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115-505: Belitsa municipality is situated in a mountainous area, including parts of the Rila and Rhodope Mountains and the valley of the upper flow of the Mesta river . Belitsa is situated on the southern foothills of Rila , while Semkovo is much higher and is actually the highest part of the municipality. The villages Dagonovo , Kraishte and Gorno Kraishte are in the valley of Mesta river and

230-549: A stadium and a city orchestra. The Villa Raîna is a Néo-Renaissance villa in the city's area of Ldžene ( Bulgarian : Лъдженe ) and was designed in 1928 by a renowned pre-WWII Serbian architect Milutin Borisavljević (1889-1970). Initially, "Raina" was conceived as the summer house of the Belgrade based industrialist, Stojadin "Stole" Stevović (1888-1945), for the needs of the families Stevović and Simić . The site selected

345-463: A distance of 810 km from the nearest point of the same elevation. With a prominence of 2,473 m, Musala ranks seventh among Europe's ultra-prominent peaks . The mountain range is divided into four distinct parts. East Rila, known also as Musala Rila, is the largest and highest subdivision, situated between the valleys of the rivers Beli Iskar and Belishka. It is formed of two main ridges. The Musala Ridge spans in north–south direction between

460-492: A five-domed church, a defensive tower and monastic apartments encircling an inner yard. The exterior of the complex resembles a fortress with its high stone walls and little windows. The oldest surviving structure is the 23 m high Hrelyo's Tower, constructed in 1334–1335. The Church of Theodore Tyro and Theodore Stratelates in Dobarsko at an elevation of about 1,000 m is a small three-naved stone basilica half dug into

575-724: A high fluorine content is located near the Yellow Rock. The rock is an interesting natural landmark. It is located on the Karkaria Ridge, near the Cepina Fortress. It offers a panoramic view of the Chepino Valley , Mount Syutka and the Alabak Ridge. Chepino is the southernmost of the three districts of Velingrad. Before the foundation of the town, the district was the village of Banya Chepinskaya, which

690-535: A lot of places for sightseeing and picnic. [REDACTED] Media related to Belitsa Municipality at Wikimedia Commons Rila Rila ( Bulgarian : Рила , pronounced [ˈriɫɐ] ) is the highest mountain range of Bulgaria, the Balkan Peninsula , and Southeast Europe . It is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and forms part of the Rila– Rhodope Massif. The highest summit

805-751: A mixed Thraco-Roman period that lasted until the arrival of the Slavs. The archaeological finds of settlements and fortifications in the areas to the Roman culture in this region. These are the remains of clay pipelines for mineral water, road pavements, fortifications, marble slabs, coins, etc. The region was inhabited by the Slavs in the 6th century. According to Bulgarian academics, the Dragovichi tribe lived there. The Dragovichi accepted many Thracian customs, but gave them typical Slavic characteristics. Soon after

920-508: A number of glacial lake groups, including Musala Lakes and Marichini Lakes , as well as the nation's largest ski resort Borovets . Central Rila, known also as Skakavitsa Rila, is the smallest part spanning 9% of the Rila's total area but has the most Alpine character and the highest average elevation — 2,077 m. It stretches between the valleys of the rivers Beli Iskar, Cherni Iskar, Levi Iskar, Iliyna and Rilska . The later divides

1035-559: A textbook the "Fish Literary", Georgi Cholakov - Grandfather Daskal, Sava Doktorov, Stoyu Maslarov. During the Russo-Turkish War the Muslim population hid in the mountains or in the more southern settlements. Some villages, such as Ladzhene, became completely depopulated. After a few days of hiding, the inhabitants returned to their homelands. In 1902, "Sinapovo Zrantse" was founded as socialist society, which in 1905 grew into

1150-740: Is Musala at an elevation of 2,925 m which makes Rila the sixth highest mountain range in Europe after the Caucasus , the Alps , Sierra Nevada , the Pyrenees and Mount Etna , and the highest one between the Alps and the Caucasus. It spans a territory of 2,629 km with an average elevation of 1487 m. The mountain is believed to have been named after the river of the same name , which comes from

1265-544: Is 2,560 m while the lowest is 1,300 m. Over 36,000 foreign tourists have stayed in Borovets for the 2016/17 winter season spending an average of five nights. Other much smaller ski resorts include Panichishte with several ski runs, Semkovo with seven ski runs totaling 4 km, Bodrost with 5 km ski runs and Govedartsi with a single 1.7 km ski run. The Balmeken High Mountain Sports Complex

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1380-695: Is 2.6 °C on the northern slopes and 3.1 °C on the southern. With an average annual temperature of −3.0 °C, Musala is the coldest place in Bulgaria. The lowest absolute temperature in Rila was also measured there: −31.2 °C; the lowest mean monthly temperature was recorded there in February: −11.6 °C. The absolute maximum temperature at Musala is 18.7 °C. Temperature amplitude decreases with elevation from 20 °C at 800 m to 15 °C at 2,800 m. Temperature inversions , i.e. increase in temperature with height, are frequent on

1495-649: Is Mount Golyiam Kupen at an elevation of 2731 m. There are 29 peaks over 2,100 m. This subdivision is known for its rugged peaks and picturesque lakes in the Alpine zone that include the Seven Rila Lakes and the Urdini Lakes . Central Rila includes the mountain's highest waterfall, Skakavitsa (70 m). Southwest Rila stretches between the valleys of the Rilska, Iliyna and Belishka rivers to

1610-576: Is a bank for currency exchange. There is only one national secondary road from Velingrad to Razlog , connecting the central part of Bulgaria with southwestern part of the country, that passes through the municipality. Municipal roads connect the villages. The roads need improvement and transportation is difficult, especially in the winter. Regular bus lines run to Sofia , Plovdiv , Blagoevgrad , Velingrad , Razlog , Bansko and Yakoruda daily. There are no municipal lines organized. Septemvri-Dobrinishte narrow gauge line , running along Mesta river

