Samokov

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SAMOKOV

SAMOKOV , town in Bulgaria. During the 18th century, the Jews of Samokov were not listed in the tax registers and did not pay taxes. They therefore objected to the arrival of coreligionists from other countries, lest this would prejudice their position. Toward the end of the Ottoman rule (which lasted until 1877), the Jews owned mines, muslin factories, and tanneries. In 1874 the Alliance Israélite opened a mixed school from which many maskilim graduated; they later played an important role in banking and commerce. In 1873 there were about 600 Jews in the town; in 1919, 1,000; and in 1943, 374. After the establishment of the State of Israel, the Jews of Samokov immigrated there, together with most of the rest of Bulgarian Jewry.

bibliography:

Rosanes, Togarmah, 5 (1938–39), 165; baiu (1873, 1874, 1876, 1878, 1910); N. Greenberg, Dokumenti (Bul., 1945), 179.

[Simon Marcus]