Samokov Town
The town of Samokov is situated at the foot of the northern slopes of the mountain of Rila, at the altitude of 950 m above the sea level. The town has a population of about 30 000 people. The longest Bulgarian river, The Iskar, passes through the town of Samokov.

Samokov is located about 60 km south-east of Sofia , 40 km east of the town of Doupnitsa, 36 km south-west of the town of Ihtiman and 12 km north-west of the mountain resort of Borovets. There are six more resorts in the region, two of which have international significance. The town is also popular with the fact that it harvests the largest amount of potatoes in the country.

HISTORY

The town of Samokov was closely related with the trade of iron products in the past. There was a Roman settlement in its place. Ever since the beginning of the 14th century the local people have dealt with the processing of ores. At those early times the Bulgarian craftsmen had direct contact with the West European miners - the Saxons, locally called “sassi”. Following their models, furnaces were introduced as well as workshops with bellows and large hammers, put in motion by water power.

When the Turks conquered the town in 1372, Samokov was an economic and cultural center. Initially it became a municipality and later on a regional center, governing the present-day towns of Blagoevgrad, Doupnitsa, Razlog, Ihtiman and many other smaller settlements.

The first printing house for printing books of Nikola Karastoyanov was opened here in 1827.

It is not that it just happened so that at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century the largest and most modern art school in Bulgaria was opened in Samokov. The most famous Bulgarian painters such as Hristo Dimitrov and his sons Dimitar and Zahari Zograf, Ivan and Nikola Obrazopisovi and others were born here and worked here. Konstantin Fotinov, the founder of the first Bulgarian magazine “Liuboslovie” (1884), also comes from Samokov. It is here that the struggle for an independent Bulgarian church started off. Due to the decline of the craftsmanship at the end of the century, the town gradually lost its economic, cultural and administrative power

SIGHTS

The History Museum in Samokov holds materials and documents, related to the most specific branch of industry in the region - iron industry and iron working which have existed since 1908.

Another sight in the town is the Assumption of Virgin Mary Church. It is one of the most significant artistic monuments in the country. It was built in the years 1790 -1791 and it put together the talent and the work of the master-builders of Samokov. The Nunnery is a living evidence of the spirit and the atmosphere of the Renaissance town of Samokov, the only authentic complex of buildings and gardens, tranquility and coziness, preserved in the town. It is still an active nunnery today under the experienced guidance of Mother Superior Gavriila.

Enjoy the Bairakli Mosque, built in the 17th century. It is one of the masterpieces of decorative art in Samokov. The architectural design and the details all over the building resemble our Renaissance traditions and they prove the Bulgarian origin of the structure.

Among the sights of Samokov is also The Big Water Fountain, dating back to 1662. St. Nicola Church was erected in 1859 -1860 when the Christians in Turkey obtained certain religious freedoms. The Nativity of Virgin Mary Church, the oldest church in the town, is also interesting to see.

TRANSPORT

The transport to and from Samokov is carried out mainly by bus. There is an hourly service to Sofia. The bus station is located in the center of the town. The cost of a bus ride to Sofia is around 5 Leva.

SURROUNDINGS

Samokov is a starting point for hiking routes in the highest mountain in Bulgaria - Rila where the winter resorts of Borovets and Maliovitsa are situated. The resort settlement of Govedartsi is located 13 km south-west of the town, on the road to Maliovitsa. Belchin Bani Spa is located 13 km west of Samokov, along the Palakaria river. The Alinski Monastery is 27 km north-west of the town and 30 km to the east is the resort little town of Dolna Banya.