Chelopech ( bg, Челопеч) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the western part 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 Mac ...

. It is the only village in the '' Chelopech Municipality'',

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 ...

Geographical outline

The major railroad connecting Sofia and Burgas passes through the village.

History

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 a preserved

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities ...

document which dates back to the year 1430. It was designated an independent municipality on 15 August 1991.Chelopech
from Visit to Bulgaria web site Chelopech Hill on

Trinity Peninsula Trinity Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Antarctic Peninsula. It extends northeastward for about 130 km (80 mi) to Cape Dubouzet from an imaginary line connecting Cape Kater on the north-west coast and Cape Longing on the so ...

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 co ...

is named after the village.SCAR Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica
/ref>

Cultural and natural resources

The St. Nikolas the Wonderworker Church was built in 1835. The Municipality is in charge of the Murgana chalet, located at above sea level at the foot of the Mourgana Peak in the Balkan Mountains.

Demographics

According to December 2018, there are 1,526 people residing in Chelopech, most of whom ethnic

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not complete ...

(95%), followed by

Romani people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...

(4%). ImageSize = width:400 height:200 PlotArea = left:50 right:20 top:25 bottom:30 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = late Colors = id:linegrey2 value:gray(0.9) id:linegrey value:gray(0.7) id:cobar value:rgb(0.2,0.7,0.8) id:cobar2 value:rgb(0.6,0.9,0.6) DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:0 till:2400 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:200 start:0 gridcolor:linegrey ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:50 start:0 gridcolor:linegrey2 PlotData = color:cobar width:20 align:left bar:1934 from:0 till:1791 bar:1946 from:0 till:1705 bar:1956 from:0 till:1783 bar:1965 from:0 till:1954 bar:1975 from:0 till:2205 bar:1985 from:0 till:2216 bar:1992 from:0 till: 1779 bar:2001 from:0 till:1710 bar:2011 from:0 till:1473 PlotData= textcolor:black fontsize:S bar:1934 at: 1791 text: 1791 shift:(-14,5) bar:1946 at: 1705 text: 1705 shift:(-14,5) bar:1956 at: 1783 text: 1783 shift:(-14,5) bar:1965 at: 1954 text: 1954 shift:(-14,5) bar:1975 at: 2205 text: 2205 shift:(-14,5) bar:1985 at: 2216 text: 2216 shift:(-14,5) bar:1992 at: 1779 text: 1779 shift:(-14,5) bar:2001 at: 1710 text: 1710 shift:(-14,5) bar:2011 at: 1473 text: 1473 shift:(-14,5)

Religion

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 Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

. At the 2011 census, 86.2% of respondents identified as Orthodox Christians belonging to the

Bulgarian Orthodox Church The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgars ...

Industry

Copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish ...

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.

Gallery

Image:Chelopech-church.jpg , St Nikolay Church Image:Chelopech-church-inscription.jpg , The inscription above the church door Image:Chelopech-war-monument.jpg , A monument to the fallen in the wars Image:Chelopech-library.jpg , The ''chitalishte''.

References

External links

Official site of the Chelopech MunicipalityExtraction and processing of the copper/gold Chelopech Deposit
{{Authority control Villages in Sofia Province Mining communities in Europe