The Berkovitsa have about 16 000 inhabitants, and is situated in the northern foot of Western Stara Planina. Berkovitsa is an old settlement and this is confirmed by the remains of a fortress and a church from 4th century on the Kaleto Hill, situated to the north west of the town, was mentioned in written form for the first time in a Turkish document dated back to 1491. During the Turkish rule it was developed as a crafts settlement - mainly in wood-processing and pottery. A great number of refugees from other parts of the country settled here. The territory of the Berkovitsa municipality is situated in the mountain and hilly part of Northwest Bulgaria. The soils are mostly grey and light grey, and along the valleys of the rivers Barzia and Zlatitsa - alluvial meadow soils. The soils in the mountain part are moderately sandy, clayed and have a compact clayed stratum.  

The largest part of the area is a hilly mountain terrain, very often cut through by ravines. The lowest point above sea level is in the village of Borovtsi - 250 metres, and the highest point is the Kom Peak - 2016 metres.

Landmarks:

Ivan Vazov House-Museum - 2, Ivan Vazov Street - Berkovistsa. He house is in the central part of the town, he lived in the period 1879-1880. The is precious architectural monument exterior and interior architecture with wood-carved ceilings and original fireplace, shelves, cupboards. There is a documentary exhibition showing the period of his work in Berkovitsa - the creation of the narrative poem "Gramada" ("Cairn"), the short novel "Mitrofan and Dormidolski", etc. Permanent ethnographic exhibition - organized also in an architectural monument of culture, in a close proximity to the Ivan Vazov House-Museum. The clock tower is remarkable for its solid construction and beautiful upper part in which the clock mechanism still works. It was constructed in 1762 and is one of the oldest towers in our country. The town picture gallery. The Krustev's House built in Revival style. The Holy Virgin Church (1843) has an original belfry, wood-carved iconostasis and the "Golden Gospel" - an exceptional work of art from 1892 is kept there. The St. Nikola Church (19th century).

Transport: Road and railway transport connect Berkovitsa with the rest of the world. There are regular bus routes to Sofia, Montana, Lom, Vurshets and many other smaller villages in the region of the bus station and the railway station that are in the eastern part of the town (the first is close to the centre). Berkovitsa is the last railway station of the local railway line Boichinovtsi-Montana-Berkovitsa. It is connected through the railway station Boichinovtsi with the settlements along the main railway line Sofia-Mezdra-Vratsa-Broussartsi-Vidin (Lom), as well as the whole republican railway system.