Bistritsa, Sofia
Coordinates: 42°35′10″N 23°21′36″E / 42.58611°N 23.36000°EBistritsa or Bistrica (Bulgarian: Бистрица) is a large village in the Pancharevo municipality, located at 15 km to the south of the capital Sofia. As of 2006[update] it has 4,004 inhabitants.
Bistritsa is among the oldest villages in the areas around Vitosha. Its name was marked in maps of the Second Bulgarian Empire as a fortress. There is a Medieval monastery which was destroyed by the Ottoman army in 1393-1396. Between 1936 and 1946 the church of the monastery was rebuilt. During these works a Medieval grave has been excavated. It had been robbed and the only discovery was a copper coin from Emperor Ivan Shishman (1371-1395).
There is a chitalishte "St Tsar Boris" from 1909.
Bistritsa is home to the famous "Bistritsa Grannies" a folklore ensemble consisting of elderly women, their daughters and granddaughters, who have been classified as "living treasures" by UNESCO.
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