Gara Lakatnik vill

Remains of the Paleolithic period have been found in the caves in the area. Later, the Thracians lived here. After the construction of the Sofia-Mezdra railway line in 1894-1897, life in the area changed rapidly. Conditions were created around the stop in the Milkova Livada area for a new settlement to arise on the banks of the Iskar River. Lakatnik station was officially separated as a separate settlement - a station in 1965. In 1995, its status was changed to "village". Until 1951, the village was a municipal center, and then it entered the newly formed Svoge municipality.

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  After the opening of the railway line, there was not even a station opposite the Lakatnik Rocks. The trains stopped at the crossing, and initially the canton in Milkova Livada served as a stop. The stop was called "Milkova Livada", and only later it became the Lakatnik station. In the first years, only two trains passed through per day - from Sofia and to Sofia. Because of the railway line at the beginning of the 20th century, the Italian company, which took the Plakalnitsa mine in the Vrachan Balkan on a concession, wanted to build a factory near Iskar, where it could smelt the ore. The owner of the property asked for a lot of money for the place, the company refused and the factory was built near the village of Eliseyna. For a short time, from 1985 to 1989, a uranium mining mine operated nearby in the village of Gubislav. (a total of 24 tons were mined). In the 1920s and 1930s, Lakatnik station became a popular vacation destination for Sofia residents, due to the convenient train transportation. Bulgarian mountaineering was born on the rocks opposite the station, and cave exploration began with the Temnata Dupka cave. The railway schedule included pleasure trains on weekends and holidays, one of which reached Mezdra. In addition to nature outings, Sofia residents also came to the beach on the banks of the Iskar River. It is known that Tsar Boris III was a great admirer of Bulgarian nature and often traveled around Bulgaria without worry or fear, even by train. He came to Lakatnik twice. His second visit was on August 1, 1943, to the Zhitolyub spring. It is believed that this was his last outing in nature before he died after a short illness on the 28th of the same month.
  At the beginning of the 20th century, one of the local population's hobbies was lime production. There were several kilns. Lime was obtained by firing limestone stones for seven days in the kiln, then cooling for 3 days. They used wood for fuel, mainly hornbeam (swine). About 30 ox carts of wood went to fire one kiln of lime. In the 1950s, lime mining was nationalized, and by 1960, the lime kilns at Lakatnik station were abandoned. The population of Lakatnik station in 2024 was 1005 people (it reached nearly 1500 20 years ago). There is an operating school and kindergarten. Nowadays, the village continues to be an attractive place for lovers of outdoor activities. At Lakatnik station, the international route E-3 Kom - Emine crosses the Iskar River and continues to the Trustenaia hut. Lakatnik Station is a starting point for reaching the chalets in the area – Proboynitsa, Trustenaia and Parshevitsa.