1725-458: Is a possibility for treatment of lung and joint diseases, neurological and gynecological problems (including infertility), kidney, liver, gastrointestinal and many other problems. Spa treatment is carried out by drinking mineral water, inhalations, baths and rinses. Among the landmarks of Velingrad is the Kleptuza karst spring with a flow of 600 to 1200 L/s. The park with its two lakes is one of

1840-555: Is a town in Pazardzhik Province , Southern Bulgaria , located at the western end of Chepino Valley , part of the Rhodope Mountains . It is the administrative center of the homonymous Velingrad Municipality and one of the most popular Bulgarian balneological resorts. The town has a population of 22,602 inhabitants according to the 2011 census of Velingrad. The cultural layers give grounds to claim that

1955-670: Is accessible only in Belitsa . The Rila and Rhodope Mountains are forming the natural characteristics of the municipality. There are many natural phenomenons and interesting places near Belitsa, Babyak and Semkovo. There is a park for "dancing bears", where live bears, collected from people in Bulgaria and near countries. There are no hotels in Belitsa, but only in Semkovo . Restaurants with traditional and European cuisine are available in Belitsa and Semkovo. The picturesque nature offers

2070-411: Is also influenced by the terrain, the exposure of the slopes and the orientation of the valleys. The average temperature decreases and the average precipitation increases with elevation. The coldest month is March and the hottest one August. Negative temperatures remain on average for about nine months in the Alpine zone, often continuing until the end of June. A steady rise in temperature is observed in

2185-422: Is an old mosque from the 17th century. Mosques are built recently in Belitsa and in other villages. According to the latest Bulgarian census of 2011, the religious composition, among those who answered the optional question on religious identification, was the following: The seat of the municipality is the town of Belitsa . The mayor of the municipality acts as mayor of the seat. There are also elected mayors in

2300-680: Is built up predominantly by granite. It is covered by a thick layer of crystalline schists and granite– gneiss ; this layer is topped by sandstones and conglomerates which were formed by elevated Tertiary sediments. Traces of these sediments are found in the Northwest Rila at an elevation of up to 1,900 m. The highest zones are made mainly of granite, and below are crystalline schists, whose compound minerals are sequentially deposited. They are represented by gneiss, mica schists, and amphibolite . In many places granite passes into granite–gneiss. There are marbles and amphibolites formed in

2415-415: Is closely linked to the snowline during the last glacial period and most of them lie at elevations between 2,100 m and 2,500 m. Most lakes (28) are situated at elevations between 2,300 m and 2,350 m; there are 23 between 2,350 m and 2,400 m, 19 between 2,250 m and 2,300 m and 19 between 2,400 m and 2,450 m. Their length varies between 800 m and 20 m,

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2530-644: Is composed mainly of Muslim Bulgarians (Pomaks). They are ethnic Bulgarians with Bulgarian as their mother tongue, but profess Islam. Islam has spread slowly and gradually in the Chepino valley. The number of Muslims was also increased afterwards when the Greek Patriarchate imposed exorbitant taxes on the Christian population who refused to pay them. Then the Greek bishop Gabriel of Plovdiv complained to

2645-463: Is covered by dwarf mountain pine ( Pinus mugo ) and common juniper ( Juniperus communis ) formations mixed with green alder ( Alnus viridis ) at wetter localities and Rhododendron myrtifolium in East Rila. The alpine line is covered with grass, moss, lichen, rare flowers, dwarf willows such as Salix herbacea , Salix retusa and Salix reticulata , etc. Due to the difficult terrain,

2760-690: Is determined by the elevation. At the lowest portions there are xerothermal oak forests dominated by Hungarian oak ( Quercus frainetto ), pubescent oak ( Quercus pubescens ) and Austrian oak ( Quercus cerris ) with some Mediterranean cenosis of cade juniper ( Juniperus oxycedrus ) and scorpion senna ( Hippocrepis emerus ). Higher in the mountain up to 1,300 m the deciduous forests are primarily of sessile oak ( Quercus petraea ) with smaller participation of European hop-hornbeam ( Ostrya carpinifolia ), common hornbean ( Carpinus betulus ), Heldreich's maple ( Acer heldreichii ), Balkan maple ( Acer hyrcanum ) and European ash ( Fraxinus excelsior );

2875-469: Is expected to rise to over 7000; of them 34 are endemic to Rila, 123 — to Bulgaria and another 123 — to the Balkans. The biodiversity, ecosystems and the pristine landscapes are protected by Rila National Park declared in 1992, which is Bulgaria's largest spanning a territory of 810.46 km , and Rila Monastery Nature Park covering another 252.535 km . There are four nature reserves in

2990-493: Is having stops in Dagonovo and Belitsa station. The station is 4 km south from the town in the village of Kraishte . There is no water transport or air transport in the municipality. The ports of Thessaloniki and Kavala and the international airports of Sofia , Plovdiv , Thessaloniki and Kavala are the nearest sea and airports. Central water supply exists only in Belitsa , Kraishte and Gorno Kraishte and in

3105-457: Is highest during the winter months. Its general decrease is observed at the beginning of autumn. It is one of the places in Bulgaria with more rainless days. The presence of clear weather and abundant sunshine is typical for Velingrad. The average annual air temperature is 9 °C. Water resources in the region of Velingrad - rivers, karst and mineral springs are abundant. They are a factor in determining people's residence, their economic activity and

3220-536: Is in autumn and winter. The largest waterfalls are Skakavitsa (70 m) and Goritsa (39 m). There are abundant mineral springs that include the hottest one in South-eastern Europe at Sapareva Banya forming a geyser with a temperature of 101.4 °C. The cirques at the high elevation zone contain 189 glacial lakes; there are also about 30 smaller ones that evaporate in summer, including tectonic lakes like Panichishte. Their location

