camp. Livestock farming was considered light work, with a few internees on a lighter regime engaged in it. The majority of internees were engaged in logging, dike construction, and performed other hard manual labor. Because of the scarcity and poor quality of tools, this labor was primitive. Food was insufficient, the working day lasted up to 15-16 hours, and the daily work quota was highly inflated. All this quickly led to the complete exhaustion of the internee.
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Site 2 of Belene Camp - best preserved part (3D)
Site 2, along with Site 1, is one of two sites within the Belene camp that existed throughout all periods of the functioning of the camp. It is situated 12 km away from the town and is surrounded by marshes. In the peak periods of the camp, it housed several thousand internees at a time. Site 2 is where “the sworn enemies” of the communist regime were concentrated – former ministers, army generals, members of the opposition parties, doctors and aristocrats. Together with them were thousands of Bulgarian landowners who refused to take part collectivization.
*Nowadays, Site 2 has the remains of buildings from a later phase of the camp. In the video, you will see these remains as well as a virtual reconstruction of the original buildings from the late 1940s and 1950s.
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*Nowadays, Site 2 has the remains of buildings from a later phase of the camp. In the video, you will see these remains as well as a virtual reconstruction of the original buildings from the late 1940s and 1950s.
Hooligan Barracks (3D)
The Hooligan Barracks were cattle sheds located close to Site 2. It was there that 1,700 “hooligans” were sent at the beginning of 1958, following a large-scale action designed to demonstrate the strength of the regime over both its internal enemies and its functionaries. The totalitarian regime defined as hooligans those young people who liked Western music, clothes and way of life. Among the internees at the so-called Hooligan Site were many boys and girls under the age of 18.
*In the video, you will see the current state of the Hooligan Barracks along with a virtual reconstruction of the original appearance of the buildings in the 1950s.
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*In the video, you will see the current state of the Hooligan Barracks along with a virtual reconstruction of the original appearance of the buildings in the 1950s.
Predela Island – Cemetery
In 1951, about 2 years after the establishment of the Belene camp, the communist authorities prohibited the transfer of the bodies of the deceased internees to their relatives. Until the end of 1953 deceased internees were buried on Magaretsa island. Predela island was designated as the site of the secret prison cemetery in 1954. The bodies of murdered and deceased internees from the Lovech camp were also buried there. The camp slang, with tragic irony, began to call Predela island “Site Six”.
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Persina Nature Park
The story of Belene doesn’t begin and end with the labor camp. The Persina Nature Park is located here, and it is the home of hundreds of birds, among which we find the Dalmatian pelican. Against the backdrop of the setting sun and the pink Danube, the nature park offers a magical view.
The nature park was established as a protected zone in 2000 and includes the Persin Island, all other Bulgarian islands in this part of the Danube, as well as parts of the Svishtov-Belene valley. The park covers 217 km² and is of great importance for protecting the biodiversity along the Danube.
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Roman customs house Dimum
Belene has a centuries-long history. The ancient settlement was likely established around the end of 1st century BC – the beginning of the 1st century AD. From that time there are also records of the existence of a Roman customs house, Dimum. The name probably comes from the Thracian tribe "dimenzi" who inhabited the region.
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Shturetsa Island (Site 4) Women's Camp
Between 1951 and 1953, women without trial and sentence and without having committed crimes were forcibly sent to the island. This is the so-called Site 4 of the Belene camp. After this period, women were sent to the Persin island, along with the men.
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Magaretsa Island – Cemetery
In 1951, about two years after the establishment of the Belene camp, the communist authorities prohibited the transfer of the bodies of the dead to their relatives. Until the end of 1953, deceased internees were buried on Magaretsa Island and then on Predela Island.
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