Samokov

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Samokov
Samokov (Bulgaria)
Samokov
Samokov
Location of Samokov
Coordinates: 42°20′N 23°33′E / 42.333, 23.55
Country Flag of Bulgaria Bulgaria
Provinces
(Oblast)
Sofia
Government
 - Mayor Angel Nikolov
Elevation 960 m (3,150 ft)
Population (13.09.2005)
 - Total 30,366
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 - Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal Code 2000
Area code(s) 0722

Samokov (Bulgarian: Самоков) is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. It is situated in a kettle between the mountains Rila and Vitosha.

Due to the suitable winter sports conditions, Samokov, together with the nearby resort Borovets, is a major tourist centre.

A 1892 painting by Nikola Obrazopisov of the Samokov School
A 1892 painting by Nikola Obrazopisov of the Samokov School

In the past, Samokov was a centre of handicrafts and art, with notable figures like Zahari Zograf, Hristo Dimitrov and Nikola Obrazopisov. The town's name is a compound word of "samo" and "kov", respectively meaning "self" and the root of the verb "forge, hammer", and comes from the samokov, a mechanical forge powered by water, since the town of Samokov was a major iron producing centre during the last two hundred years (18th-19th century) of Ottoman rule of Bulgaria.

[edit] External links

The village of Dospei (Dospey/ Dospej)is three kilometres south west of Samokov and has a population of 673.Post code Samokov 2012