Central Southern Bulgaria
The town of Sopot (12 119 inhabitants, 520 metres above sea level) is situated in the fertile sub-Balkan mountain valley of Karlovo (which is the western part of the legendary Valley of the Roses), immediately under the steep southern slopes of the Troyan Balkan Mountain (Central Stara Planina).
Introduction & History
It is situated at the distance of 5 km west of Karlovo, 136 km east of Sofia, 63 km north of Plovdiv and 61 km south of Troyan. It is the birth place of the Patriarch of Bulgarian Literature Ivan Vazov. A big machine-building centre.
History: There is information about the settlement dating back to the Ottoman Rule. During the Revival Period it was called Altun Sopot (Golden Sopot), because of its flourishing development, thanks to the crafts and trade. The citizens of Sopot manufactured aba (coarse homespun woollen cloth and upper men’s garment made of it), braids, fur and leather of high quality and traded them predominantly round the Ottoman Empire. The town was destroyed by fire during the struggle for liberation (1877), and its population was slaughtered or expelled. The town was named Vazovgrad between 1950 and 1965 after which it obtained its present name again.
