Samokov is a town in
Sofia ProvinceSofia Province is a province of Bulgaria. It borders three sides of the city of Sofia , but does not include it....
in the southwest of
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
. It is situated in a kettle between the mountains
RilaRila is a mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria and the highest mountain range of Bulgaria and the Balkans, with its highest peak being Musala at 2,925 m...
and
VitoshaVitosha is a mountain massif, on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Vitosha is one of the tourists symbols of Sofia and the closest site for hiking, alpinism and skiing. Convenient bus lines and rope ways render the mountain easily accessible. Vitosha has the outlines of an enormous...
, 55 kilometres from the capital
SofiaSofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city by population in the European Union, with 1.4 million people living in the Capital Municipality...
. Due to the suitable winter sports conditions, Samokov, together with the nearby resort
BorovetsBorovets , known as Chamkoriya until the middle of the 20th century, is a popular Bulgarian mountain resort situated in Sofia Province, on the northern slopes of Rila, at an altitude of 1350 m...
, is a major tourist centre.
In the past, Samokov was a centre of handicrafts and art, with notable figures like
Zahari ZografZahariy Hristovich Dimitrov , better known as Zahari Zograf is arguably the most famous Bulgarian painter of the Bulgarian National Revival, noted for his church mural paintings and icons and often regarded as the founder of secular art in Bulgaria due to the introduction of everyday life...
, 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 Ottoman rule of Bulgaria.
It is thought that Samokov was founded in the 14th century as a mining settlement with the assistance of
"Saxon" minersGermans are a minority ethnic group in Bulgaria . Although according to the 2001 census they only numbered 436, the settlement of Germans in Bulgaria has a long and eventful history and comprises several waves, the earliest in the Middle Ages.-Early settlement:Many Germans passed through Bulgaria...
.
Samokov is a town in
Sofia ProvinceSofia Province is a province of Bulgaria. It borders three sides of the city of Sofia , but does not include it....
in the southwest of
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
. It is situated in a kettle between the mountains
RilaRila is a mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria and the highest mountain range of Bulgaria and the Balkans, with its highest peak being Musala at 2,925 m...
and
VitoshaVitosha is a mountain massif, on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Vitosha is one of the tourists symbols of Sofia and the closest site for hiking, alpinism and skiing. Convenient bus lines and rope ways render the mountain easily accessible. Vitosha has the outlines of an enormous...
, 55 kilometres from the capital
SofiaSofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city by population in the European Union, with 1.4 million people living in the Capital Municipality...
. Due to the suitable winter sports conditions, Samokov, together with the nearby resort
BorovetsBorovets , known as Chamkoriya until the middle of the 20th century, is a popular Bulgarian mountain resort situated in Sofia Province, on the northern slopes of Rila, at an altitude of 1350 m...
, is a major tourist centre.
In the past, Samokov was a centre of handicrafts and art, with notable figures like
Zahari ZografZahariy Hristovich Dimitrov , better known as Zahari Zograf is arguably the most famous Bulgarian painter of the Bulgarian National Revival, noted for his church mural paintings and icons and often regarded as the founder of secular art in Bulgaria due to the introduction of everyday life...
, 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 Ottoman rule of Bulgaria.
History
It is thought that Samokov was founded in the 14th century as a mining settlement with the assistance of
"Saxon" minersGermans are a minority ethnic group in Bulgaria . Although according to the 2001 census they only numbered 436, the settlement of Germans in Bulgaria has a long and eventful history and comprises several waves, the earliest in the Middle Ages.-Early settlement:Many Germans passed through Bulgaria...
. It was first mentioned in 1455 and in
OttomanThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
registers of 1477 as
Vlaychov Samokov. In the 16th and 17th centuries, it grew into the greatest
ironIron is a metallic chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a group 8 and period 4 element and is therefore classified as a transition metal. Iron and iron alloys are by far the most common metals and the most common ferromagnetic materials in everyday use...
extraction centre in the region, with western travellers describing it as 'a fairly large city'. In 1565-1566, Samokov had to produce and deliver to
BelgradeBelgrade Belgrade Belgrade (Serbian Cyrillic: Београд, Serbian Latin: Beograd (meaning "White City" in Serbian) is the capital and largest city of Serbia. The city lies on two international waterways, at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where Central Europe's Pannonian Plain meets...
