Description
The town of Koprivshtitsa is located in the heart of the Sredna Gora mountain range. It is 110 km from Sofia, and 90 km from Plovdiv. In 1952, it was declared the only city-museum in the country, and since 1971 it has been an architectural and historical reserve, with a total of 388 architectural, historical, artistic, and ethnographic monuments. In 1978, it was recognized as a national architectural reserve of international importance and as a tourist destination.
There are many legends concerning the town’s beginnings. One relates that the location boasted a plentiful store of kop, and that it was particularly fertile, a popular resting place for caravans and shepherds herding their flocks. It was here that proto-Bulgarians settled with their herds – people known as “Zhupa” – and that was the origin of Koprivshtitsa.