Dobarsko

Dobarsko stands on the southern slopes of the Rila Mountains above the Razlog valley, with Pirin rising to the south. The village appears in a charter of Tsar Ivan Shishman to the Rila Monastery in 1378. Under Ottoman rule it prospered through livestock and trade: its merchants bought cotton in northern Greece and carried it toward Central Europe, while herds grazed in the mountains and on the plains around Drama and Serres.

The village's church of Saints Theodore Tyro and Theodore Stratelates was built in 1614. A small stone basilica set partly into the ground, it shelters an interior rich in murals and icons. Dobarsko's standing in the valley later declined as nearby Bansko grew in importance during the late 18th century, but the painted church remained a testament to the wealth and devotion of its inhabitants.