Chelopech ( Bulgarian : Челопеч ) is a village in the western part of Bulgaria . It is the only village in the Chelopech Municipality , Sofia Province .
22-545: Chelopech is situated in the Zlatitsa–Pirdop Valley enclosed between the Balkan Mountains to the north and Sredna Gora to the south. The major railroad connecting Sofia and Burgas passes through the village. The history of the village dates back to antiquity, which is proved by the remains, discovered on its territory - the "Ginova Mogila", "Gradishte", etc. The name of the village is first mentioned in
44-558: A 16.4 km stretch of the third class III-606 road Koprivshtitsa– Strelcha – Trud and a 35.3 km stretch of the third class III-803 road Ihtiman –Lesichovo–Pazardzhik. Its waters are utilised for irrigation in the Zlatitsa–Pirdop Valley and the Upper Thracian Plain, via the reservoirs of Dushantsi , Zhekov Vir and Topolnitsa. The latter allows the irrigation of about 350 km arable land and also has
66-703: A deep valley dividing two major sections of Sredna Gora — Ihtimanska Sredna Gora to the west and Sashtinska Sredna Gora to the east. Downstream of the dam of the Topolnitsa Reservoir the river takes a southeastern turn. At the village of Kalugerovo the Topolnitsa enters the Upper Thracian Plain , where the riverbed is corrected with protective dikes. It flows into the Maritsa at an altitude of 205 m about one kilometer west of
88-536: A leading European exporter of cathode copper. In the village of Mirkovo there is a copper processing mill, linked to the Elatsite mine via a 6.5 km underground rubber-belt conveyor line beneath of the Balkan Mountains. In addition, the valley supports agriculture, the main crops being rye, potatoes, apples, etc. Significant areas are covered with meadows and pastures. The tourist landmarks include
110-405: A maximum length of 36 km from west to east; its width varies between 3 and 8 km. The average altitude is 750 m. Zlatitsa–Pirdop Valley is inclined in southern direction. In its middle rise two small heights, Gusenets (834 m) and Vesela Mogila, which divide it two parts — the western hilly Mirkovo area and the eastern flat Zlatitsa field. The northern peripheral sections of
132-585: A preserved Turkish document which dates back to the year 1430. It was designated an independent municipality on 15 August 1991. Chelopech Hill on Trinity Peninsula in Antarctica is named after the village. The St. Nikolas the Wonderworker Church was built in 1835. The Municipality is in charge of the Murgana chalet, located at 1,350 metres (4,430 ft) above sea level at the foot of
154-501: Is 3.75 m /s at the confluence of its tributary Medetska reka and 10 m /s at the village of Lesichovo . The river is situated in Sofia Province and Pazardzhik Province . There are 11 settlements along its course: the town of Koprivshtitsa and the villages of Dushantsi , Petrich, Muhovo , Poibrene , Lesichovo, Kalugerovo, Dinkata , Pamidovo , Yunatsite and Dragor . There are two main roads through its valley,
176-755: Is enclosed between the Etropole and Zlatitsa–Teteven divisions of the Balkan Mountains to the north and the Sredna Gora mountain range to the south and southwest. To the west the Galabets ridge (925 m) separates it from the Kamarska Valley and to the east the Koznitsa ridge (1,092 m) separates it from the Karlovo Valley . The valley spans a territory of 120 km . It reaches
198-490: Is served by several roads of the national network, as well as local roads. From west to east, between the villages of Bunovo and Anton passes a 44.4 km stretch of the first class I-6 road Gyueshevo – Sofia – Karlovo – Burgas . In direction north–south the valley is traversed by a 6.4 km stretch of the second class II-37 road Yablanitsa – Panagyurishte – Pazardzhik – Dospat . A section of railway line No. 3 Iliyantsi (Sofia)–Karlovo–Sliven– Karnobat – Varna served by
220-473: Is situated in central western Bulgaria and is the fifth of the eleven Sub-Balkan valleys in direction west–east. It is named after the two towns that lie within, Zlatitsa and Pirdop . The valley is an important hub of the Bulgarian copper and gold mining and processing industry. It contains numerous natural and architectural landmarks, including the ruins of the late Roman Elenska Basilica . The valley
242-537: The Bulgarian State Railways crosses the valley in direction west–east between the two longest tunnels in Bulgaria, Koznitsa (5,808 m) and Galabets (3,034 m). The economy is well developed. The municipalities in the Zlatitsa–Pirdop Valley are among the richest in Bulgaria due to copper and gold related industries — mining and non-ferrous metallurgy. Along the northern slopes of
SECTION 10
