The picturesque village Kovachevitsa is located in the southern part of the Rhodope Mountains, 1050 meters above sea level and about 24 km from Gotse Delchev. The population of the village is 50 people.
The emergence of the village is connected with violence towards the Bulgarian population from the vicinity, in the conversions to Mohammedanism in the period 1623-1625 and later in 1656, when the Bulgarians unwilling to accept Islam, left their homes, abandoning their property and loved ones and find refuge and shelter in the high and inaccessible mountains. The abundance of drinking water in the village, the spacious pastures, mild climate and remoteness from the attacks of Turks favored the settlement of refugees. In the beginning were formed separate neighborhoods on a family basis, composed of refugees that came from surrounding villages as well as from more distant places. Neighborhoods in the area are grouped near the water source (now called "Tsiganchitsa"), where the blacksmith Marco lived- a settler from the nearby village Ribnovo.
There is a legend about Kovachevits’s name: After the skilled blacksmith and farrier Mark passed away, his wife Gina took the fate of the orphaned family. When friends and relatives from surrounding villages were going to her, they were saying "I am going to Kovachevitsa", meaning to the blacksmith's wife. And as the time passed the name of the neighborhood, around which later grouped all the surrounding neighborhoods to defend themselves from frequent attacks of robbers, was decided and the current Kovachevitsa started.
In 16th century the village had only 17 inhabitants, but later after the wave of migration from Macedonia in 1873, the village had 630 inhabitants. Over time, the population increased, till reaching its highest point in 1905, when it had a population of 1740 inhabitants.
Kovachevitsa as well as Koprivshtitsa and the old part of Plovdiv, is an architectural reserve. It was declared as such in 1977, and its popularity due to the fact that it was a movie scene (“Mera spored mera”, “Mazhki vremena”, etc.), attracted people who bought and restored the houses, saving the village from destruction.
Kovachevitsa’s architecture is distinctive and unique. It can not be described in words, it must be seen. Having the revival home as a model, in the second half of XVIII century two-and three-storey houses with bay bid on the second and third floors and narrow cobblestone streets were built.
According to many, the symbol of the village is the church "St. Nicholas". This monument was built in 1847 by the famous builders of Kovatchevitsa with the support of the whole village. By plan it is a three-nave basilica and it is built of solid stone walls and a roof covered with stone slabs, typical building technology for Kovachevitsa. In the church’s favor is also the fact that it is one of the five biggest basilicas in Bulgaria.
The quietness in the village is favorable for business trips and vacations for individual tourists. There is regular transport to nearby towns and resorts, as well as fast food and restaurants offering superb traditional Bulgarian dishes.
For more information about this destination, please do not hesitate to contact us:
Phone: +359-(0)52-357176
Fax: +359-(0)52-355288
Email: info@holidayshop.bg