3335-478: Is located at an elevation of 2,050 m in East Rila and is used for training, medical and biological research by athletes but also provides opportunities for family recreation. The mountain range was a favourite place of retreat for the Bulgarian monarchs Ferdinand I (r. 1887–1918) and his son Boris III (r. 1918–1943). The palace of Tsarska Bistritsa was constructed between 1898 and 1914 above Borovets in

3450-436: Is not recommended for prolonged daily drinking. It can be used for drinking treatment for which the balneological criterion is up to 8 mg/L. In Kamenitsa, water is the hottest. There are 8 springs, of which the most important are the springs of Syarna Banya and Vlasa. The water has the highest fluorine content of 8.6 mg/L and is suitable only for banya treatment and for fluoride prophylaxis under special dosages. A spring with

3565-641: Is served by the Bulgarian State Railways via railway line No. 1 in the north-east with stations at Kostenets and Belovo, railway line No. 5 along the Struma Valley in the west and the Septemvri–Dobrinishte narrow-gauge line in the south-east. The most important sectors of the local economy are tourism, services, industry and agriculture. The abundant water resources are utilised by some of Bulgaria's largest hydro power plants,

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3680-592: Is situated between the valleys of Rilska to the south, Levi Iskar to the east, Samokov to the north-east and Dupnitsa to the west. Its much lower northern section is called Lakatitska Rila. It is linked with the Verila mountain range to the north through the Klisura Saddle, and with Central Rila to the east through the Kobilino Branishte saddle. The average elevation is 1,556 m; the highest summit

3795-410: Is the most developed branch of the industry in the municipality – there are more than forty industrial subjects, situated in Belitsa and the villages near the main road. From the wood they produce paper, furniture and construction elements. Clothing and food industry are also important for the region. Harvesting are gardening are present only in the valley and sheep and goat farming in the mountains. There

3910-565: Is the oldest winter resort in Bulgaria and the largest one in Rila. It has 27 marked ski runs with a total length of 58 km equipped with 12 lifts facilities and provides conditions for alpine skiing , cross-country skiing , night skiing , biathlon , snowboard , etc.; it has hosted competitions in the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup and the Biathlon World Championships 1993 . The top elevation

4025-608: Is today protected by law as a cultural and historical monument of regional importance. The natural environment, climatic features, and mineral springs favourable for the treatment of a number of diseases make Velingrad a tourist destination for Bulgarian as well as foreign citizens. On the territory of the city there are 3 sanatoriums, over 60 hotels, 140 restaurants and entertainment venues. Six holiday complexes have been modernised, offering all types of balneological services. Public mineral baths have been improved and 22 outdoor and indoor mineral pools have been built. In Velingrad there

4140-690: The Bulgar invasion of the Balkans, the whole region was annexed to the First Bulgarian Empire by Malamir . Coins from the time of Tsar Ivan Alexander have been found in Chepino. It is believed that the fall of the Tsepina fortress and the whole region under Turkish rule took place in 1371 - 1373. After this event a number of serious changes occurred in the life of the local Bulgarians. The Ottoman Empire needed allies in its centre and began to impose Islam voluntarily or by force as early as

4255-634: The Old Bulgarian verb "рыти" meaning "to grub". Rila has abundant water resources. Some of the Balkans' longest and deepest rivers originate from Rila, including the Maritsa , Iskar and Mesta rivers. Bulgaria's main water divide separating the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea drainage systems follows the main ridge of Rila. The mountain range is dotted with almost 200 glacial lakes such as

4370-637: The Paleozoic over 250 million years ago and subsequently elevated during the Tertiary period. The coarse–grained granites are the dominant rocks forming almost two–thirds of the area of the Rila's higher parts. Rila was subjected to glaciation during the Pliocene and the Pleistocene . Its modern Alpine relief was formed during the last Würm glaciation some 10–12 000 years ago, when the snowline of

4485-680: The 120 are nesting within Rila National Park. These include three relicts — boreal owl , Eurasian pygmy owl and Eurasian three-toed woodpecker , and species that require special conservation measures like short-toed snake eagle , golden eagle , peregrine falcon , black stork , Eurasian woodcock , western capercaillie , hazel grouse , rock partridge , grey-headed woodpecker , black woodpecker , white-throated dipper , wallcreeper and Alpine chough among others. There are 18 reptile, 10 amphibian and 12 fish species. The invertebrate fauna discovered so far includes 4186 species and

4600-524: The 17–19 centuries due to production of iron and has a number of monuments, including churches, a convent, a 17th-century Ottoman drinking fountain and a museum of history. Near Belchin is located the recently restored Tsari Mali Grad Fortress. Rila Point on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands , Antarctica is named after Rila Mountain. Velingrad Velingrad ( Bulgarian : Велинград [ˈvɛlinɡrat] )

4715-483: The Alpine character of the other three subdivisions. The biosphere reserve Parangalitsa is situated there. Rila is a fault-block mountain and represents a crescent-shaped horst with two fault systems — concentric and radial. It is part of the oldest land in the Balkans, the Macedonian–Thracian Massif. The mountain range is formed mainly by metamorphic and intrusive rocks . The core of Rila

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4830-557: The Arabic Abdullah as their surname, which is usually given to all converts to Islam. These 7 households possessed a full pair, i.e. a piece of land which was believed to be able to provide a good material position for a family. According to the Pope Metodi Draginov, at the time of the storming of Chepino by Mehmed IV , part of the population was forced to convert to Islam, because the Greek bishop Gavril accused

4945-570: The Balkan area. Established in the First Bulgarian Empire by the medieval Bulgarian hermit and saint John of Rila during the reign of emperor Peter I of Bulgaria (r. 927–969), the monastery developed into one of the main cradles of Bulgarian culture, literature and spirituality. In the 18th century it became one of the main hubs of the Bulgarian National Revival . The complex covers an area of 8,800 m and consists of

