Levunovo lies 10 kilometres south of Sandanski, beside the international E-79 road. The village has a clear cultural and historical focus: the St. George Memorial Church and a memorial fountain commemorate the Balkan War, while traces of an ancient settlement lie at Skalichkite. Other local themes include the history of the community centre, the festival appearances of two folklore groups, mineral springs and winegrowing. If you choose a destination based on its local themes, several distinct periods and interests come into focus here.

Memorial Sites in the Village

The St. George Memorial Church was destroyed during the Balkan War and later restored by soldiers and officers of the Second Army. Inside, memorial plaques name officers and soldiers who fell in the surrounding area, including the poet Dimcho Debelyanov. A large memorial fountain stands in the village square; soldiers built it at the request of the residents. It bears military symbols and a plaque with verses by Ivan Vazov. The two monuments emphasise different things: the memorial plaques shape the remembrance inside the church, while the fountain brings together military symbols and literary verses.

Community Centre and Folklore

The Otets Paisiy community centre adds an institutional perspective to the history of the monuments. It dates back to 1927; its library was established in 1934. In 2017, it held around 8,500 volumes. The community centre’s Zdravets and Lalenche folklore groups took part in folklore festivals in Bulgaria and abroad. The dates give a tangible sense of the development of the community centre and library, while the festival appearances give the folklore groups their own place in the village’s history.

Ancient Traces at Skalichkite

The ancient settlement at Skalichkite lies 300 metres southeast of Levunovo railway station. The site includes a high concentration of domestic and construction ceramics, as well as stones from the foundations of collapsed buildings. Five votive tablets depicting Artemis also come from the settlement. The finds show different aspects of the site: domestic and construction ceramics and foundation stones sit alongside the Artemis tablets as distinct archaeological evidence. This comparison helps distinguish Skalichkite as a separate archaeological focus from the memorial sites in the village.

Mineral Springs and Winegrowing

Mineral springs and winegrowing are also among the local themes. The water temperatures of the mineral springs range from 40 °C to 80 °C; individual springs may differ. This is a range, not a single temperature applying to all the springs. The Strimon Winery’s vineyard blocks cover 450 decares in the Levunovo area. These natural and agricultural features complement the village’s cultural and historical themes.

The main themes can be clearly distinguished by period: Skalichkite points to antiquity, the church and fountain to remembrance of the Balkan War, and the community centre to an institutional history dating from 1927.

Discover more destinations: Leshnitsa, Sandanski, Melnik, Pirin, Roshen, Lilyanovo, Dzhigurovo

Return to the main travel guide: Sandanski.