Vratsa is an ancient city found by ancient
Thracians. Vratsa was called ("door of a fortress") by the
Romans due to a narrow passage where the main gate of the city fortress was located. Nowadays, this passage is the symbol of Vratsa, and is shown on the town's Coat of arms. After the
fall of Rome, Vratsa became part of the
Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium). At the end of the 6th century AD, Vratsa was populated by the
South Slavic tribes. Even if they came from
Pannonia and
Dacia on the north, the town remained under Byzantine rule. In the 7th century, the
Bulgars and the Slavs found the
First Bulgarian Empire and the Slavic Vratsa became part of it. The city grew into important strategic location because of its proximity to the South State border. Vratsa became famous for its goldsmiths and silversmiths production and trade, high-quality earthenware and military significance. In the 8th century, the Bulgarian army captured
Sofia, which led to the decreasing of Vratsa's importance because of the better strategic position of Sofia, its more developed economy and larger size. But Vratsa was again key for the resistance against the Byzantine,
Serbian and
Magyar invasions in the
Middle Ages. On 1 May 1966 in the village of
Sgorigrad, a Mir-Plakanista mine tailings dam collapsed, causing a flood of mud and debris that killed 488 people. It remains one of the biggest disasters in Vratsa since the 30 September 1923 fire and the Anglo-American bombing of 23 January 1944. ==Tourism==