5060-645: The Balkans separating the drainage basins of the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea passes through Rila's northern ridge, including the summit of Musala. Some of the Balkans' longest rivers originate from Rila, including the Maritsa , Iskar and Mesta , as well as several important tributaries of the Struma  — Rilska , Dzherman and Blagoevgradska Bistritsa . Of them, the Iskar and its tributaries belong to

5175-481: The Balkans. Rila accounts for 6% of Bulgaria's timber resources. Manufacturing industry is centred in Blagoevgrad, Dupnitsa, Samokov, Razlog and Belovo; the main sectors are food processing, machine building, pharmaceutical and paper mills. Rila is a popular tourist destination for winter sports, spa tourism, recreation and cultural tourism. Borovets , situated on the northern slopes at 9 km from Samokov,

5290-640: The Balkans; 31 are Tertiary or pre-glacial relicts and 104 are glacial relicts. Notable Bulgarian endemic species include Rila primrose ( Primula deorum ) and rhapontic rhubarb ( Rheum rhaponticum ); taxa restricted to the Balkans include Bulgarian avens ( Geum bulgaricum ), yellow columbine ( Aquilegia aurea ), Bulgarian gentian ( Gentianella bulgarica ), Balkanian butterwort ( Pinguicula balcanica ), Crocus veluchensis , Dianthus microlepis , etc. The non-vascular flora includes 974 algae , 313 moss and 251 lichen species. The fungi are represented by 665 species, including 64 mushrooms listed in

5405-481: The Black Sea drainage basins, and all the rest — to the Aegean. About 78% of the water flows into the Aegean drainage system. The runoff comes from snowmelt in the Alpine zones and rainfall. Water discharge reaches its maximum in late spring and early summer with spring accounting for more than half of the total annual discharge. The maximum at the highest elevations is in summer due to the late snowmelt. The minimum

5520-415: The Bulgarian people. In 1816 the church ''St. Trinity''. It became a centre where Bulgarian consciousness was strengthened and knowledge and enlightenment were spread. In 1823, a school was opened in the church, initially as a cell school, and later as a class school, housed in a separate building. The first teachers were Iliya Zhdrakov, Peacock Gugalov, Daskal Parthenius, Daskal Nikola Saev, who introduced as

5635-544: The Chepino region was inhabited by Thracian tribes in the 6th-5th century BC. The ancient historians Herodotus and Thucydides provide written records of this era. The authority and importance of the temple of Dionysius in the Rhodope Mountains is indicated by the fact that Alexander the Great and the father of Octavian Augustus visited it to have the prophetess divine their future. There are many tombs left from

5750-474: The Kleptuza, the biggest Karst spring in Bulgaria, with an average discharge of 1200 litres of ice-cold water per second. In Ladzhene, the springs are divided into 3 groups. The westernmost group at Velova Banya consists of 18 springs; at the men's and women's baths there are 11 springs and at the melting pot - 7 springs. The water in Ladzhene contains 5.5 mg/L fluorine, which exceeds the bottling standard and

5865-468: The Red Book of Bulgaria. The mammal species within Rila National Park and its surroundings are 62 and include taxa of high conservation value, such as brown bear , gray wolf , wildcat , least weasel , European pine marten , marbled polecat , wild boar , red deer , roe deer , chamois , European ground squirrel , as well as the glacial relict European snow vole . The bird species are 156; of

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5980-771: The Rila Mountains. The region has been populated 8000 years BC. The remains from that period have been found at the archaeological site Raven near Belitsa . There are Thracian remains near Babyak and Belitsa , some of them with big importance – a wooden sarcophagus exposed in the historical museum in Belitsa and a marble plate with the images of Zeus and Hera , now in the National Historical Museum in Sofia . The name Belitsa has been noted for first time in Ottoman documents from 1576 year. In 1716

6095-629: The Thracians - seven in the Batak Marsh (now the bottom of a lake), two mounds in the Yundola area and dozens elsewhere. Ruins of Thracian settlements and fortresses can be seen in the locality of "Pechkovets", at the foot of the medieval fortress of Tsepina, where fragments of Thracian pottery and implements of labour have also been found, and elsewhere. The Romans conquered the Rhodope Mountains fully after invading Thrace in 45 BC. It began with

6210-399: The beginning of the 16th century. The Ottoman register referring to the years 1516 - 1517 indicates the appearance of the first muslims in the area. At that time, there were a total of 624 households in the villages of Chepino, 12 of which were Muslim. The Bulgarians bore names such as Velcho, son of Zlatko, Petko, son of Rayo, Radul, son of Proslav, etc., while 7 households from Lajene used

6325-409: The biggest and most complex hydroelectric complex in Bulgaria, with a combined installed capacity of 1,599 MW. At an elevation of 1,900 m is located the second biggest reservoir in Rila, Beli Iskar , constructed between 1939 and 1945, that provides 25% of Sofia's potable water and powers a small 16 MW hydro power station. At an elevation of 2,394 m, Kalin is the highest reservoir in

6440-431: The border with the continental-Mediterranean area. Summers are warm and winters are cold. The average annual temperature is 10 °C, while the average July temperature is 19 °C. The annual duration of sunshine is about 2,000 hours. The relative air humidity ranges from 65 to 75%. Surrounded by age-old pine tree woods, the town favors abundant sunshine. Velingrad is one of the cloudiest towns in Bulgaria. Cloud cover

6555-549: The decree adopted on 28 January 1948 on the merger of the three villages. Chepino and Kamenitsa are older settlements, but Ladzhene was founded after 1878 by Bulgarian refugees from Macedonia , because their region remained under Ottoman rule after the Treaty of Berlin . Velingrad is situated at 750–850 m above sea level. The city has a mountain climate. It is located in the European-continental climate area, on

