On an early spring and unusually fresh morning, I arrived in Petrich.
The sun was still low above the horizon and the cold was biting, but the day was shaping up to be wonderful! The sky was blue, the green spring dress timidly colored the low bushes, the birds cheerfully filled the air, and their songs made my heart happy. I quickly crossed the village from south to north and without wasting time I stopped at the small parking lot built at the foot of the Boishteto area.
I had planned my Friday walk to start right here – from the "Bell" monument.
I grabbed my camera, opened the small iron gate leading to the steps in the direction of the huge split bell, and rushed into another remarkable adventure.
Dear friends, I have dedicated a separate and independent publication to the "Bell" monument in the Boishteto area, which you can view HERE.
The fresh spring views that overwhelmed me from here made my heart pound.
To the north, the still snow-capped peaks of the Balkan Mountains adorned the horizon in white above the white blossoming trees.
To the south, the heavily snow-covered hills of the graceful beauty Rila sparkled brightly under the scorching rays of the sun, while the village below sank into silence.
Slowly, the village was waking up.
Petrich is a village in Western Bulgaria, Sofia Region, Zlatitsa Municipality. Its name is pronounced with the accent on the last syllable.
The village is nestled between the westernmost slopes of Sashtinska Sredna Gora and the easternmost hills of Ihtimanska Sredna Gora.
Between 1950 and 1966, Petrich was named Srednogorets.
A total of five rivers flow through the land of the village of Petrich - the largest of them - Topolnitsa, Mirkovska, Smolska, Kamenishka and Gugov dol, which flow their waters into each other. It is believed that it is this five rivers that give the current name to the village.
Part of Petrich is the Bodyat neighborhood, although it is located a few kilometers away. In the past, there were many more neighborhoods - Belega, Angelovi Koshari, Varlina, Chebara, Fartunite, but gradually over time they became completely depopulated.
After the "Bell" monument in the Boishteto area told me its story, I get back into my car, start the engine, and head towards the center of the village.
I park next to the large village square named "April 20th", right opposite the "April 1876" billboard.
Panel "April 1876."
The "April 1876" panel is located on a specially built wall on the south side of "April 20th" Square.
The panel is a composition with images of the arrival of Voivode Georgi Benkovski's Hvarkovata detachment in the village, which took place on April 23, 1876, the first shot with a cherry cannon fired by the rebellious Bulgarians against the enslavers, with the central figure being priest Hristosko Rakov, as well as the welcoming of the Russian liberators on December 22, 1877.
On the right above the fountain is written the text of the chronicler of the April epic Zahariy Stoyanov:
The poor!
They hold first place among those villages that built the foundation of Bulgarian freedom with the ashes of their village!
The design of the panel is by the artist Todor Tsonev, and he created it together with his colleagues – the artist from the town of Zlatitsa Georgi Zlatanov and the local artist Dimitar Kanev. It was officially opened in 1976 on the occasion of the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the uprising.
In addition to the rich historical past of the village, I knew that currently the Petrich Art Gallery houses an extremely valuable artifact – the personal medallion of the benefactor of the Bulgarian people, Lady Emily Strangford, who in 1877 gave it to the 27-year-old poet Ivan Vazov. That is why I contacted the mayor of the village of Petrich – Mrs. Maria Ivanova Angelova – in advance, who in turn put me in touch with Mrs. Valentina Pizova – curator of the Art Gallery of the village of Petrich. They are expecting me! I should not waste any more time on the square, but continue to the school building, which houses the gallery and which is located very nearby.
The school building, which currently houses the Petrich Art Gallery, is located a minute from the center of the village, next to the church "St. George the Victorious".
Mrs. Valentina Pizova greeted me with a smile and soon became my personal guide, introducing me to the secrets that this wonderful Bulgarian village carefully guards.
Dear friends, I have dedicated a separate and independent publication to the sparkling jewel of the village - the Art Gallery, which you can view HERE.
Breathlessly, I looked around and photographed everything, while the pleasant voice of the curator of this wonderful place revealed long-forgotten stories to me. I listened carefully, absorbing everything.
Lady Emily Strangford - a symbol of humanity, mercy, kindness, generosity and love for the Bulgarians, is a person who has been given a prominent place in the Art Gallery of the village of Petrich.
I have dedicated a separate and independent publication to the life and work of Viscountess Emily Anne Strangford, which you can read HERE.
The Petrich Library
Excited by the experience, I headed to Petrich's lovely library, also housed in the school building.
There is hardly a place in our Bulgaria that has been created, diligently arranged, and daily arranged with more love than the modest, but so welcoming, small, but so bright, library of the village of Petrich!
This is a place that has hidden a piece of the hearts of its creators!
