Смолян

Smolyan is the longest city in Bulgaria — stretched among the Rhodopes near its own mountain lakes.

The lands around today's Smolyan were inhabited as early as the 2nd-1st millennium BC, when Thracian tribes lived in the Rhodopes. In the Middle Ages, the region got its name from the Slavic tribe of Smolyans, who settled here in the 7th century and left a lasting mark on the toponymy of the Middle Rhodopes. In the 14th century, the lands came under the rule of the Bulgarian feudal lord Momchil voivoda, and a little later they came under Ottoman rule. For almost five centuries, the settlements of Ustovo, Raykovo and Smolyan were known under the common name of Pashmakli (Pashmaklii) and were part of the Gyumurdzhin sanjak of the Odrina vilayet, an administrative affiliation that was also confirmed in the period 1867–1912. Despite the Ottoman rule, the local population preserved the Bulgarian language and the Rhodope culture - cattle breeding, dairying, weaving and rich song folklore, which marked the Renaissance in the region and are still considered part of the identity of Smolyan. In 1912, during the Balkan War, the area was liberated by the 21st Srednogorsk Regiment under the command of Vladimir Serafimov. The name Pashmakli was preserved for another two decades, until in 1934, by decree, the settlement was officially renamed Smolyan - in honor of the medieval Slavic tribe. The unification in the modern city took place on June 18, 1960, when by Decree No. 227 of the Presidium of the National Assembly, the cities of Smolyan and Ustovo, together with the villages of Raykovo and Ezerovo, merged into one common city of Smolyan. The idea of ​​such a union was launched already in the 20s of the 20th century by the Rhodope researcher Stoyu Shishkov. After the unification, the once scattered hamlets became one city stretched for nearly 25 km along the valleys of the rivers Cherna and Byala, which gave it the glory of the longest city in Bulgaria. Smolyan established itself as an administrative, economic and cultural center of the Middle Rhodopes, with built schools, a theater, museums and a planetarium discovered in 1975. Today, Smolyan is a regional town and a natural base for tourism in the Rhodope Mountains — close to the ski resort of Pamporovo, the Smolyan Lakes and the natural attractions of the mountain, combining modern city life with authentic Rhodope tradition.