Samokov tourist info and hotels

Samokov is located in the northern foot of Rila Mountain in a field with the same name that is the highest in Bulgaria. The town has population of 27 664 inhabitants and is lsituated at an elevation of 950 meters. The longest river in the country – Iskar River, which springs from Rila Mountain, flows through Samokov. The town is sixty kilometers south-east from Sofia, forty km east of Doupnitsa, thirty-six km south-west of Ihtiman, thirty-seven km west of Kostenets and twelve kilometers north-west of Borovets Ski Resort.
The past of the Samokov town is related to iron mining - once it was a Roman settlement and the present town originated much later - at the beginning of fourteenth century as an ore mining settlement. When the Ottomans conquered the town in 1372, Samokov was an economic and cultural center of the area.
Initially, it was municipal and later regional center, administering present’s Blagoevgrad, Doupnitsa, Razlog, Ihtiman and other settlements. The first Bulgarian printing house of Nikola Karastoyanov was established here in 1827. In the end of 18th and the beginning of 19th century the biggest and one of the most renowned art schools in Bulgaria was established here - the Samokov School of Art.
Many of the most famous Bulgarian painters were born or worked on their art in the town, including Stanislav Dospevski, Ivan and Nikola Obrazopisovi, H. Dimitrov and his sons Dimitar and Zahari Zograf, etc.

Samokov is rich of cultural and historical monuments from different times. The Museum of History keeps items and documents, related to the regional industrial branch - iron mining; also interesting is the collection of typical for the town embroidery of folk patterns and various textiles kinds. The Assumption of the Holly Virgin Church is one of the most spectacular architectural monuments in Bulgaria. Erected in 1790-‘91, it is the joint labour of the great masters of the town - builders, painters and wood-carvers. The church of Belyo – The Birth of the Holy Virgin Church is a monument from fifteenth-sixteenth century with remarkable rich mural decorations. Other landmarks worth seeing include the big rinking-fountain, dating before 1662; the Convent (the Metoh – maidens’ monastery) from 1772; St. Nikola Church, Belyo’s House, Saraf’s House, Otez Paisii Cultural Center. There are also numerous monuments devoted to the Russians who were killed in 1877-1878, to the first printer N. Karastoyanov, to Konstantin Fotinov, to Chakur Voivoda (defender against the Ottomans), etc.
As a resort, the town of Samokov is very attractive with its favorable climate, the magnificent coniferous forests around, the Iskar River and mostly with its adjacency to the ski resorts of Borovets and Malyovitsa.

Samokov is well connected by bus transport. Between the town of Samokov and the capital city of Bulgaria - Sofia there are state bus lines at every hour as well as private minibuses. Also on every thirty minutes there are buses to Borovets departing from the bus station in the town center. The town is also connected by bus-lines with Dupnitsa, Kostenets, Sapareva Banya, Dolna Banya and with many other towns, resorts and villages in the region.