6670-531: The development of tourism in general. Numerous clear mountain streams and rivulets unite in the river Chepinska reka . Its most important streams are Gruncharitsa, Lukovitsa, Lepenitsa, Mutnitsa and Trebetushchitsa. The dams in the area diversify the natural environment, positively change the microclimate and significantly increase the attractiveness of the landscape. Velingrad has a number of karst springs such as Kleptuza. There are more than 90 mineral water springs with curative and preventive properties in and around

6785-400: The fault lines along the northern foothills of Rila favour health and spa tourism. The most significant spa resorts from west to east are Sapareva Banya with a total discharge of 33 L/sec and temperature of 33–101.4 °C, Belchinski Bani with a total discharge of 24 L/sec and temperature of 40–41.5 °C, Dolna Banya with a total discharge of 22 L/sec and temperature of 56.3 °C and

6900-762: The first Christian church has been built. According to the Treaty of Berlin (1878) the region was returned to the Ottoman Empire . After the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising in 1903 the town of Belitsa was destroyed and burnt. Since 1920 after the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine in 1919 Belitsa and the surrounding villages have remained in Bulgaria . In the years of the Second World War the Partisan movement engaged people from Belitsa and

7015-598: The first party organization. Later, new party organizations sprang up in Ladzhene- Banya , Rakitovo and Dorkovo . In 1923, all party organizations in Chepino took part in the September Uprising . After 1927, the Chepino Trough was a hotbed of political life. This was the time of increased cultural and mass activity - lectures, formation of cooperative groups, etc. In 1947. Todor Yamakov,

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7130-560: The foothills, inhabited by c. 250,000 people. Administratively it falls in four of Bulgaria's 28 provinces: Blagoevgrad , Kyustendil , Sofia and Pazardzhik . From west to east there are five towns at the northern foothills — Sapareva Banya (pop. 3,815 as of 2016), Samokov (25,880), Dolna Banya (4,510), Kostenets (6,228) and Belovo (3,533); there are four towns at the western foothills (from north to south) — Dupnitsa (35,255), Rila (2,359), Kocherinovo (1,723) and Blagoevgrad (66,886); as well as three more at

7245-399: The forests of Rila are not much influenced by anthropogenic activities and their average age is above 100 years. Some Norway spruces and European silver firs reach height of 60 m. The number of vascular plants includes about 1400 species registered only within the territory of Rila National Park, of them 34 are endemic to Bulgaria, including three restricted to Rila, and 89 — to

7360-406: The former — Parangalitsa , Central Rila Reserve , Ibar and Skakavitsa , and another one, Rila Monastery Forest , in the latter. Parangalitsa was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1977, while the Central Rila Reserve is the largest one in the Balkans with an area of 123.937 km . Rila is a sparsely populated mountain range with most of the settlements located in the valleys at

7475-432: The ground, constructed in 1614 and painted in 1672. The church is noted for its abundance of original frescoes and icons. The Church of Saint Nicholas in Sapareva Banya is small medieval edifice, constructed anytime from the 11th to the 14th century. It was built using red bricks and white mortar and is of a simple cross-in-square design, with a single nave and apse. The town of Samokov achieved economic prosperity during

7590-627: The highest lakes. The largest glacial lake in Rila and in the Balkans is Smradlivo with an area of 212 decares; the longest is the Upper Ribno Lake reaching 801 m; the deepest is Okoto, one of the Seven Rila Lakes with a depth of 37.5 m; the highest is Ledeno at an elevation of 2,709 m; the lowest is Suho at 2,045 m. The most important lake groups are the Seven Rila Lakes (seven lakes), Musala Lakes (seven), Marichini Lakes (seven), Urdini Lakes (six), Malyovishki Lakes (three), Elenski Lakes (three), Chanakgyolski Lakes (two), Vapski Lakes (two), etc. The vegetation

7705-487: The highest peaks are: Rila is situated in the southern zone of the humid continental climate region and has typical Alpine climate with elevational zones. The climate is influenced by the Icelandic and the West Mediterranean cyclones , the former mainly in late spring and early summer, and the latter — in winter, bringing frequent and high rainfall, as well as by the Azores and Siberian anticyclones in summer and winter, bringing droughts. The local microclimate

7820-598: The highest sections of the mountain with an elevation between 2,800 and 2,400 m. It represents practically leveled terrain with gently folded surface, formed in the place of ancient forest massifs. The next Late Miocene level, the young Miocene, is situated on the main side ridges with an elevation between 2,600 and 2,300 m. The third level formed during the Early Pliocene has an elevation of 1,800 and 1,600 m. The Late Pliocene level occupies areas with an elevation of up to 1,300 m. There are two summits above 2,900 m, Musala and Malka Musala . Some of

7935-405: The influx of warm Mediterranean air masses. Winds may reach speed of 40–45 m/s (over 100 km/h) at the summits, with mostly south-western and western orientation. The north-west and north-east winds are more moderate. The average monthly wind speed on the highest mountain summits reaches 11–12 m/s. In the lower parts, the average monthly speed varies from 1.2 to 2.5 m/s and in

8050-408: The largest and most complex hydroelectric complex in Bulgaria. Rila is a mountain range in south-western Bulgaria, part of the Rila– Rhodope Massif. It is situated between five valleys – Dupnitsa Valley to the north-west, Samokov Valley to the north, Kostenets–Dolna Banya Valley to the north-east, Razlog Valley to the south and Blagoevgrad Valley to the south-west. Five saddles link Rila to

8165-407: The last five years. The town is connected by the only narrow-gauge railway line in Bulgaria with the Septemvri station, the towns of Razlog and Bansko and the Dobrinishte station. The station is in the central district of Ladzhene, and in the quarter Chepino has a railway station Velingrad-South. In the town most of the inhabitants are Orthodox Christians, in the surrounding villages the population

