Vidin is one of the oldest towns along the Bulgarian Danube bank. It's history is rich. There are many monuments, architectural fragments, sculptures, pottery, works of bronzewhich even today show the prosperity of theancient Ratziaria (Archar) and Bononia(Vidin)during the Roman rule. Vidin has appeared as the Roman fortress of Bononia on thefoundations of a Thracian settlement. During the First Bulgarian Kingdom it is known as Budin(Bdin). It has been a bishop's centre.During the Second Bulgarian Kingdom it has been a strong fortress and after 1371 a capital of the Vidin Kingdom under Tsar Ivan Sratsimir. During the XIII - XIV centuries Bdin was not only a political but an important agricultural centre with highly developed handcrafts and arts, a large producer of grain, and also with well-developed literature. The region has beenan important trade, transport and war centre for more than two millenia. There are unique natural and historical sights, ecologically clean regions, mineral springs and opportunities for fishing in the Vidin District. The tourism is well developed. Up to now the following sites have been preserved: Baba Vida fortress, built in the 9th-10th centuries on the ruins of a Roman fortress (rebuilt many times, its present appearance dating back to the 18th C.),the Turkish konak (the second half of the 18th C.), the mosque and library of Osman Pazvantoglu, the cruciform barracks of 1798, old Renaissance buildings, and a synagogue.