Again, stories and tales, acquaintances and fun, smiles and a wonderful mood! I left here with the promise to come back again.
I headed towards the church of St. George the Victorious, located nearby.
Historical Church of St. George the Victorious
The temple was built in 1857 by the Smolensk master musician Gancho Trifonov. An inscription on the wall inside the temple that has survived to this day testifies to this.
The historic church of St. George the Victorious was burned during the April Uprising.
After the Liberation, the temple was restored by the people of Petritsch.
"St. George the Victorious" is a single-nave building with a single vault with a semicircular apse and iconostasis. For a long time, the head of the temple was priest Hristosko Rakov, who swore off the Petrish rebels.
During the events of the April Epic, the place was turned into an arsenal and was used for swearing in by the newly registered rebels.
In the southern part of the church yard are the tombstone of priest Hristosko Rakov and the monument to the first victim of April, in the summer of 1876 - Petar Balov.
Petar Balov – the first victim of the April Uprising of the summer of 1876
Petar Ivanov Balov was a Petrinian, a participant in the April Uprising. He was the first victim of the uprising. He died on April 23, on St. George's Day, during the first battle of the rebellious Bulgarian people with the enslaver, which took place in the areas of Petrina Chukara and Slivovka, north of the village.
The same day, a group of Bashibazouks and Circassians, informed of the uprising, headed for Petrich and as they approached, they began a battle with the rebels. During the battle, in which the people of Petrich and the Hvarkovata detachment of Georgi Benkovski, led by the voivode, participated, several of the attackers were wounded and others were killed. One of the Circassians was shot by Petar Balov. Delighted with his success, the rebel went down to him to take his weapon, whereupon the wounded Muslim shot the Petrich resident with his revolver and killed him.
His death was a costly sacrifice for the village and his family – his wife and several children. Petar Balov was solemnly buried in the courtyard of the church "St. George the Victorious". Voivode Georgi Benkovski formed the Hvarkovata detachment near the church to pay tribute to the hero.
Today, a large marble cross with a wide base is erected over the grave, on which is inscribed:
April 23, 1876
Peter Iv. Balov,
the first to die for the freedom of Bulgaria as a participant in the April Uprising
The historic church "St. George the Victorious" is located along the small stream Gugov Dol. Opposite the church rises the Bratskata Mound.
Monument-ossuary of the fallen Russian soldiers in the village of Petrich (Brothers' Mound)
In the first years after the restoration of the Bulgarian state, on the initiative of priest Neno T. Mindilov, the bones of the Russian soldiers killed on December 21, 1877 and who died in the Lokmite area (above Varlina) were collected from their foreheads. They were buried under a monument-ossuary in the churchyard of the historic church "St. George the Victorious".
The monument, which is one of the Russian monuments in our country erected after the Liberation, has the shape of a pyramid, built of stone covered with concrete mortar.
The pyramid rests on a prism about a meter high, built of six rows of stones, ending in a small ledge. This base is placed on a wider stone platform.
On the south side of the stone prism is laid a marble slab with the text:
Bratskaya mogila
S. St. Petersburg Grenadier Regiment of King Friedrich Wilhelm III.
1 non-commissioned officer and 8 privates, who were killed on December 21, 1877 under the Petrichevo tree, are buried here
Initially, the ossuary monument was erected by the people of Petritsch in the most sacred place for them - the courtyard of the local temple.
In the 1960s, a new village zoning plan was developed, according to which the ossuary monument fell in the middle of a street planned for construction. For this reason, in 1966, steps were taken to preserve it, moving it a few meters south, to a garden on the right bank of the Gugov Dol River.
On the northern wall of the pyramid was then mounted a white marble slab with verses from "The Volunteers of Shipka".
And today, when a storm strikes,
the Balkans still remember that stormy day, make noise and send
its glory, wonderful like an echo
from precipice to precipice and from century to century!
Ivan Vazov
Later, coniferous trees were planted around the memorial. A small area and a path with stone slabs were formed to it.
A small single-arch bridge rises over the small stream Gugov Dol. Opposite it is Gugov's House - the birthplace of Neno Lulchov Gugov, an active organizer and participant in the April Uprising, restored after the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman slavery.
For a long time it housed the Petrich City Hall.
In the period 2014-2015, under a European project, the building was restored and a museum collection with exhibits and furnishings was set up in it - modern replicas of objects typical of the village from the 1920s and 1930s.
Dear friends, I have dedicated a separate and independent publication to Gugovata Kashta, which you can view HERE.
To the left of the Topolnitsa River and next to Gugovata Kashta, there is a monument to those who died in the Balkan, Inter-Allied, World Wars I and II.
