Yablanitsa (Bulgarian: Ябланица; also Jablanica, Iablanica, Yablanica, Jablanitsa, Iablanitsa, Jablanitza, Yablanitza, Iablanitza, pronounced[ˈjabwɐnit͡sɐ]) is a small town in the westernmost part of Lovech Province, central-north Bulgaria, located in the area of the Pre-Balkan, north of the Stara Planina mountain. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Yablanitsa Municipality. The town is situated 70 kilometres from the capital Sofia, near the Hemus motorway linking Sofia and Varna. It was proclaimed a town in 1968. As of December 2011, Yablanitsa had a population of 2,854.[1]
There are several neighborhoods in Yablanitsa — the bigger ones are the former villages of Shumnene and Devette dola (literally The nine valleys), and there are also smaller and more distant ones like Prelog, Nanovitsa, Lipovo, Gerana, etc. Shumnene is located in the area called Dragoitsa, below the popular rock formation Venetsa (The wreath). The area offers a view to the rock and a panorama of the Balkan mountains.