#1732772235379264-466: The Elenska Basilica , a large partially preserved late Roman church dating to the 5th–6th century AD. The remains of a Neolithic settlement have been discovered at a mound near the Topolnitsa river in the vicinity of Chavdar. Topolnitsa (river) The Topolnitsa ( Bulgarian : Тополница [toˈpɔɫnit͡ʃɐ] ) is a river in southern Bulgaria , an important left tributary of
286-632: The Maritsa . The river's name is derived from the Bulgarian word топола, topola (" poplar "). Reaching length of 155 km, the Topolnitsa is the fourth longest river in the Maritsa drainage, following the Tundzha (390 km), the Arda (290 km) and the Ergene (281 km). The river takes its source at an altitude of 1,413 m near the eastern foothills of the summit of Bich (1,449 m) in
308-689: The 2011 census, 86.2% of respondents identified as Orthodox Christians belonging to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church . Copper mining is the main branch of the local producing structure. Chelopech is the biggest and richest copper-gold-pyrites deposit in Europe, which is one of the reasons for the stable economic situation in the region. 42°42′N 24°05′E / 42.700°N 24.083°E / 42.700; 24.083 Zlatitsa%E2%80%93Pirdop Valley Zlatitsa–Pirdop Valley ( Bulgarian : Златишко-Пирдопска котловина )
330-631: The Balkan Mountains. The valley's northern slopes on the Balkan Mountains are formed by Paleozoic and Upper Cretaceous rocks and are steep and deforested, while the southern slopes on Sredna Gora are mainly formed by granite and are covered with beech forests. The valley is drained by the river Topolnitsa and its right tributaries the Bunovska, the Mirkovska, the Vozdol, the Mavdzharina, etc. On
352-598: The Mourgana Peak in the Balkan Mountains. According to December 2018, there are 1,526 people residing in Chelopech, most of whom ethnic Bulgarians (95%), followed by Romani people (4%). According to the latest Bulgarian census of 2011, the religious composition, among those who answered the optional question on religious identification, was the following: An overwhelming majority of the population of Chelopech Municipality identify themselves as Christians . At
374-677: The city of Pazardzhik . Its drainage basin covers a territory of 1789 km or 3.4% of Maritsa's total. It borders the drainage basins of the rivers Iskar to the north and northwest, Vit to the north, Stryama to the northeast and Luda Yana to the east. The main tributaries are the Medetska reka, Berereyska, Zlatishka, Bunovska, Mativir and Pavel. The Topolnitsa has predominantly rain-snow feed with high water in March–June and low water in August–October. The average annual discharge
396-480: The course of the Topolnitsa in the eastern reaches of the valley is located the Dushantsi Reservoir . The Kazanite Waterfall is located on the Bunovska on the slopes of Sredna Gora facing the valley. The climate is continental with an annual precipitation of about 600 mm with a summer maximum. The soils are deluvial-proluvial and brown forest. Administratively, it falls in Sofia Province , on
418-613: The mountain range of Sredna Gora . In its first 12 km, the Topolnitsa flows eastwards in a deep forested valley. It then turns in northern direction, flows through the Koprivshtitsa Valley and enters another deep valley. Following the Koprivshtitsa Railway Station , the river turns west-southwest and enters the Zlatitsa–Pirdop Valley , where its flows through its southern areas. At the village of Petrich , it turns southwards and flows through
440-415: The territory of five municipalities — Anton , Chavdar , Chelopech , Mirkovo , Pirdop and Zlatitsa . There are two towns and eight villages. In the central parts are the towns of Zlatitsa and Pirdop and the villages of Chavdar , Chelopech and Tsarkvishte ; to the west are the villages of Mirkovo , Bunovo and Benkovski ; to the east are the villages of Anton and Dushantsi . The valley
462-528: The valley are filled with large alluvial fans . Zlatitsa–Pirdop Valley is a one-sided graben that sank several times during the Tertiary period. From the north it is bounded by the Sub-Balkan fault. Intra–basin depressions and sills, expressed morphologically on the terrain, were formed along transverse faults with a north–south direction. A powerful deluvial-proluvial plume was formed at the foothills of
SECTION 20
#1732772235379484-476: The valley are located two important mines, the underground Chelopech mine containing significant gold, silver and copper reserves, and the open-pit Elatsite mine located further north in the Balkan Mountains, containing large copper deposits and also gold. The Pirdop copper smelter and refinery in the valley is the biggest facility for smelting and refining of copper in Southeastern Europe and
#378621