Etropole (Bulgarian: Етрополе, pronounced [ˈɛtropolɛ]) is a town in western Bulgaria, part of Sofia Province.
It is located close to the northern slopes of the Balkan Mountains in the valley of the Iskar River, 80 km (49.71 mi) from Sofia.
The area was first settled by the Thracian tribe of the Triballi in the 7th or 6th century BC due to its position as an important crossroad connecting the Danube with Macedonia and Thrace close to two key Balkan passes.
They introduced the samokov hammer technology and helped for the area's establishment as a centre of craftsmanship and mining, with gold, copper, silver and iron being extracted in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The economic upsurge of the settlement aided the development of culture and education in the nearby Etropole Monastery in the period, where biblical and liturgical books were copied in a specific original calligraphic style, of which 76 hand-written volumes were preserved.
The village of Lopyan (Лопян) is located in the Etropole municipality and is situated at the foot of the northern slopes of the Central Balkan Mountain.