8280-515: The local population of being disobedient to the pasha in Plovdiv . When the pasha arrived in Chepino, he gathered the princes and demanded to kill them, but they converted to Islam in the hope that they would be spared. Bulgarian Muslims have preserved many of the traditions of the Christian cult. The population of Chepino did not stay away from the Revival and the national liberation struggles of

8395-587: The main ones. The bottom of cirques are often occupied by glacial lakes . As a result of the weathering , scree formations of varied nature have been accumulated. In the south-western foothills of Rila the Stob Earth Pyramids were formed under the influence of erosion. The staged elevation of the mountain during the geological eras and the large range of vertical folds have led to the formation of four denudation levels of distinct age, height and range. The oldest Early Miocene level encompasses

8510-413: The massif. In the west along the Struma Valley runs Struma motorway paralleled by the first class I-1 road , both part of European route E79 , that connect the national capital Sofia and Greece via the provincial centre Blagoevgrad . The second class II-62 road branches off I-1 at Dupnitsa and runs east to Samokov where it joins the second class II-82 road which continues in eastern direction until

8625-595: The mayor of Kamenitsa, took the initiative to unite the three villages of Chepino, Ladzhene and Kamenitsa. When discussing a name for the future town, three proposals took shape. The unification of the villages under the new name of Velingrad (after Vela Peeva ) was finally approved in January 1948 by a decree of the Council of Ministers in the State Gazette No. 28 of 5 February 1948. The State Gazette reports on

8740-466: The middle and end of July. Even during the summer months, temperature over 10 °C do not hold up for long periods. About five to ten days in June, July and August have an average temperature above 15 °C. This determines the short vegetation period in the high elevation areas which varies from three to six months; it lasts about three months at elevation over 2,000 m. The average annual temperature

8855-523: The middle height zone it ranges from 2.5 to 3.2 m/s. Winds are usually strongest in winter and lightest in autumn. The annual duration of sunshine in the Alpine zone is 1930 hours with maximum in August and minimum in December–January; it raises to more than 2150 hours at 1,000 m. Rila is an important hydrological unit in Bulgaria with very high hydropower potential, representing about 1/4 of

8970-642: The most important of them being fueled by the Belmeken Dam in East Rila ;— Chaira Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant (864 MW), Belmeken Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plant (375 MW), Sestrimo Hydro Power Plant (240 MW) and Momina Klisura Hydroelectric Power Station (120 MW). Chaira is the largest pumped storage HPP in South-eastern Europe. They form the Belmeken–Sestrimo–Chaira Hydropower Cascade ,

9085-463: The mountain was 2,100–2,200 m. The glaciers reached elevations as low as 1,200 m. Above this boundary, the glaciers radically altered the existing relief, forming deep cirques, pyramidal peaks , steep cliffs, long U-shaped valleys , moraine fields and other glacial forms. On the slopes of some valleys such as those of the rivers Beli Iskar, Maritsa and Rilska there are hanging glacier valleys  — tributary valleys located higher than

9200-580: The mountain; the rest lies within Rila Monastery Nature Park . In addition, there are five nature reserves : Parangalitsa , Central Rila Reserve , Rila Monastery Forest , Ibar and Skakavitsa . The most recognisable landmark of the mountain range is the Rila Monastery , Bulgaria's largest and most important monastery, founded in the 10th century by Saint John of Rila . Due to its outstanding cultural and spiritual value it

9315-437: The municipality ranks 51st among the municipalities in Bulgaria. GDP per capita for the same period was BGN 2 719. The sectors of industrial production include: timber and wood processing, furniture manufacturing, machine building, cosmetics and chemical products manufacturing, marble processing, mineral water bottling, tailoring, carpet making. In the industrial enterprises, net sales revenues have increased continuously over

9430-461: The near villages, who formed detachment that merged with the bigger detachment Nikola Parapunov . During the Communist government there has been several acts of renaming the people with non-Bulgarian (Islamic) names, that caused discontent in the pomak people. Most of the people live in the town of Belitsa and in the villages near Mesta river . The mountainous villages are less populated (see

9545-535: The north, the Predel Saddle that separates it from Pirin to the south, and Simitli and Blagoevgrad valleys to the west. It covers about 30% of the area of the mountain range. With an average elevation of 1,307 m, it has the lowest elevation in Rila. The highest summit is Angelov Peak (2,643 m). The Blagoevgradska Bistritsa River divides it in two distinct ridges to the north and to the south. Apart from its northernmost part, Southwest Rila does not have

9660-638: The northern slopes and after 20–30 December on the southern. Its average monthly thickness reaches 20 to 30 cm in February at low elevations. In the Alpine zone above 2,000 m the snow cover is thickest in March, reaching 70 to 80 cm. In the highest ridges the maximum thickness reaches 200 to 240 cm. The snow cover remains for an average of 70–80 days at elevations of 1,200–1,300 m and 180 to 200 days at elevations above 2,000 m. Avalanches are frequent, often caused by temperature changes by

9775-516: The northern slopes and occur especially often in the Samokov Valley, Borovets and Musala, where it is observed in 250 days annually. The annual precipitation varies with elevation and slope orientation. The annual precipitation is 653 mm at Samokov (1,029 m), 932 mm at Borovets (1,350 m) and 1200 mm at Musala (2,925 m); about 80% of it being snow at the later. The rainfall occurs mostly in summer and spring on

9890-493: The northern slopes, with maximum in June and minimum in February; the rainfall increases in winter and decreases in summer on the southern slopes and yet the monthly maximum and minimum are the same; there are 130–160 days with rainfall/snowfall. Air humidity in the highlands of Rila ranges between 80 and 85%. The coldest winter months are also the driest. Humidity differs on the northern and southern slopes of Rila. The snow cover above 1,000 m begins to form on 10–15 December on

