Svishtov Municipality is situated in the northernmost part of Veliko Turnovo District and borders through the Danube River on the Republic of Romania and the following municipalities: Polski Trambesh in Veliko Turnovo District, Tsenovo in Russe District, and Levski in Pleven District. This is where the southernmost point of the Danube River (43° H 37` northern latitude) is located, which means it is the shortest way from the Danube through Stara Planina and the valley of Maritsa River, to the Aegean Sea.
Svishtov is one of the leading industrial and agricultural centers in Veliko Tarnovo District. Svishtov municipality is developing a mixed type of economy.
In the territory of Municipality Svishtov there are presently 120 official archaeological, art, and architectural monuments of culture of local and national significance.

Svishtov is identified with the Roman colony Novae mentioned by Ptolemy. The exact site appears to have been Staklen, to the west of the present town, which has gradually moved eastward since the 16th century, when it was almost destroyed in the Turkish wars.

It was at Svishtov that the peace of 1790 was signed, by which the Austrian-Turkish boundary was determined. The town was burned in 1810 by the Russians; but after 1820 it began to revive, and the introduction of steam traffic on the lower Danube (1835) restored its prosperity. The Romanian town of Alexandria was founded by fugitives from Svishtov after the Russo-Turkish War, 1828-1829.

Svishtov is known as the first town to be liberated during the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78, since the largest part of the Imperial Russian Army forced the Danube nearby.