Satovcha ( bg, Сатовча, old version: ''Satovitsa'', ''Svatovitsa'') is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

in Southwestern

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 ...

. It is the administrative center of the Satovcha Municipality in

Blagoevgrad Province Blagoevgrad Province ( bg, област Благоевград, ''oblast Blagoevgrad'' or Благоевградска област, ''Blagoevgradska oblast''), also known as Pirin Macedonia or Bulgarian Macedonia ( bg, Пиринска Маке� ...

Geography

The village of Satovcha is located in the Western Rhodope Mountains. It belongs to the Chech region.

History

According to

Vasil Kanchov Vasil Kanchov ( bg, Васил Кънчов, Vasil Kanchov) (26 July 1862 – 6 February 1902) was a Bulgarian geographer, ethnographer and politician. Biography Vasil Kanchov was born in Vratsa. Upon graduating from High school in Lom ...

, in 1900, Satovcha was populated by 832

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'', '' ...

and 650

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...

Religions

Both

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

s and

inhabit the village.

Popular culture

The village has greatly expanded in the last few years in aspects such as hotels, restaurants, supermarkets, and the town center. The main hotel serving the municipality is the three star Zenit hotel. The village is home to three supermarkets. Satovcha provides the background for the 2013 Bulgarian film "Soul Food Stories."http://www.sffs.org/festival-home/attend/film-guide/soul-food-stories#.U07_o-Y-c0r

Honours

Satovcha Peak in

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 the village.

References

Villages in Blagoevgrad Province Chech {{Blagoevgrad-geo-stub