Dospat ( bg, Доспат) is a town in the very south of
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
, part of
Smolyan Province, situated in the
Rhodope Mountains, close to
Dospat Dam. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous
Dospat Municipality. As of December 2010, the town has a population of 2,425 inhabitants
[http://www.grao.bg/tna/tadr-2010.txt ] who are mainly
Bulgarian Muslims
The Bulgarian Muslims or Muslim Bulgarians ( bg, Българи-мохамедани, ''Bǎlgari-mohamedani'', as of recently also Българи-мюсюлмани, ''Bǎlgari-mjusjulmani'', locally called ''Pomak'', ''ahryan'', ''poganets'', '' ...
.
The town was probably founded by Despot
Alexius Slav
Alexius Slav ( bg, Алексий Слав, el, ; 1208–28) was a Bulgarian nobleman ('' bolyarin''), a member of the Asen dynasty, and a nephew of the first three Asen brothers. He was first probably the governor of the Rhodopes domain of ...
in the 12th or 13th century, from whose title (''
despot'') its name is very likely derived.
Dospat Dam is the highest dam in Bulgaria by altitude and, with its 22 km
2 of water area, the second largest in capacity. It is fed by the River
Dospat. At the bottom of the lake is a former German military airport from the Second World War.
Honour
Dospat Peak on
Livingston Island
Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of Antarctic islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was the first land discovered south of 60 ...
in the
South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1 ...
,
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
is named after Dospat.
References
External links
Official website of Dospat Municipality
Towns in Bulgaria
Cities and towns in the Rhodopes
Populated places in Smolyan Province
Chech
{{Smolyan-geo-stub