Koprivshtitsa (Копривщица) is slated to be our new home town come October 10, a week after Shirley’s birthday. Unless you have a detailed map of Bulgaria you will not easily find us because Koprivshtitsa has a population of only 2400 people. However, we know that everyone will want to jump on an airplane and come visit so here is where we will be.
From Sophia, the capital and largest city in Bulgaria, we are 110 km. (70) miles due east. From Plovdiv, the second largest city, we are 90 km. northwest. Both cities require a 2 ½ hour bus ride. If you divide Bulgaria in two, north and south, we are right on the dividing line. If you divide Bulgaria into thirds, east and west, we are right where the west third meets the middle third. So draw one line north to south and another east to west and Koprivshtitsa is close to where the two lines meet.
Koprivshtitsa is in a region known as the Sredna Gora (Middle Forest). This is a mountainous region with rounded peaks reaching 1600 meters (5200 feet). Koprivshtitsa itself is 1060 meters (3500 feet) above sea level. About 40 miles north of town is the Balkan Mountains with peaks above 2200 meters (7200’). The Balkans are a very long, continuous, east-west chain of mountains that divide Bulgaria into north and south halves. They are the most prominent natural feature in Bulgaria and these mountains lend their name to the entire Balkan Peninsula and the Balkan Region.
To some of us from Arizona these elevations may not seem high at first until we realize that in Bulgaria we are starting from a much lower elevation. Is also useful to realize that in the United States, east of the Mississippi, the highest mountains are only a little over 6,000 feet in the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. Most of the mountains in the eastern United States are in the 3,000 feet range, a little less than Sredna Gora.
The lower ranges of the Sredna Gora are covered with beech forests and lots of birch trees which look much like American aspen trees. But with just a short rise in elevation the forest changes to pine then spruce and fir. There are still wolves and bear in these mountains along with the Imperial Eagle, an endangered species. Hiking is a big activity with eleven trails stretching out from the Koprivshtitsa area into the Sredna Gora and people come from Sophia and other areas to enjoy nature and escape the summer heat of the lower elevations.
My first clue about the climate of Koprivshtitsa was when I looked at the houses in town and realized that they had no vegetable gardens, just grass with a few apple or plum trees. There were no grape arbors, no tomatoes, no cucumbers, no large amounts of peppers, nothing to can for the winter. That all says something about the length of the growing season here in these mountain elevations which are also as far north as Chicago.
From the brochure I learned that the climate (Yes Shirley, take a deep breath!) is “mountainous and the winter is cold and usually lasts from December to April. The snow cover holds a long time. The winter days are sunny and fogs occur very rarely. The spring is short and humid. The summer is cool. The highest average (daytime) temperature of 30 degrees C. (86 F.) is measured in the hottest month of July and the lowest average (nighttime) temperature of minus 15 degrees C. (+5 F.) is measured in January.”
So much for the brochure. Milena tells me that sometimes the temperature goes to –20 C. (-4 F.) Also in some years the snowfall reaches a depth of one meter….and yes we walk everywhere. Shirley take another deep breath!
Did I mention that all heating in houses is done with wood with sometimes a little coal. Electricity is too expensive to use very much. Would somebody please tell how to bank a fire to last the night!! If the fire doesn’t last the night, Shirley may not last! And I’ve had enough of bachelorhood.
Those who know me well, know that I love the mountains and that the little I’ve told you about the Sredna Gora would make me excited to be living there but I still haven’t told you what makes Koprivshtitsa so special.
I don’t mean to tease but I will have to save that for another time. It’s late and I must be to bed.
From Sophia, the capital and largest city in Bulgaria, we are 110 km. (70) miles due east. From Plovdiv, the second largest city, we are 90 km. northwest. Both cities require a 2 ½ hour bus ride. If you divide Bulgaria in two, north and south, we are right on the dividing line. If you divide Bulgaria into thirds, east and west, we are right where the west third meets the middle third. So draw one line north to south and another east to west and Koprivshtitsa is close to where the two lines meet.
Koprivshtitsa is in a region known as the Sredna Gora (Middle Forest). This is a mountainous region with rounded peaks reaching 1600 meters (5200 feet). Koprivshtitsa itself is 1060 meters (3500 feet) above sea level. About 40 miles north of town is the Balkan Mountains with peaks above 2200 meters (7200’). The Balkans are a very long, continuous, east-west chain of mountains that divide Bulgaria into north and south halves. They are the most prominent natural feature in Bulgaria and these mountains lend their name to the entire Balkan Peninsula and the Balkan Region.
To some of us from Arizona these elevations may not seem high at first until we realize that in Bulgaria we are starting from a much lower elevation. Is also useful to realize that in the United States, east of the Mississippi, the highest mountains are only a little over 6,000 feet in the Smokey Mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. Most of the mountains in the eastern United States are in the 3,000 feet range, a little less than Sredna Gora.
The lower ranges of the Sredna Gora are covered with beech forests and lots of birch trees which look much like American aspen trees. But with just a short rise in elevation the forest changes to pine then spruce and fir. There are still wolves and bear in these mountains along with the Imperial Eagle, an endangered species. Hiking is a big activity with eleven trails stretching out from the Koprivshtitsa area into the Sredna Gora and people come from Sophia and other areas to enjoy nature and escape the summer heat of the lower elevations.
My first clue about the climate of Koprivshtitsa was when I looked at the houses in town and realized that they had no vegetable gardens, just grass with a few apple or plum trees. There were no grape arbors, no tomatoes, no cucumbers, no large amounts of peppers, nothing to can for the winter. That all says something about the length of the growing season here in these mountain elevations which are also as far north as Chicago.
From the brochure I learned that the climate (Yes Shirley, take a deep breath!) is “mountainous and the winter is cold and usually lasts from December to April. The snow cover holds a long time. The winter days are sunny and fogs occur very rarely. The spring is short and humid. The summer is cool. The highest average (daytime) temperature of 30 degrees C. (86 F.) is measured in the hottest month of July and the lowest average (nighttime) temperature of minus 15 degrees C. (+5 F.) is measured in January.”
So much for the brochure. Milena tells me that sometimes the temperature goes to –20 C. (-4 F.) Also in some years the snowfall reaches a depth of one meter….and yes we walk everywhere. Shirley take another deep breath!
Did I mention that all heating in houses is done with wood with sometimes a little coal. Electricity is too expensive to use very much. Would somebody please tell how to bank a fire to last the night!! If the fire doesn’t last the night, Shirley may not last! And I’ve had enough of bachelorhood.
Those who know me well, know that I love the mountains and that the little I’ve told you about the Sredna Gora would make me excited to be living there but I still haven’t told you what makes Koprivshtitsa so special.
I don’t mean to tease but I will have to save that for another time. It’s late and I must be to bed.
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