Kovachevitsa

Cityscape: Past in the future

High, up in the Western Rodopi mountain at 1000m above sea level is situated the village of Kovachevitsa, one of the national architectural legends of Bulgaria. Its climate is mountainous but moderate, the breath of Aegean sea can be felt coming form the South.
The village was found at the end of 17th century and at that time Kovachevitsa was the cultural center of the entire region - the first cell school was built there in 1830 and the St. Nicolas church in 1848. The architectural style of the local houses has not been changed since the founding of the village and the only materials used are stone and wood.
Kovachevitsa's houses are usually build on two or three floors. On the ground there is the covered country yard paved with big stone slabs and from there was entered to the ground floor, housing a spacious cattle shed with the manger cut into the trunk of a whole pine tree. Wooden staircase leads to the second floor and into a big poton. At the back are the rooms with fireplace and wooden ceilings. Bathrooms are also located there no matter how unusual that might have seamed for its time, the inhabitants of Kovachevitsa needed their comfort. Kovachevitsa has own sewage system which is nowadays still used and was build before the London's sewage system.
Kovachevitsa has mystery that can not be explained and its architecture is very impressive. The atmosphere is so charming with the narrow cobbled little streets, stone houses rising extraordinary high and grayish slabs covering the roofs. The village has repeatedly served as the natural stage for the shooting of numerous movies. In 1977 Kovachevitsa was declared a national architectural and historical reservation.

Kovachevitsa is simply out of this world – so very detached from the modern-day surroundings.

Local events

The Holy Spirit is the day of the traditional village celebration. It is held every year with ritual breads, songs and traditional dances.

Worth seeing

The Church St. Nicolas built in 1848 preserves the old traditions and stands in its original shape since its construction.