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Smolyan District
- Smolyan (Bulgarian:
Смолян;
Turkish:
Paşmaklı or
Ahiçelebi) is a town in the very south of
Bulgaria, the administrative
center of Smolyan Province. It
is situated in the valley of the Cherna ("Black") and the
Byala ("White") Rivers in the central
Rhodopes at the foot of the mountains' highest part
south of the popular ski resorts
Pamporovo and Chepelare.
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- According to
archaeological evidence, the area around Smolyan was first
settled in the 2nd-1st
millennium BC. It acquired its name from the
Slavic tribe of the
Smolyani that settled in the
region in the 7th century. Part
of the Byzantine and Bulgarian
Empires during the Middle Ages,
it was ruled by the 14th-century
Bulgarian feudal lord Momchil
along with the whole Rhodopes for a while before being
entirely subjugated by the Ottoman
Empire. Smolyan remained under Ottoman rule for five centuries, a township of the
Ottoman Komotini (Gümülcine)
sanjak in Edirne vilayet between
1867
and 1912. It was known in
Ottoman Turkish as Paşmaklı
or Ahiçelebi. The area was occupied by
the 21st Sredna Gora Regiment
led by Vladimir Serafimov in 1912,
during the First Balkan War.
The modern town of Smolyan was formed by the merger of three
existing villages Ustovo, Raykovo and Ezerovo in
1960.
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- Due to its suitable
location on top of Mount Rozhen, the
Bulgarian National Astronomical Observatory is
located nearby, with a planetarium
in operation in the town. There is one theatre, the Rhodope
Drama Theatre, and a gathering of theatre practitioners and
scholars known as the The Rhodopi
International Theater Collective is held every
summer. There is also a regional historical museum founded
in 1935.
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- Smolyan has an elite
division football team, PFC Rodopa
Smolyan, that has been playing in the
A Professional Football Group
since the 2002-2003 season.
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- The largest church in
southern Bulgaria, the Cathedral of
Saint Vissarion of Smolyan, was inaugurated in the
city in July 2006.
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- Smolyan is also the seat of Smolyan
municipality (part of Smolyan Province), which includes the 79 villages,
some of which are featured below.
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- Towns and
villages in the Smolyan District where Black Sea Holdings
currently have property for sale include:
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Momchilovtsi
Momchilovtsi (Момчиловци)
is a Bulgarian village in the Central Rhodopes, about 15 km
northeast of Smolyan. It has an ethnographic museum, an art
gallery and a number of churches and chapels (24 in the village
and the vicinity), the most famous of which is the SS.
Constantine and Helen Church built in 1836. The houses, mostly
large 2- or 3-storey buildings, are amphitheatrically set at
1,352 m above sea level.
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- Thracian and Roman artifacts have been
discovered close to the village. It is thought that it was founded by exiles
from Raykovo (now part of Smolyan) that sought to escape forcible conversion
to Islam by the Ottomans. The present village is named after Momchil Voyvoda,
a medieval fighter against the Ottoman invasion that had a fortress in the
area. Momchilvotsi is a large village compared to others in the Rhodopes,
with 1,456 inhabitants as of 2005 and 550 houses, and has completely
preserved its Christian character unlike many other villages in this
mountainous part of the country.
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- In the 2000s Momchilvotsi began to
establish itself as a centre of tourism, more specifically snowboarding and
village tourism, with small family hotels and sports facilities being
established.
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Devin
The town is mostly famous for its mineral springs known from
ancient times. This area was settled by the Thracians around 1400 B.C.
Devin has several mineral water springs with a temperature between 37
and 44C. The water is clear, colourless, palatable, odourless, hyper- and
homeo-thermal, mildly mineralized, and contains hydrocarbonates of sodium and
small quantities of fluorine.
The climate of the spa is transitionally
continental, considerably tempered by the southern influence.
The internationally famous year-round
resort Pamporovo is situated 35 km
away from Devin.
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Arda
In
the village
there
are
a
school, post office,
a
shop, a bar and regular bus service. The village is situated to
20
km
South
from
Smolyan, close to Greek boundary. |
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- Stoykite
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The village of Stoykite
lies in the center of the southern half of Bulgaria, in the very heart of
the Rodopi Mountain, 15 km away from the county town of Smolyan and only 7
km away from the winter resort of Pamporovo
and
90 km away from Plovdiv, which has its airport for charter
flights. Scattered among 5 different hamlets
it
preserves
the authenticity of a real Rhodopean village and the Bulgarian national
traditions and culture, the village offers wonderful opportunities for rest
and recreation in the atmosphere of the long past times.
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The climate is perfect for
summer as well as for winter recreation with 4 months of snow cover and 240
sunny days per year.
Beginning skiers can take the easier run, which is in the middle of the
village and is equipped with a ski-tow. The other run is near
the village
and it is also equipped with
a ski tow and offers ski rental.
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- Gela
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- Gela is situated 95 km southwest of
Plovdiv, 30 km northwest of the town of Smolyan and only 18 km off the ski
resort of Pamporovo. Gela is a beautiful unspoilt village, with an
outstanding natural environment, which nestles beneath the towering peak
of Mt. Golyam Snezhnik, one of the prettiest mountains of the region, and is
only a few minutes drive from the charming villages of Shiroka Laka, and
Stoykite, with the bustling Ski resort of Pamporovo, the Regional centre of
Smolyan, and the famous Spa town of Devin all just 20 minutes away.
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In the summer you can take a walk
down to the Gela Spa Hotel for large helpings of rest and relaxation, or go
mountaineering, walking, trekking, mountain biking, caving, fishing, or even
visit the nearby ancient monasteries, and in the winter at Pamporovo you can
slalom, cross country ski, or snowboard. |
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- Levochevo
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- The village of Levochevo
(Левочевоis) is located in South-Central Bulgaria and is included in
Municipality Smolyan. It is only 6 km north from the town of Smolyan and 7
km from the winter resort of Pamporovo. The location of the village and
beautiful nature around make it perfect for tourists who want to spend a
very peaceful holiday combined with skiing in Pamporovo. There are several
tourist routes leading to the villages of Rhozen, Pamporovo, Pisanitsa,
Hasovitsa and Smolyan. During the summer Levochevo
hosts a traditional fair with music and dances.
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