town, the former being a Franciscan one dedicated to the Sacred Heart and the latter to Polish martyr Maximilian Kolbe. The Catholic Church of the 'Sacred Heart' in Rakovski is the largest in the Balkans. It was built in 1928 after the Chirpan earthquake that left it in ruins. Culture There are eight chitalishta in the Rakovski Municipality and two of them are in the town of Rakovski — chitalishte Saints Cyril and Methodius and Prosveta. In 2003 the chitalishte Saint Cyril and Methodius was approved for receiving money for the project Chitalishta. With the help of this project an educational centre for disabled people was created in it. The chitalishte participates in a project of exchanging of library experience, financed by the American department. In 2006 it became a participant in a project of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the University of Bologna named - Tourism School which is a part of the grand Cultural tourism and intercultural environment project. The chitalishte is a co-organiser in the preparation and organization of the festival Kukove. Traditions Rakovski hosts the annual international festival called Kukove. The performers wear masks and dress as Kukeri. The festival is the biggest cultural event of this kind in the region. The participants are not only from Bulgaria but also from Greece, Serbia, Ireland, Romania and North Macedonia. The annual holiday of the wine - Vinaria-Trifon Zarezan is a tradition for the Rakovski Municipality. Another festival is held in the village of Belozem. It is called The festival of the White Stork and takes place annually in the beginning of May. In 2005 Belozem was named A European village of the white stork by the Foundation of the European Natural Heritage. The Municipality of Rakovski is also a member of the Foundation of the European Carnival Cities — FECC. Sport For the first time in 2002 the town of Rakovski hosted The International Football Tournament for Children - United by Football. The organizers of this event were the Municipality of Rakovski, The Professional Football League, the Eparchy of Sacred Heart, the Eparchy of Saint Archangel Mihail, and the monastery Saint Maximilian Kolbe. The teams of many European countries have participated in this tournament so far, for example Poland, Croatia, Italy (AC Milan), Spain, England, Malta, Germany, Romania, Turkey (Beşiktaş, Fenerbahçe). The Bulgarian teams of Levski, Litex, Lokomotiv Plovdiv, Botev Plovdiv, Naftex Burgas and others have