Leshten on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Leshten () is a mountainous village in Васил Кънчов. „Македония. Етнография и статистика“. София, 1900, стр. 195.
/ref> Nowadays there are only a few local permanent inhabitants, but many of the old houses have been restored and renovated as summerhouses or guest-houses. They were built in the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century in the architectural style typical for this region of the country. Most of the houses have very big terraces, inner courtyards and their own taverns.
The church "St Paraskeva" was built in 1837 and a school, run by the local priest has been added to it. Now the church is recognised as an Architectural and Cultural Monument of local importance. The school building has been converted to a pub, offering local cuisine and drinks.
The village is accessible by bus or by car, but the road is difficult in the winter.
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 ...
. It 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 ...
, 5 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 ...
, 75 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 2 kilometers south of Gorno Dryanovo
Gorno Dryanovo is a mountainous village in Garmen Municipality, in Blagoevgrad Province, Bulgaria. It is situated in the Dabrash part of the Rhodope Mountains 6 kilometers northeast of Garmen and 73 kilometers southeast of Blagoevgrad ...
on the road between Garmen and Kovachevitsa.
In the early years of the 20th century it was a busy village with more than 500 inhabitants, most of them non-Muslim./ref> Nowadays there are only a few local permanent inhabitants, but many of the old houses have been restored and renovated as summerhouses or guest-houses. They were built in the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century in the architectural style typical for this region of the country. Most of the houses have very big terraces, inner courtyards and their own taverns.
The church "St Paraskeva" was built in 1837 and a school, run by the local priest has been added to it. Now the church is recognised as an Architectural and Cultural Monument of local importance. The school building has been converted to a pub, offering local cuisine and drinks.
The village is accessible by bus or by car, but the road is difficult in the winter.
References
Villages in Blagoevgrad Province {{Blagoevgrad-geo-stub