Belchin (Bulgarian: Белчин) is a village in the Sofia Province southwestern Bulgaria, located in the Samokov Municipality. As of the 2024 the village had a population of 367.[1]
Belchin
Белчин | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 | |
  Belchin Location of Belchin within Bulgaria | |
| Coordinates: 42°21′42.33″N 23°22′50.64″E / 42.3617583°N 23.3807333°E | |
| Country | Bulgaria |
| Province | Sofia |
| Municipality | Samokov |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Angel Dzhorgov (GERB) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 35.147 km2 (13.570 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 931 m (3,054 ft) |
| Population (2024)[1] | |
| • Total | 367 |
| • Density | 10/km2 (27/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal Code | 2025 |
| Area code(s) | 07124 from Bulgaria, 003597124 from outside |
Geography
editBelchin is located in the Samokov Valley at the foothills of the Rila mountain range, very close to mountain ranges of Vitosha, Verila and Plana.[2] It is close the river Palakaria of the Iskar drainage. The village lies some 13 km west of the municipal center Samokov and about a kilometer west of the spa resort of Belchinski Bani. Belchin has a territory of 35.147 km2.[3]
It lies just north of the second class II-62 road Kyustendil–Dupnitsa–Samokov.[4] There are favourable conditions for agriculture, the main crops include potatoes, linen and grain. Livestock include cattle and sheep.[2]
History and landmarks
editThe area was populated during the Late antiquity. The village existed during the Second Bulgarian Empire in the 13th and 14th century. The fortress of Tsari Mali Grad near Belchin has been restored and is part of the 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria.[5] There are two churches, Saint Apostles Peter and Paul consecrated in 1883 and Saint Petka, constructed in the 17th century over an older medieval church dated to the 13th–14th centuries.[5]
Gallery
edit-
Tsari Mali Grad Fortress -
Church of Saint Petka -
Ethnographic Museum
Citations
edit- ^ a b "Tables of Persons Registered by Permanent Address and by Current Address". Official Site of the Civil Registration and Administrative Services (GRAO). Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ a b Geographic Dictionary of Bulgaria 1980, p. 43
- ^ "Bulgaria Guide, Belchin". Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ "A Map of the Republican Road Network of Bulgaria". Official Site of the Road Infrastructure Agency. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
- ^ a b "100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria: Tsari Mali Grad, Belchin". Official Site of the Bulgarian Tourist Union. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
References
edit
- Мичев (Michev), Николай (Nikolay); Михайлов (Mihaylov), Цветко (Tsvetko); Вапцаров (Vaptsarov), Иван (Ivan); Кираджиев (Kiradzhiev), Светлин (Svetlin) (1980). Географски речник на България [Geographic Dictionary of Bulgaria] (in Bulgarian). София (Sofia): Наука и култура (Nauka i kultura).