During the Bulgarian Revival, the town of Samokov is a bustling commercial, craft and cultural center. It developed crafts that became the basis of industrialization. The city is famous for its painters, builders and carvers, founders of Samokov Art School. The population is colorful – Bulgarians and Turks, but there are also other, smaller ethnic groups.
In 1793 the rich Jewish family Arie settled in the city. They traded with fur, iron and homespun, but notable wealth was gained by money exchange (saraf) activity. They built great homes and their houses look like palaces – with fountains and greenhouses. From all of the Saraf houses only the smallest one – Arie family house is preserved today. Its main hall has a magnificent carved ceiling, combined with frescoes. The property is a cultural monument of national importance and inside it an ethnographic collection is situated, which shows how the interior of the town houses looked like in the ХІХ century. Known as “Sarafska house”, it is one of the landmarks of Samokov.
