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Berkovitsa was first mentioned in a Turkish document of 1491, but the remains of fortresses and buildings on the hill Kaleto near the town prove that the settlement is much older.

It is no wonder that people from different parts of the country have settled here because they were attracted of the generous nature, the ancient forests and the mineral springs in Varshets, Spanchevtsi, Slatina, Burziya and in several more villages. This is the reason the patriarch of the Bulgarian literature Ivan Vazov, who lived several years in Berkovitsa, to praise the local scenery. Thanks to its rich natural resources, the city is an attractive place for tourism and in 1974 it was named as a resort of national importance.

To learn more, it is best to visit the Ethnographic museum, whose rich exposure will allow you to familiarize yourself with the customs and lifestyle of people from across northwestern Bulgaria. The house in which the ethnographic collection was arranged in 1992 (the largest in the territory of Montana) is an authentic building from the XIX century, known as Sarbinska house. It is an old one-storey National Revival house in the city center, with outdoor sofa. It was built in XIX century. The building is decorated with interesting motifs carved on the doors and the cupboards. The main structures and walls of the house are saved, also preserved is the authentic way of heating the rooms and the bathroom. The museum opened in 1971 and in 2011 celebrated its 40th anniversary.

The Thracian tribes of Mis and Triballi left many traces in this region. They built castles, engaged in agriculture, mined gold from rivers and processed iron. Later, at the beginning of the new era the Romans settled in the region. Conducted excavations of the Kaleto hill and of an ancient house built in the same period near the village Kalimanitsa, the Leskovo necropolis bring to light stone sculptures, jewelry, coins, tools and weapons, as well as remarkable ceramics from the Roman reign.

The fund of the museum consists of about 14 000 exhibits. In the Ethnographic Museum are kept thousands of unique writing and crafts. Visitors can see the rich color diversity in the manufacture of garments and carpets, and jewelry, objects of domestic life and some traditional customs of the region. Most exhibits are related to crafts, costumes and objects from everyday life - during the Ottoman rule was Berkovitsa developed as a crafts center, mainly in the manufacture of pottery.