Smolyan

Smolyan (Bulgarian: Смолян) is a town and ski resort in the south of Bulgaria near the border with Greece.

The town is built along the narrow valley of the Cherna ('black') and the Byala ('white') river in the central Rhodope Mountains.

For a while during the 14th century it came under the control of the Bulgarian feudal lord Momchil, alongside the whole Rhodope mountains, before eventually being subjugated by the Ottoman Empire.

The modern town of Smolyan was formed by the merger of three existing villages — Ustovo, Raykovo and Ezerovo — in 1960.

The largest church in southern Bulgaria, the Cathedral of Saint Vissarion of Smolyan, was inaugurated in the city in July 2006.

Salih Aga Pashmakli Residence
Smolyan's massive Cathedral of Saint Vissarion (2006)