Kovachevitza Architectural Reserve

The village of Kovachevitza is located in the southwestern part of the Rhodopi mountain, 1050 m above sea level. It was established in the end of the XVII century. The first local monastery school was created in 1830, and the church St. Nicolas – in 1848. In 1977 Kovachevitza was proclaimed national architectural reserve, because of its unique houses and streets, built of stone and wood. The old-times architecture has been preserved and is still used, even when new houses are built in the village. Currently, the village has about 50 inhabitants. There is an interesting legend about the name of Kovachevitza (“Kovach” in Bulgarian means “smith”): There lived a skillful smith, called Marko. After his death, his wife had to take care of their family, and when local people went to visit her, they said: “We are going to Kovachevitza (the wife of the smith)". Thus, through time, people started calling the neighbourhood where she lived by her name.