Godech ( bg, Годеч ) is a small town located in the

Sofia Province Sofia Province ( bg, Софийска област, translit=Sofiyska oblast) is a province (''oblast'') of Bulgaria. The province does not include Sofia in its territories, but Sofia remains its administrative center. The province borders on t ...

, of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

. The town is founded in a valley on the far west of

Stara Planina The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border be ...

, where the Nishava River passes. The settlement is about 20 km east of the Serbian border and has its highest peak Kom (2016 m) to the north. Godech is officially a town with 4,663 inhabitants (as of 2006). It is the administrative center of the Godech municipality.

History

A number of archaeological finds prove that the Godech region has been inhabited since the pre-historical times and since the times of the

Thracians The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

and

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. The evidences dating from the Middle Ages and the

Bulgarian National Revival The Bulgarian National Revival ( bg, Българско национално възраждане, ''Balgarsko natsionalno vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and tr, Bulgar ulus canlanması) sometimes called the Bu ...

are rather meagre. In 1453 Godech was mentioned for first time in the Ottoman records. There is a still preserved inscription in St. Nikola church in the village of Tuden and according to it the church was built in 1400 '"when the Ottomans took possession of Bulgaria'". About eleven years later another church with three apses and loopholes was built in the village of Gubesh, located nearby. The town's name is derived from the personal name Godek, a developed form of Godo or Gode or a shortened form of Godimir. It might also mean a "suitable, convenient place".

Honour

Godech Nunatak Godech Nunatak (Godechki Nunatak \go-'dech-ki 'nu-na-tak\) is a rocky 410m peak in lower Huron Glacier, in the north foothills of Tangra Mountains on Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands in Antarctica. The peak is named after the town of Go ...

Livingston Island Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of Antarctic islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was the first land discovered south of 60 ...

in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1 ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

is named after Godech.

Economy

The town is home to the only factory for

light-emitting diodes A light-emitting diode (LED) is a semiconductor device that emits light when current flows through it. Electrons in the semiconductor recombine with electron holes, releasing energy in the form of photons. The color of the light ( ...

within the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

. In operation since February 2011, the facility of total 10 500m2, worth $12 million and 51%-owned by Bulgarian battery maker Monbat AD, employs about 140 people. Another major employer is AQ Magnit AD, a subsidiary of

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

company AQ Group, with a 7,000-m² plant manufacturing

transformer A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...

s, inductive components, and cabling for clients such as

Bombardier Inc. Bombardier Inc. () is a Canadian business jet manufacturer. It was also formerly a manufacturer of commercial jets, public transport vehicles, trains, and recreational vehicles, with the last being spun-off as Bombardier Recreational Prod ...

and

Ericsson (lit. "Telephone Stock Company of LM Ericsson"), commonly known as Ericsson, is a Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company headquartered in Stockholm. The company sells infrastructure, software, and services in inform ...

Twin cities

Godech is twinned with the following cities:Twin cities list
* Dimitrovgrad *

Podolsk Podolsk ( rus, Подольск, p=pɐˈdolʲsk) is an industrial city, center of Podolsk Urban Okrug, Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Pakhra River (a tributary of the Moskva River). History The first mentions of the village of Podol, ...

References

External links

Pictures from Godech
{{commonscat, Godech Towns in Bulgaria Populated places in Sofia Province