Belchin () is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the Sofia Province southwestern

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, located in the Samokov Municipality. As of the 2024 the village had a population of 367.

Geography

Belchin is located in the Samokov Valley at the foothills of the

Rila Rila (, ) is the highest mountain range of Bulgaria, the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, and Southeast Europe. It is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and forms part of the Rila–Rhodope Mountains, Rhodope Massif. The highest summit is Musala at an e ...

mountain range, very close to mountain ranges of

Vitosha Vitosha ( ), the ancient ''Scomius'' or ''Scombrus'', is a mountain massif, on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Vitosha is one of the symbols of Sofia and the closest site for hiking, alpinism and skiing. Convenient bus lines and ...

Verila Verila ( ) is a mountain range in western Bulgaria with an altitude of 1,415 meters above sea level. It is part of the Ruy (mountain), Ruy–Verila mountain chain. Verila Glacier on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica ...

and Plana. It is close the river Palakaria of the

Iskar Iskar may refer to: ;Bulgaria * Iskar (river), a river in western Bulgaria * Iskar Reservoir, situated on the Iskar River * Iskar (town), a town in the Iskar Municipality of the Pleven Province * Iskar Municipality * Iskar, Sofia, one of 24 munici ...

drainage. The village lies some 13 km west of the municipal center

Samokov Samokov ( ) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. It is situated in Samokov Valley between the mountain ranges of Rila, Vitosha and Sredna Gora, 55 kilometres from the capital Sofia. Due ...

and about a kilometer west of the spa resort of Belchinski Bani. Belchin has a territory of 35.147 km². It lies just north of the second class II-62 road Kyustendil– Dupnitsa–Samokov. There are favourable conditions for agriculture, the main crops include potatoes, linen and grain. Livestock include cattle and sheep.

History and landmarks

The area was populated during the

Late antiquity Late antiquity marks the period that comes after the end of classical antiquity and stretches into the onset of the Early Middle Ages. Late antiquity as a period was popularized by Peter Brown (historian), Peter Brown in 1971, and this periodiza ...

. The village existed during the

Second Bulgarian Empire The Second Bulgarian Empire (; ) was a medieval Bulgarians, Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1422. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan of Bulgaria, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II ...

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. 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.

Gallery

File:Късноантична крепост Цари Мали Град - Крепостни стени и кула.jpg , Tsari Mali Grad Fortress File:Church of Saint Petka, Belchin.1.jpg , Church of Saint Petka File:File-Ethnographic Museum, Belchin.1.jpg , Ethnographic Museum

Citations

References

* {{Authority control Villages in Sofia Province