Borovitsa () is a village in

Vidin Province Vidin Province () is the northwesternmost province of Bulgaria. It borders Serbia to the west and Romania to the northeast, and its administrative centre is the city of Vidin on the Danube river. The area is divided into 11 municipalities. As ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. It is in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

Belogradchik Belogradchik (; ) is a town in Vidin Province, northwestern Bulgaria, and is the administrative centre of the homonymous municipality. The town is situated in the foothills of the Balkan Mountains just east of the Serbian border and about 50&nb ...

. Borovitsa means "pine stone" - the name of the rock that towers over the village. On top of the rock was once a huge pine tree, eventually destroyed by fire. The ancient village was located next to the stone, so people could hide in the woods in case of attack by the Ottoman invaders. After the

Liberation of Bulgaria The Liberation of Bulgaria is the historical process as a result of the Bulgarian Revival. In Bulgarian historiography, the liberation of Bulgaria refers to those events of the Tenth Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) that led to the re-establishme ...

, the village has gradually been built out along the

Lom River The Lom ( , ) is a river in the western part of the Danubian Plain (Bulgaria), Danubian Plain of northwestern Bulgaria. A right tributary of the Danube, the river is 93 km long. Geography The river takes its source at an altitude of 2,100 ...

and along the road to

. The inhabitants have in the past engaged in farming, animal husbandry and beekeeping. A few kilometers from the village the Romans had a military camp - Falcon or Falkovets. A Roman colony was on the outskirts of Borovitsa. The only remnants remain of the old village church, built in 1866, situated 2.5 km from the village to the west. The frescoes, icons and wooden altar are preserved. The bell tower dominates the valley among the rocks and woods. Nearby are the remains of a small school. At about 500 meters from the village is a waterfall, "Boboka".

Landmarks

The Rakovitsa Monastery "Holy Trinity," is operational after being rebuilt. It was restored by St. Pimen of

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

in the 17th century, following its decline after the Ottoman conquest. The monastery, originally established in the 10th or 11th century, was destroyed by fire at the end of the 18th century. The

Belogradchik Rocks The Belogradchik Rocks (, ''Belogradchishki skali'') are a group of strangely shaped sandstone and conglomerate rock formations located on the western slopes of the Balkan Mountains (''Stara Planina'') near the town of Belogradchik in northwest ...

, with their distinctive formations, are located about 7 kilometers northwest of Borovitsa. Also, the

Magura cave The Magura Cave (Bulgarian "пещера Магура") is located in north-western Bulgaria close to the village of Rabisha, from the town of Belogradchik in Vidin Province. The prehistoric wall paintings of Magura have great resemblance wit ...

, known for its notable features, can be found approximately 35 kilometers to the northwest of the village. About 500 meters from Borovitsa lies the Boboka waterfall. Close to the village, you can find the Borov kamak and the Neprivetlivata cave. Additionally, a Roman military camp named Falcon was situated a few kilometers from Borovitsa. The church Chervenata carkva is approximately 2 kilometers from the village. It stands out for its construction from red stone, which resembles the rock formations of the Belogradchik Rocks.

References

{{Belogradchik Villages in Vidin Province Belogradchik Municipality