Shiroka Laka ( bg, Широка лъка ) is a village 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 ...

, located in Smolyan municipality, Smolyan Province. It is a proclaimed architectural and folklore reserve and lies in the central Rhodope Mountains, 23 km (14 mi) northwest of Smolyan, 16 km (10 mi) west of

Pamporovo Pamporovo ( bg, Пампорово, ''pronunciation'': /pam'porovo/) is a popular ski resort in Smolyan Province, southern Bulgaria. It is set amongst Norway spruce forests and is primarily visited during the winter for skiing and snowboarding. It ...

and 22 km (14 mi) southeast of Devin. The dominant and traditional religion in the village is Eastern Orthodox Christianity and the population is 573 (). Shiroka Laka lies at 1,206 m above sea level, at .

Architecture

Shiroka Laka is famous for its authentic Rhodopean houses set in tiers on both banks of the local river. The old houses were designed in the characteristic architectural style of the Rhodopes by the noted local building masters, and feature two storeys, oriels, built-in cupboards and a small cellar with a hiding place. The thick white walls hide the yard from the outsiders' eyes. The yard is small and slab-covered and has a typical stone drinking fountain in the middle. Some of the most famous houses are those of the Zgurov, Uchikov and Grigorov families. The local Church of the Holy Mother of God was constructed in 1834 for 38 days according to the legend. It boasts an authentic iconostasis, possibly painted by apprentices of the brothers

Dimitar Dimitar ( bg, Димитър; Macedonian: Димитар) is a South Slavic masculine given name. It is widely found in Bulgaria and North Macedonia. Dimitar is derived from Saint Demetrius (280–306), alternate form of Demetrius. Containing the P ...

and

Zahari Zograf Zahariy Hristovich Dimitrov ( bg, Захарий Христович Димитров) (1810–1853), better known as Zahari Zograf (or Zahariy Zograf; Захари(й) Зограф) is a famous Bulgarian painter of the Bulgarian National Revival, ...

from

Samokov Samokov ( bg, Самоков ) is a town in Sofia Province in the southwest of Bulgaria. It is situated in a basin between the mountains Rila and Vitosha, 55 kilometres from the capital Sofia. Due to the suitable winter sports conditions, Sam ...

, or even by the brothers themselves. The old school, built in 1835, is located near the church. There is one more church in the village, the Church of St Nicholas.

Culture

Shiroka Laka is known not only for its old Bulgarian architecture, but also for its singing tradition and the ''

kaba gaida Kaba may refer to: Places * Kaaba, the holiest place in the Islamic World, a large cube-shaped building inside the al-Masjid al-Haram mosque in Mecca * Kaba, Hungary, a town in Hajdú-Bihar County, Hungary, which had a rare carbonaceous chondr ...

'', a local type of

bagpipe Bagpipes are a woodwind instrument using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. The Great Highland bagpipes are well known, but people have played bagpipes for centuries throughout large parts of Europe, ...

. Some of the most prominent singers of Rodopi music come from the village, including the Kushlevi Sisters, and many of the local families are well familiar with the style. A secondary school for folklore songs and instruments was founded in 1972. Among its graduates are Neli Andreeva, soloist and singer with the Philip Kutev Folklore Ensemble, and composer Georgi Andreev. On the first Sunday of March, the village also hosts one of the best known

kukeri Kukeri ( bg, кукери; singular: kuker, кукер) are elaborately costumed Bulgarian men, who perform traditional rituals intended to scare away evil spirits. This Bulgarian tradition has been practiced since Thracian times and is of a Thr ...

(specific Bulgarian type of carnival) celebrations in the country, ''Pesponedelnik'' as it is called. On that day, people dressed as folklore monsters, carrying wooden swords and painted red, dance around the village to drive the evil spirits out of the homes and the peoples' souls. Their costumes are decorated with bulbs of garlic, beans and peppers and they wear a belt with characteristic Rhodope bells attached to it.

External links

Shiroka Laka Information Centre

Shiroka Laka at Journey.bg

Nikola Gruev's photo gallery of Shiroka Laka

{{Smolyan Villages in Smolyan Province