Samokov

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Samokov Самоков
Town
Samokov Historical Museum with the statue of Zahari Zograf
Coat of arms
Samokov Location of Samokov
Coordinates: 42°20′N 23°33′E / 42.333°N 23.550°E / 42.333; 23.550
Country	Bulgaria
Province (Oblast)	Sofia
Government
• Mayor	Vladimir Georgiev
Area
• Town	11.982 km2 (4.626 sq mi)
Elevation	950 m (3,120 ft)
Population  (2021)[1]
• Town	24,629
• Density	2,100/km2 (5,300/sq mi)
• Urban	35,384
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal Code	2000
Area code	0722
Website	http://www.samokov.bg/

Samokov (Bulgarian: Самоков [ˈsamokof]) is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. It is situated in 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.