Ovcha kupel ( bg, Овча купел ) is a district (''rayon'') of the Stolichna Municipality of Sofia City Province, Bulgaria. The name of the neighborhood is applied to the thermal water that comes out on the earth's surface: shepherds who led their flocks there knew that the sheep willingly walk in the swampy meadows. After an earthquake in 1858, hot water gushed out and the sheep did not avoid it and were like bathed, hence the name, literally means "sheep bath" (''ovcha kupel''). On that place in 1933 was opened the Ovcha kupel Mineral Bath, built in 1925-1928 by architect . it has 47,380 inhabitants. It is located starting at 6 km to the south-west of the city centre of

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 ...

, including the eastern part of the

Lyulin Mountain Lyulin () is a range of hills in western Bulgaria, located several kilometres west of Sofia. The highest point is Dupevitsa Peak (1,256 m). The Buchino Pass divides the hills into two, a western and an eastern part. Bonsovi Polyani are a popular t ...

. The district includes some neighborhoods of Sofia – Ovcha kupel, Gorna banya, Suhodol, Karpuzitsa, and the village of Malo Buchino. In the district are situated 3 institutions of higher education: * Specialized Establishment of the Francophonie for Administration and Management; *

New Bulgarian University New Bulgarian University ( bg, Нов български университет, also known and abbreviated as НБУ, NBU) is a private university based in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Its campus is in the western district of the city, known ...

(with more than 7,000 students); * Higher School of Insurance and Finance. There are 9 schools (including the National educational complex in culture) and 5 houses of culture called '' chitalishte,'' the oldest of them built in 1922. The district is home of ''Slavia'' – the oldest football club in Sofia, among the oldest in the country with a 25,556-seater stadium.

References

{{Districts of Sofia Districts of Sofia