20,000
horseshoeA horseshoe is a U-shaped item made of metal or of modern synthetic materials, nailed or glued to the hooves of horses and some other draught animals. Like a shoe on a human, it is used to protect the animal's feet from wear and tear...
s and 30,000 nails for the Ottoman army. Samokov also produced
anchorAn anchor is an object, often made out of metal, that is used to attach a ship to the bottom of a body of water at a specific point. There are two primary classes of anchors—temporary and permanent. A permanent anchor is often called a mooring, and is rarely moved; it is quite possible the vessel...
s and other materials for the
shipyardShipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
s of the
Bulgarian Black Sea CoastThe Bulgarian Black Sea Riviera covers the entire eastern bound of Bulgaria stretching from the Romanian Black Sea Riviera in the north to European Turkey in the south, along 378 km of coastline. White and golden sandy beaches occupy approximately 130 km of the 378 km long coast...
, particularly Anchialos (
PomoriePomorie is a town and seaside resort in southeastern Bulgaria, located on a narrow rocky peninsula in Burgas Bay on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is located in Burgas Province 20 km from Burgas and 18 km from Sunny Beach...
). As the logging industry was also well developed, in 1573 the people of Samokov had to deliver 300 beams as far as
MeccaMecca , sometimes spelled Makkah is the holiest meeting site of the Islamic religion. The city is modern, cosmopolitan and whilst being closed to non-Muslims is nonetheless ethnically diverse.Islamic tradition attributes the beginning of Mecca to Ishmael's descendants...
.
http://www.promacedonia.org/eg_sa/eg_sa_4.html.~
Sports
Bulgaria's only ski jumping hill is located in Samokov. It's a fairly small hill, K-40 metres where you can jump down to 45 metres. The hill is very old and needs to be renovated. A large modern sports arena was opened on 8 March 2008.
BasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of 5 players try to score points against one another by placing a ball through a
10 foot high hoop under organized rules...
,
volleyball Volleyball is an Olympic team sport in which two teams of 6 players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules...
,
boxingBoxing is a combat sport where two participants, generally of similar weight, fight each other with their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee and is typically engaged in during a series of one to three-minute intervals called rounds. There are three ways to win...
,
wrestlingWrestling is an ancient martial art that uses grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, generally between two people, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
and
judo, meaning "gentle way", is a modern Japanese martial art and combat sport, that originated in Japan in the late nineteenth century...
. It cost 16 million
levThe lev is the currency of Bulgaria. It is divided in 100 stotinki . In archaic Bulgarian the word "lev" meant "lion".Bulgaria seeks to adopt the Euro, the tentative deadline is 2012, set by Finance Minister Plamen Oresharski....
. There is also a skiing centre in Samokov for Cross Country skiing, a small alpine hill and a snowboard park.
Honour
Samokov KnollSamokov Knoll is a peak of elevation 602 m in Yankov Gap area, Livingston Island, Antarctica.The peak was first visited on 28 December 2004 and is named after the town of Samokov in Western Bulgaria.-Location:...
on Livingston Island in the
South Shetland IslandsThe South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about 120 kilometres north of the Antarctic Peninsula. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for non-military...
,
Antarctica| style="border-top:solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align:top;" | 14,000,000 km
2 280,000 km
2 13,720,000 km
2 |-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top;...
is named after Samokov.
Notable persons
- Vladîmir Zografski
Vladimir Zografski is a Bulgarian ski jumper from the town of Samokov. He is the son of former Olympic ski jumper Emil Zografski.Zografski's debut in the Ski jumping Continental Cup occurred in 2005 when he was 12....
- ski jumper
- Vladimir Breitchev
Vladimir Breitchev is a Bulgarian ski jumper that came at the 19th place in the Olympic Games in the K-70 metre hill in 1984. That is his best Olympic performance even though he also competed in Calgary 1988 and in Lillehammer 1992...
- ski jumper
- Petar Popangelov
Petar Popangelov is a Bulgarian alpine skier, son of Petar Popangelov Senior, a famous Bulgarian ski champion.He became Bulgarian ski champion 26 times and won the European Cup in 1977...
- Alpine skier
External links