10005-765: The pasha, who went to settle the accounts. Some of the rebellious population chose to convert to Islam rather than pay the corresponding levies to the Greek Church. There is also a Congregational community in the city, part of the Union of Evangelical Congregational Churches. Velingrad has an Aromanian community, being one of the few places in Bulgaria where Aromanians live. An Aromanian cultural organization exists in Velingrad. There are eight schools (five of them high schools ), three reference libraries ( chitalishtes ), about 100 hotels (some of which five- star ),

10120-843: The past of this region were collected in school and community museum collections. On this basis, the Velingrad City History Museum was established in 1952. Later it was transformed into the house museum "Vela Peeva". In 1991, the Ministry of Culture decided to change its status again to the Historical Museum - Velingrad. Archaeology, Renaissance, Ethnography, New and Recent History and Art Departments were formed. More than 19,000 archaeological finds, objects of old life, icons, old printed books, personal belongings and archives of famous personalities, photographs and documents are stored and studied in them. The museum has

10235-486: The renowned Seven Rila Lakes , and is rich in hot springs in the fault areas at the foothills, including the hottest spring in South-eastern Europe in Sapareva Banya . The mountain range has varied flora and fauna with a number of endemic and relict species and some of the best preserved forests in the country. The biodiversity and the pristine landscapes are protected by Rila National Park which covers much of

10350-467: The rest of the villages are in the Rhodope Mountains . The entire area of the municipality is 293,536 decares , of which 221,862 are wooded areas and 62,205 are farmlands. The terrain is mostly mountainous and hilly. The territory includes parts of Rila , the Rhodopes , and the dale of the Mesta river . East of the valley, on the river Belichka, there are parts of the eastern (Musalenski) section of

10465-435: The ski resort Semkovo . The other smaller villages use local water sources. Sewerage works in Belitsa and Dagonovo and in Semkovo . Electrical power supply is well organized and all the inhabited places have electricity. Phone lines are not available in the remote villages and there exist radio connected phones. Mobile connections are limited because of the terrain, but generally available in all villages. Internet via cable

10580-441: The south-eastern foothills (from west to east) — Razlog (12,036), Belitsa (2,964) and Yakoruda (5,288). There are a number of villages, including among others Govedartsi , Belchin , Madzhare , Kostenets , Pastra , Stob , Barakovo , Dobarsko , etc. Some of the settlements on the Rila include a small Aromanian minority. The mountain range is served by several roads running along its foothills. No roads traverse

10695-441: The springs is 160 L/s, and only in Chepino is 70 L/s. The mineral springs (80 in number), the mild climate and the beautiful nature are the great wealth of the town. Velingrad is one of the largest spa resorts in Bulgaria and is known as the "Spa Capital of the Balkans". There are numerous sanatoriums, resorts, modern spas and hotels here. Together with the numerous mineral waters, Velingrad boasts another natural phenomenon as well —

10810-549: The summit of Musala. Rila Monastery is the most important architectural monument in the mountain range. It is situated at an elevation of 1,147 m and was declared a UNESCO's world heritage site in 1983. The Monastery is considered to be a cultural and spiritual centre of Bulgaria. With its architecture and frescos Rila Monastery represents a masterpiece of the creative genius of the Bulgarian people and has exerted considerable influence on architecture and aesthetics within

10925-497: The surrounding mountain ranges – Klisura Saddle (1,025 m) with Verila to the north-west, Borovets Saddle (1,305 m) with Sredna Gora to the north, Yundola (1,375 m) and Avramovo Saddles (1,295 m) with the Rhodope Mountains to the south-east and Predel Saddle (1,140 m) with Pirin to the south. Within these limits Rila spans an area of 2,629 km and has an average elevation of 1,487 m. The high elevation zone over 1,600 m forms about 50% of

11040-588: The symbols of the town. It is located in the Chepino district, which is one of the three thermal zones in Velingrad. A large part of the spring water is used for drinking purposes; the other part feeds two lakes, which then flow into the Chepinskaya River, and from there into the Maritsa and the White Sea. Pine forests stretch south from the karst spring and have been turned into a natural park. The park

11155-411: The table above). After the last count in 2011 a slight positive growth is noticed. The vast majority of the population, especially in the villages are Muslim . There are Christians in Belitsa. The first church in Belitsa, dedicated to St Demetrius of Thessaloniki was built in 1716. The second church, dedicated to St George was built in 1833–1835 with a clock-tower. In the village of Babyak , there

11270-519: The timber and wood processing industry, tourism, small and medium-sized enterprises and agriculture. Some leading and traditional industries of 10-15 years ago - mechanical engineering, chemical industry, marble mining and processing, wood board production are no longer functioning as a result of the transition to a market economy and privatisation. Only the chemical industry plant Crystal and mechanical engineering plant Kentavar have survived. The GDP in 1998 amounted to 45 million dollars and by this indicator

11385-465: The total potential of the country. The water reserves that form within the mountain range are the most important source of clean potable water for the surrounding settlements, the national capital Sofia and part of the population of Northern Greece and European Turkey. The regime of the rivers of Rila is directly related to the elevation and about half of the water reserves in the mountain are at an elevation above 2,050 m. The main drainage divide in

11500-493: The total territory. There are over 140 main peaks above 2,000 m. With an elevation of 2,925 m at Musala, Rila is the highest mountain range in Bulgaria and the Balkan Peninsula , and the sixth highest in Europe after the Caucasus , the Alps , Sierra Nevada , the Pyrenees and Mount Etna . Musala is the fourth most isolated peak in continental Europe after Mont Blanc , Mount Elbrus and Galdhøpiggen raising at

11615-589: The town of Kostenets, where it joins the first class I-8 road , part of European route E80 . The second class II-19 road which branches off I-1 at Simitli , goes east crossing the Predel Saddle into the Razlog Valley and at the homonymous town links with the second class II-84 road which runs in north-eastern direction along the Avramovo Saddle and links with the I-8 road/E80 near Pazardzhik . Rila

