Kovachevitsa (; also

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one writing system, script to another that involves swapping Letter (alphabet), letters (thus ''wikt:trans-#Prefix, trans-'' + ''wikt:littera#Latin, liter-'') in predictable ways, such as ...

''Kovačevica'') is a village in

Garmen Municipality Garmen Municipality () is situated in the southeastern part of Blagoevgrad Province in Southwestern Bulgaria. It is a rural municipality, composed of 16 villages. The administrative center is the village of Garmen, but the most populated village i ...

, in

Blagoevgrad Province Blagoevgrad Province (, ''oblast Blagoevgrad'' or Благоевградска област, ''Blagoevgradska oblast''), also known as Pirin Macedonia or Bulgarian Macedonia (), (''Pirinska Makedoniya or Bulgarska Makedoniya'') is a province ('' ...

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 ...

Geography

The village is situated in the Dabrash part of the

Rhodope Mountains The Rhodopes (; , ; , ''Rodopi''; ) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in Greece. Golyam Perelik is its highest peak ...

in the steep valley of the Kanina river, 9 kilometers north of

Garmen Garmen () is a village in Blagoevgrad Province in Bulgaria and is the seat of Garmen Municipality. It is located in southwestern Bulgaria in the Western Rhodope Mountains in the Chech region 75 kilometers southeast of Blagoevgrad and 127 kilomet ...

, 71 kilometers southeast of

Blagoevgrad Blagoevgrad ( ) is List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, а town in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province. With a population of almost inhabitants, it is the economic and cultura ...

and 119 kilometers southeast of

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

History

The village was founded by refugees from different villages, who tried to escape the Ottoman assimilation in the 17th century. The isolated location and the fresh water supply were the most important factors in this process. The village has never had Ottoman administration, therefore it preserved the Bulgarian traditions. Kovachevitsa Church

St. Nicholas' church (, ) was built in 1847 and a bell-tower was built in 1900. The church has been designated as a national cultural monument. The first school was founded in 1820 and run by priests. In 1854, a secular school was founded. The school moved to a new two-story house in 1888. Nowadays the school is no longer operating because the lack of children; the building is preserved as a museum.

Architecture

The architecture of the houses is original and unique. Most of them were built in the second half of the 19th century, but there are also new houses, built in the same style. The village was designated an "Architectural and Historical Reserve of National Importance" in 1977. Many Bulgarian movies have been filmed there.

Population

The population at the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th centuries was 17 persons. In 1873 the population was 630. In 1905, there were 1740 inhabitants, most of them Bulgarian.Brancoff, D.M. "La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne". Paris, 1905, pp. 112-113. Since the middle of the 20th century the population has decreased very quickly. Most of the inhabitants went to bigger towns and cities. Many of the houses were abandoned and began to fall apart. After the village was re-found by Bulgarian cinematography and the new status of the village as a National reserve, many houses were rehabilitated and even new houses were built, but in the same architectural style. Now the village has only about 30 constant inhabitants, but actually a lot more live there in the Summer and during the vacations and holidays.

Tourism

There are many guest-houses and restaurants in the traditional style. The village itself is not the only place of interest. There are many natural sites in the Rhodopes and in the valley of the Kanina river. Tourists can visit

Leshten Leshten () is a mountainous village in Garmen Municipality, in Blagoevgrad Province, Bulgaria. It is situated in the Dabrash part of the Rhodope Mountains, 5 kilometers north of Garmen, 75 kilometers southeast of Blagoevgrad and 2 kilometers sout ...

– another historical village in the area - as well as the Natural reserve "Temnata gora" and many other places in

References

{{Coord, 41, 41, N, 23, 50, E, display=title, region:BG_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Villages in Blagoevgrad Province