| The village of Bistrilitza is situated within 11 miles to the north of Berkovitza and within 11 miles to the west of the regional center Montana, in a picturesque district in the skirts of Stara Planina. Near Bistrilitza (some 2 miles) is one of the largest water reservoirs in Bulgaria “Montana” with facilities for rowing and a swimming pool. There are also some rivers - Zlatitza, Barziya, Ogosta. The small artificial lakes “Balova shuma” and “Gaganitza” are also within 2 miles from the village. Those are places suitable for fishing, water sports and hiking. To the west of Bistrilitza, in old beech woods, is situated the Lopushna Monastery, famous for its architecture and stone plastics. The church, dedicated to St Ioan Precursor has a wooden carved filigreed iconostasis in the best traditions of the Samokov school (1856) and icons painted by Nikolay and Stanislav Dospevski (1863). By the village of Bistrilitza is situated a hill called “Yudino”. The old people remember that their grand parents have entered the galleries and the central cave in the hill and have seen “the golden lion”. These legends are confirmed by historical evidence that the Romans processed gold and cut coins here. The Ogosta and Zlatitsa rivers are gold-bearing. Nowadays small amounts of gold are still yielded by washing golden river sand. Quick facts about Village of Bistrilitsa Other transcriptions: Bistrilica, Bistrilitza In Bulgarian Alphabets: Бистрилица Location: North-West Bulgaria Distance to capital city: 76.952 km from Sofia Latitude: 43.3575N Longitude: 23.105E Altitude: 200 - 299m above sea level Province: Montana District Municipality: Berkovitsa Municipality Area size of Village of Bistrilitsa: 20.722km2 Population of Village of Bistrilitsa: 231 inhabitants (to 01/01/2007) Post code (ZIP) of Village of Bistrilitsa: 3527 Phone code of Village of Bistrilitsa: 09528 from Bulgaria, 003599528 from outside |