11730-510: The town. The mineral waters (from springs and wells) vary considerably in temperature, mineralization, radon, silicic acid and fluorine content, and are suitable for treatment of a wide range of diseases. 9000 litres of water per minute spring from the five thermal and mineral deposits in Ladzhene, Kamenitsa, Chepino, Rakitovo and Kostandovo . The Velingrad geothermal field is the largest in Southern Bulgaria. The total flow rate of

11845-602: The traditional Bulgarian National Revival style with several edifices and a park. Its 170 kW hydroelectric generator installed in 1912 is still working unaltered. Two other hunting lodges were constructed for the monarchs — Sitnyakovo and Saragyol . There are 17 mountains refuges with a total of 1938 beds. There are 198 km primary and 363 km secondary hiking trails in Rila National Park, including E4 European long distance path that traverses it from west to south and E8 European long distance path that traverses it from north-west to south. Rila National Park

11960-614: The two main ridges in Central Rila, Skakavitsa and Rilets. The highest summit is Cherna Polyana (2,716 m); other important peaks are Skalata, Small and Big Skakavets, Rilets; there are 28 peaks over 2,100 m. This subdivision is renowned mainly for the glacial lakes Ribni , Dzhendemski, Manastirski, as well as the largest glacial lake in the Balkan Peninsula ;— Smradlivo Lake . Northwest Rila, known also as Malyovitsa Rila, occupies about 24% of Rila and

12075-518: The valleys of Beli Iskar and Maritsa; the Ibar Ridge runs in west–east direction from the summit of Marishki Chal to the Avramovo Saddle. It covers 37% of the mountain's territory and contains the highest summit in the range — Musala (2,925 m), as well as 12 of the 18 summits over 2,700 m — Irechek (2,852 m), Deno (2,790 m), Mancho (2,771 m) and others; there are 46 peaks over 2,100 m. East Rila contains

12190-543: The village of Kostenets with a total discharge of 12 L/sec and temperature of 46–73 °C. Rila has well developed cultural tourism and contains five of the 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria  — the Church of Theodore Tyro and Theodore Stratelates in the village of Dobarsko , the Rila Monastery and the Stob Earth Pyramids , the Seven Rila Lakes, the museum of history and the convent in the town of Samokov, and

12305-481: The villages: Babyak, Dagonovo, Kraishte and Gorno Kraishte. The other smaller villages have suffragan mayors, appointed from the Municipal Council. Semkovo is not an autonomous township and has no mayor. There is a police station and a post in Belitsa. In the town of Belitsa work several GP physicians and dentists. The Emergency health care is provided from Razlog . The forestry and wood processing

12420-425: The width — between 375 m and 10 m, the area — between 1 m and 212 decares, the depth — between 0.5 m and 37.5 m. Most of them are between 2 m and 10 m deep and four reach depth of over 20 m. The water is transparent as deep as 15 m. Most of the lakes are covered with ice during most of the year — from October to June. The ice thickness reaches 3 m in

12535-549: The zone between 1,300 m and 1,600 m is dominated by European beech ( Fagus sylvatica ), at places mixed with European silver fir ( Abies alba ). The endemic Rila oak ( Quercus protoroburoides ) inhabits only the Rilska River valley. The forests of coniferous zone between 1,600 m and 2,100 m consist of primarily of Norway spruce ( Picea abies ), Macedonian pine ( Pinus peuce ) и Scots pine ( Pinus sylvestris ). The sub-Alpine zone up to 2,500 m

12650-539: Was a hilltop just outside the city of Velingrad, locally called the "Acropolis". The design mainly reflected the values of French Renaissance architecture but with discreet decorative features in the then fashionable Art Deco style. The house was nationalized in 1946, and transformed into a sanatorium for the treatment of infectious diseases. In 1992 the Villa Raina was restituted to Stevović's heirs (families Krsmanović-Simić and Gillès de Pélichy). The summer house

12765-415: Was built with own funds by the former rural municipality of Chepino - Banya, and the first lake was established in 1933. The beginning of the museum work in the Chepino region was laid in 1909 by Hristo Maslarov. On his initiative the community centre in the village of. Kamenitsa, an Archaeological Museum was established, approved by the Ministry of Education. In the following decades, many testimonies about

12880-411: Was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. Rila is also a popular destination for hiking, winter sports and spa tourism, hosting the nation's oldest ski resort Borovets , as well as numerous hiking trails. Some of the most important hydro power stations in Bulgaria are situated in the eastern part of the mountain range, including the Belmeken–Sestrimo–Chaira Hydropower Cascade (1,599 MW),

12995-537: Was established due to the presence of mineral springs and baths. The district is the largest of them all in Velingrad. One of the oldest Bulgarian churches is located in the district. The floor of its altar was used for hiding weapons during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) . The structure and development of the economy in Velingrad is largely determined by the available natural resources and long-standing traditions. The main structural economic sectors are

13110-406: Was renamed in 1934 to the village of Chepino (after the Chepino valley). Its name has undergone changes (Banya, Banya-Chepino, Chepino-Banya, Chepino). The central district of Velingrad. It contains the building of Velingrad Municipality, the central post office, the district court, the central cooperative market and other institutions. Ladzhene was once a feudal chiflik , around which a settlement

13225-583: Was visited by about 100,000 tourists annually for the period 2000–2014 reaching a peak of 268,000 in 2012, while with a little more than 1 million visitors Rila Monastery Nature Park is the second most visited one in the country, after Vitosha . In 2000 on the south-western slopes was established the Dancing Bears Park Belitsa that shelters all dancing bears from Bulgaria following the ban of that practice, as well as individuals from Albania and Serbia. The abundant mineral springs along

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