Chelopech | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Coat of arms | |
  Chelopech Chelopech (Bulgaria) | |
| Coordinates:42°42′N24°5′E / 42.700°N 24.083°E /42.700; 24.083 | |
| Country |  Bulgaria |
| Province | Sofia |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Aleksi Kesiakov |
| Elevation | 705 m (2,313 ft) |
| Population (15 December 2007)[1] | |
• Total | 1,767 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Area code | 07185 |
Chelopech (Bulgarian:Челопеч) is avillage in the western part ofBulgaria. It is the only village in theChelopech Municipality,Sofia Province.
Chelopech is situated in theZlatitsa–Pirdop Valley enclosed between theBalkan Mountains to the north andSredna Gora to the south. The major railroad connecting Sofia and Burgas passes through the village.
The history of the village dates back to antiquity, which is proved by the remains, discovered on its territory - the "Ginova Mogila", "Gradishte", etc. The name of the village is first mentioned in a preservedTurkish document which dates back to the year 1430. It was designated an independent municipality on 15 August 1991.[2]
Chelopech Hill onTrinity Peninsula inAntarctica is named after the village.[3]
The St. Nikolas the Wonderworker Church was built in 1835.The Municipality is in charge of the Murgana chalet, located at 1,350 metres (4,430 ft) above sea level at the foot of the Mourgana Peak in the Balkan Mountains.
According to December 2018, there are 1,526 people residing in Chelopech, most of whom ethnicBulgarians (95%), followed byRomani people (4%).
According to the latest Bulgarian census of 2011, the religious composition, among those who answered the optional question on religious identification, was the following:
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
An overwhelming majority of the population of Chelopech Municipality identify themselves asChristians. At the 2011 census, 86.2% of respondents identified asOrthodox Christians belonging to theBulgarian Orthodox Church.
Copper mining is the main branch of the local producing structure. Chelopech is the biggest and richest copper-gold-pyrites deposit in Europe, which is one of the reasons for the stable economic situation in the region.
