Samokov

Samokov lies in a valley between the Rila, Vitosha and Sredna Gora mountains. Its name comes from the water-powered hammer used to forge iron, the craft that made the town a mining and manufacturing centre. Ottoman registers call it Vlaychov Samokov in 1477. The town was also known for woodcarvers and painters, whose work adorned churches across the Balkans.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Samokov became a major centre of iron production under Ottoman rule. In 1565–1566 its craftsmen were required to send 20,000 horseshoes and 30,000 nails to Belgrade. They also made anchors and supplies for shipyards on the Black Sea coast. The town's forests supplied timber as well: in 1573 its inhabitants were ordered to deliver three hundred beams as far away as Mecca.