Bistritsa, Sofia

Bistritsa ( bg, Бистрица, also transcribed as Bistritza or Bistrica) is a large village in the

Pancharevo Pancharevo ( bg, Панчарево, , also transcribed as Pančarevo) is a resort village and district located on the outskirts of Sofia close to Vitosha, Lozenska and Plana mountains and occupies the southeastern part of the Capital Municipa ...

municipality, located at 15 km to the south of the capital

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

. it has 5,118 inhabitants. Bistritsa - jeleznitsa

Bistritsa is among the oldest villages in the areas around

Vitosha Vitosha ( bg, Витоша ), the ancient ''Scomius'' or ''Scombrus'', is a mountain massif, on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Vitosha is one of the symbols of Sofia and the closest site for hiking, alpinism and skiing. Conven ...

. Its name was marked in maps of the Second Bulgarian Empire as a fortress. There is a

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

monastery which was destroyed by the Ottoman army in 1393–1396. Between 1936 and 1946 the church of the monastery was rebuilt. During these works a Medieval grave has been excavated. It had been robbed and the only discovery was a copper coin from Emperor

Ivan Shishman Ivan Shishman ( bg, Иван Шишман) ruled as emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria in Tarnovo from 1371 to 3 June 1395. The authority of Ivan Shishman was limited to the central parts of the Bulgarian Empire. In the wake of the death of Ivan Alexan ...

(1371-1395). There is a

chitalishte A ''chitalishte'' (, . Derives from the verb "чета" - "to read" or "читател" - "reader") is a typical Bulgarian public institution and building that fulfills several functions at once, such as a community centre, library, and a theat ...

in Bistritsa, named "St. Tsar Boris" from 1909. Bistritsa is home to the famous " Bistritsa Grannies" a folklore ensemble consisting of elderly women, their daughters and granddaughters, who have been classified as "living treasures" by UNESCO. Villages in Sofia City Province {{Bulgaria-geo-stub