Elin Pelin Municipality/ Obshtina Elin Pelin

The municipality of Elin Pelin is known as a cultural center of Shop tradition and customs. It is located in the eastern part of the Sofia field, only 24 km east of the capital Sofia.
Elin Pelin is also the only inhabited place in the country which, since 1950, bears the names verbatim of a famous Bulgarian writer. This is Dimitar Stoyanov, born in the nearby village of Bailovo, known by his creative pseudonym Elin Pelin.

There are many interesting facts in the history of the Shop region. The old village of Novoseltsi /today the town of Elin Pelin/, over the years had a different name and was located in a different place. It is believed that the settlement has existed since 550 years ago, having been called the village of Novosel, Nov sel in different periods. Traditions, confirmed by archaeological research, point to the old settlement in the "Kapaklia" area, south of the village of Novi Khan. This settlement existed from the time of the Thracians until the fall of Bulgaria under Ottoman rule under the name Balvan or Balgaran, when part of its population was forced by the Turkish authorities to move to the field by the Roman Trajan road. There it acquired the name New Village - Novoseltsi.
At the end of the 18th century, the new settlement was created in the place where our city is today, in the area of our current church. The residents of Novoseltsi gradually settled in the surrounding area, and by the time of the

Liberation, everyone was already living in the new settlement, and the old one was deserted. The renaming of the village in 1950 was connected with the death of the writer Elin Pelin on 03.12.1949. A survey was conducted among the population of the village of Novoseltsi for renaming it to the village of Elin Pelin and with Decree 141/25.03.1950. The National Assembly confirmed the results of this consultation and the village accepts the name of the creator. And ten years later, on February 2, 1960, Decree 38 of the National Assembly was promulgated to recognize the village of Elin Pelin as a town.
The so-called Trajan's road from the 2nd century passes through the territory of the municipality. Next to the village of Lesnovo, by the Roman road (III century), there was a large road station called Buragara (also known as Bugaraka). Southwest of the town of Elin Pelin, the remains of a roadside watchtower (watchtower) with a small settlement adjacent to it (IV century) were discovered and studied. Remains of a later Slavic settlement were also found there. Three kilometers south of the village of Novi Khan are poorly preserved ruins of a Thracian settlement with a fortress wall. In several places west of the village there are remains of Roman settlements.

The city of Elin Pelin proudly bears the title "the capital of shoppluk". The Shop Festival is an annual festival in the town of Elin Pelin, which takes place in the week surrounding the Church Feast of the Holy Spirit. It is an expression of the traditions of the local population, of its way of life and culture, of the color of Shopluka. The program of the Shop Festival lasts a week and is divided into thematic days - of Christianity, literature, fine arts, sports. It is a holiday that reveals the shop people as people who value life, preserve and develop their traditions, know how to have fun and give others joy and happy moments.