Momchilovtsi

Momchilovtsi (Момчиловци) is a Bulgarian village and ski resort in the Central Rhodopes, about 15 km northeast of Smolyan. It has an ethnographic museum, an art gallery and a number of churches and chapels (24 in the village and the vicinity), the most famous of which is the SS. Constantine and Helen Church built in 1836. The houses, mostly large 2- or 3-storey buildings, are amphitheatrically set at 1,352 m above sea level.

The village also has a kindergarten and a school. Local children can attend classes until the 8th grade, after which most of them continue their education in the nearby town Smolyan. A number of educational activities and concerts are organized by the local culture centre - 'chitalishte Svetlina' - on a regular basis.

Thracian and Roman artifacts have been discovered close to the village. It is thought that it was founded by exiles from Raykovo (now part of Smolyan) that sought to escape forcible conversion to Islam by the Ottomans. The present village is named after Momchil Voyvoda, a medieval fighter against the Ottoman invasion that had a fortress in the area. Momchilvotsi is a large village compared to others in the Rhodopes, with 1,456 inhabitants as of 2005 and 550 houses, and has completely preserved its Christian character unlike many other villages in this mountainous part of the country.

In the 2000s Momchilvotsi began to establish itself as a centre of tourism, more specifically snowboarding and village tourism, with small family hotels and sports facilities being established.

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Coordinates: 41°40′N 24°47′E / 41.667°N 24.783°E / 41.667; 24.783

Bulgarian ski resorts

Balkan Mountains	Berkovitsa Kom Parshevitsa Uzana

Osogovo Mountains	Osogovo

Pirin Mountains	Bansko Dobrinishte Kulinoto Razlog

Rila Mountains	Borovets Govedartsi Malyovitsa Panichishte Semkovo

Rhodope Mountains	Chepelare Momchilovtsi Pamporovo Smolyan Tsigov Chark

Vitosha Mountains	Vitosha

Tourism in Bulgaria

Smolyan Municipality

Capital: Smolyan

Villages	Aligovska Arda Belev dol Bilyanska Borikovo Bostina Bukata Bukatsite Chamla Chepleten Chereshkite Chereshovo Chereshovska Reka Chokmanovo Chuchur Dimovo Dunevo Elenska Elyovo Fatovo Gabritsa Gela Gozdevitsa Gorna Arda Gorovo Gradat Gudevitsa Hasovitsa Isyovtsi Katranitsa Kiselichevo Kokorkovo Koshnitsa Kremene Kukuvitsa Kutela Laka Levochevo Lipets Lyulka Milkovo Mogilitsa Momchilovtsi Mugla Nadartsi Oreshitsa Ostri Pazlak Petkovo Peshtera Pisanitsa Podvis Polkovnik Serafimovo Poprelka Potoka Rechani Reka Rovina Selishte Shiroka Laka Sivino Slaveyno Smilyan Sokolovtsi Solishta Sredok Stikal Stoykite Sarnino Strazha Taran Tikale Trebishte Turyan Varbovo Vievo Vlahovo Valchan Zaevite Zmievo

Landmarks	Mount Rozen Uhlovitsa cave Bulgarian National Astronomical Observatory Church of Saint Vissarion of Smolyan

Culture	PFC Rodopa Smolyan The Rhodopi International Theater Collective

Notable people	Vasil Angelov Valya Balkanska Dicho Uzunov Assen Vassilev

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