Sopot, Bulgaria
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| Sopot, Bulgaria | |
  Sopot, Bulgaria
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country |  Bulgaria |
| Provinces (Oblast) |
Plovdiv |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Veselin Lichev (NMSII) |
| Elevation | 417 m (1,368 ft) |
| Population (2005-09-13) | |
| - Total | 10,601 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| - Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Postal Code | 4330 |
| Area code(s) | 03134 |
Sopot (Bulgarian: Сопот) is a Bulgarian town situated in the fertile sub-Balkan mountain valley of Karlovo (which is the western part of the famous Rose Valley), immediately below the steep southern slopes of the Troyan Balkan Mountain (Central Stara Planina). Sopot is part of Plovdiv Province and is the administrative centre of a municipality.
It lies 5 km west of Karlovo, 136 km east of Sofia, 63 km north of Plovdiv and 61 km south of Troyan. It is the birthplace of arguably the best known and most renowned Bulgarian novelist, Ivan Vazov. Sopot is also a machine building centre.
According to Konstantin Jireček, the toponym is of Proto-Slavic origin, as indicated by the large number of identical placenames all around the Slavic world. There is information about the locality dating back to the Ottoman rule. During the Bulgarian National Revival (18th-19th century) it was called "Golden Sopot" because of its flourishing development in the crafts and trade. The citizens of Sopot manufactured homespun, braids, fur and leather of high quality and traded predominantly round the Ottoman Empire.
During the struggle for liberation in 1877 the town was largely destroyed by fire and its population was slaughtered or expelled. The town was named Vazovgrad between 1950 and 1965 after which it obtained its present name again.
The pioneering Bulgarian educator Nedelya Petkova (1826 - 1894) began her career a student at the monastery school of the “Holy presentation of the Blessed Virgin” convent in Sopot.
The population is almost exclusively Christian, mostly Eastern Orthodox but with some Evangelical and Roman Catholic families.
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