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Bankya

Districts of SofiaPages with Bulgarian IPAPages with non-numeric formatnum argumentsPopulated places in Sofia City ProvinceSpa towns in Bulgaria
Towns in Bulgaria
Bankya 1320
Bankya 1320

Bankya (Bulgarian: Банкя [ˈbaŋkʲɐ]) is a small town located on the outskirts of Sofia in western Bulgaria. It is administratively part of Greater Sofia. The district is famous for the mineral springs and baths that have been used for medicinal purposes for hundreds of years. In 1969 the village of Bankya was proclaimed a town, and in 1979 it became part of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Bankya is 17 km west of capital Sofia. It is situated at the foot of Lyulin Mountain at an average elevation of around 630–750 meters. The first people to populate the region of Bankya were Thracian tribes, over 2500 years ago. Archaeological excavations near the quarter of Ivanyane have unearthed remains of Ancient Roman buildings, walls and sewers, and bronze bracelets from the 4th–5th century. Bankya's economy depends mainly on tourism and balneological treatment. Bankya was first mentioned as Banka in the 15th century. The former villages of Verdikal, Gradoman and Mihaylovo are part of the town itself, while Ivanyane and Klisura are part of the municipality. Bankya's name stems from the common noun bankya, "hot spring", a diminutive of banya ("baths").Bankya is the birthplace of the founder of GERB – Boyko Borisov, former Prime Minister of Bulgaria, Bankya is also a birth place of the rapper Anonimen

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Bankya (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

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N 42.7 ° E 23.133333333333 °
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Sofia City
Bulgaria
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Bankya 1320
Bankya 1320
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Ovcha kupel
Ovcha kupel

Ovcha kupel (Bulgarian: Овча купел [ˌɔft͡ʃɐ ˈkupɛɫ]) is a district (rayon) of the Stolichna Municipality of Sofia City Province, Bulgaria.The name of the neighborhood is applied to the thermal water that comes out on the earth's surface: shepherds who led their flocks there knew that the sheep willingly walk in the swampy meadows. After an earthquake in 1858, hot water gushed out and the sheep did not avoid it and were like bathed, hence the name, literally means "sheep bath" (ovcha kupel). On that place in 1933 was opened the Ovcha kupel Mineral Bath, built in 1925-1928 by architect Georgi Ovcharov. As of 2006 it has 47,380 inhabitants. It is located starting at 6 km to the south-west of the city centre of Sofia, including the eastern part of the Lyulin Mountain. The district includes some neighborhoods of Sofia – Ovcha kupel, Gorna banya, Suhodol, Karpuzitsa, and the village of Malo Buchino. In the district are situated 3 institutions of higher education: Specialized Establishment of the Francophonie for Administration and Management; New Bulgarian University (with more than 7,000 students); Higher School of Insurance and Finance.There are 9 schools (including the National educational complex in culture) and 5 houses of culture called chitalishte, the oldest of them built in 1922. The district is home of Slavia – the oldest football club in Sofia, among the oldest in the country with a 25,556-seater stadium.