Samokov is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. It is in the Samokov Valley between the mountain ranges of Rila, Vitosha, and Sredna Gora, 55 kilometres from the capital Sofia. Due to the suitable winter sports conditions, Samokov, together with the nearby resort Borovets, is a major tourist centre.[2]
In the past, Samokov was a centre of handicrafts and art, with notable Bulgarian National Revival figures like Zahari Zograf, Hristo Dimitrov and Nikola Obrazopisov. The town’s name is a compound word of “samo” and “kov”, respectively meaning “self” and the root of the verb “forge, hammer”, and comes from the samokov, a mechanical forge powered by water, since the town of Samokov was a major iron-producing centre during the Middle Ages.
