Сопот

The hometown of Ivan Vazov — an ancient settlement at the foot of Stara Planina.

Sopot is an old settlement with a history stretching back about three millennia — archaeological finds from the Hallstatt culture (Early Iron Age) testify to life in the area, and during the Thracian era several settlements from the Odris kingdom flourished in the area. The name of the city comes from the Proto-Slavic word "sopot" - a roaring stream or spring. During the Middle Ages, on the site of today's city, there was the fortified settlement of Kopsis, which at the end of the 13th century became the capital of the domain of the despot brothers Smilets, Radoslav and Voisil - representatives of the Bulgarian boyar aristocracy in the turbulent decades after the reign of Tsar Ivan Asen II. With the entry of Ottoman power at the end of the 14th century, the old settlement declined, and the new Sopot gradually emerged in its place. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Sopot experienced an economic boom, known as "Golden Sopot" - its inhabitants developed abaji, fur-dressing and goldsmithing and traded throughout the Ottoman Empire. Guild organizations of artisans flourished in the city, and the virgin monastery "Introduction of the Virgin" (founded 1665) and the monastery "St. Spas" (founded in the 13th century, rebuilt in 1879) became centers of spiritual and enlightened life. On July 9, 1850, Ivan Vazov was born in Sopot - the future patriarch of Bulgarian literature, author of "Under the Yoke". The city gave rise to other prominent figures of the Renaissance: in 1858, the future apostle of freedom Vasil Levski became a monk here, and the teacher and revolutionary Nedelya Petkova began her educational activities in the monastery school. In 1845-1846, the church "St. St. Apostles Peter and Paul" was built, and Sopot became one of the awake revival centers of the Balkans. In the spring of 1876, after the outbreak of the April Uprising, in which Sopot residents actively participated through the revolutionary committee, the city was subjected to brutal repression by the Ottoman authorities — it was almost completely burned down, and part of the population was killed or expelled. The destruction continued during the Russo-Turkish War of Liberation (1877-1878), until finally, after 1878, Sopot was liberated and gradually rebuilt from the ashes. In the 20th century, the city slowly healed its wounds - the house-museum of Ivan Vazov was opened in 1935 and declared a cultural monument in 1964. Between 1950 and 1965, Sopot was named Vazovgrad in honor of its most famous son, after which it restored its historical name. In 1940, the VMZ factory was founded in the city - one of the largest arms manufacturers in Bulgaria, which determined the industrial appearance of Sopot in the following decades. After 1989, Sopot went through economic restructuring, and part of the industry decreased in importance. Today, the city relies on its literary and historical heritage, mountain tourism at the foot of Stara Planina and its proximity to Karlovo and Hisarya, remaining one of the symbolic places of the Bulgarian Renaissance and national memory.