The location of Kardzhali has been inhabited since the Neolithic. Many artifacts, comprising ceramics and primitive tools, have been found during the archaeological excavations. Most of them are now exhibited in the local historical museum.
Later Thracian tribes settled in the area and developed a highly advanced civilization. They built many sanctuaries dedicated to the gods of the sun and the earth. Near the village of Nenkovo (northwest of Kardzhali), an artificial cave was found in 2001. It has the form of a woman's womb. Exactly at noon, when the sun is highest in the sky, a ray of light comes in through a stone slit forming a falitic shade in the cave. According to the Thracian beliefs, this is the conception of the new sun god. This cave is considered a complex astronomic facility (compared to Stonehenge in Great Britain) as the ray of light enters the cave on a single day of the year.
There are many stone castles and palaces that the Thracians built in the region � Perperek, Ustra, Vishegrad. The most magnificent is Perperikon, where a Thracian king resided. The place is becoming more popular as archaeological works are in progress and new artifacts are being discovered.
During the Byzantine period, Kardzhali was the center of a Christian eparchy � Achridos. During the reign of the Bulgarian Empire, Kardzhali's name was Zherkovoand it was used by the Bulgarians until the 17th century. The Monastery of John the Precursor (Bulgarian: ???? ??????? or ???? ????????) was built in the 6th-8th century and is now a monument of medieval architecture.
Couple of other monasteries were build during this era, with some of them remaining until the early XIX century. The town was a strategic Bulgarian fortress during the middle ages and remains of its medieval fortress can still be found nowadays.
The town developed because of its position on the trade roads during the Ottoman rule. However, it remained a small town with almost no