Monument to those who died in the Balkan, Inter-Allied, World Wars I and II
It was built in the 1930s on the initiative of public figures and relatives of the village residents who died in the wars that our country fought about ten years earlier.
On a granite pedestal, composed of seven square bases, decreasing one after the other, of which the fifth in a row is about 100 centimeters high, is erected a monument of a Bulgarian soldier in combat gear, standing at guard duty.
The high prism has cut places into which four slabs of gray granite have been erected. On the front face of the monument is a slab with a relief of the Order of Courage and the text:
To the heroes who
died for the homeland
1912 - 1913
1915 - 1918
The remaining three memorial slabs bear the names of Petritsch residents who fell for the liberation, unification and independence of Bulgaria during the Balkan (1912 - 1913), the Inter-Allied (1913) and the First World War (1915 - 1918) - a total of 85 heroes.
By the middle of the 20th century, on a separate marble slab located on the eastern side of the monument, built into the base of the large prism, and separately on the pedestal itself, the names of ten residents of Petrich who died in the Patriotic War of 1944 - 1945 were inscribed.
Next to the monument is the old bridge over the Topolnitsa River.
Dear friends, I have dedicated a separate and independent publication to the old bridge, which you can view HERE.
Petrich is the village that suffered the most victims during those distant memorable times, which remained in history as the April Epic of 1876.
On April 20, 1876, the Bulgarians revolted against the enslaver, who brutally suppressed the rebellion. Although it ended in military failure, the April Epic had a strong resonance in Europe, due to the ugly reports of the barbaric atrocities committed.
Lady Emily Strangford and the American Januarius (Jan) Aloysius McGahan, a journalist and specialist war correspondent for the London newspaper "Daily News", played a significant and important role in shaping British public opinion regarding the evil and black fate of the Bulgarians.
Lady Emily Strangford appealed to the entire British public and Europeans in Constantinople to help the Bulgarians and created a fund-raising foundation called the "Bulgarian Present Relief Fund".
Lady Emily Strangford added her personal savings and jewels to the funds collected, and in this way the foundation managed to raise about 30,000 British pounds.
With part of the collected funds, medicines, clothes, furniture and food were purchased, and at the beginning of October 1876, Lady Emily Strangford arrived in Plovdiv.
The brutal reality that unfolded before her eyes was beyond all her worst imaginations! Lady Emily Strangford faced the ashes and destruction of the devastated rebel settlements in the most difficult hours, unsuited to our unfortunate people.
Lady Emily Strangford provided funds through which six hospitals were built and equipped - in the villages of Batak, Radilovo, Perushtitsa, Petrich, Panagyurishte and Karlovo, and new homes for over 5,000 Bulgarian families. She built a dining room in the town of Koprivshtitsa. She provided clothing for over 20,000 people.
I knew that in the village today one could still see the ruins of the fourth hospital in a row, built and equipped with funds provided by the benefactor of Petrich. So I headed south along a small street that soon led me to my destination.
This is the fourth hospital building in a row that Lady Emily Strangford has built.
Today, on the facade of the building, I find this memorable inscription.
This house was a hospital, built by Lady Strangford in 1876 and the headquarters of the Russian liberators in 1877.
In the village of Petrich, Lady Emily Strangford stayed in a very ordinary little house in the Bodyat hamlet, located north of the Kameniyska River, where exactly no one knows today.
In the room that this English noblewoman lived in for about a month while she helped out at the hospital every day, there was absolutely nothing but a low bed. Lady Emily Strangford wished to add only one wooden trough with water so that she could wash herself. Since there was no such thing in the entire village, the people of Petrich cut down the trunk of a thick tree and hollowed it out to make a trough for her.
From the village of Petrich, Lady Emily Strangford sent four plump orphaned children to England to study and succeed. They became doctors and lawyers. Two of them returned to Bulgaria to search for their roots.
I have dedicated a separate and independent publication to the life and work of Viscountess Emily Anne Strangford, which you can read HERE.
I still have to visit the places where the first and only victory of the Hvarkovata detachment over the Bashibazouks and Circassians took place. To do this, I get in my car and head north out of the village.
About a kilometer and a half after the last houses of Petrich (after no more than ten minutes of walking), a monument is clearly visible on a height on your right.
On a hill in the middle of the Petrina Chukara area, there is a memorial to those who died in the April Uprising.
The monument in the Petrina Chukara area was erected and opened in 1976 on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the uprising. It is also known as the monument "The First and Only Victorious Battle of the Hvarkovata Cheta".
Dear friends, I have dedicated a separate and independent publication to all the events that took place in these places, which you can view HERE.
How to get to the village of Petrich, Zlatitsa municipality?
Petrich is a village in Western Bulgaria, Sofia Region, Zlatitsa Municipality.
Petrich is located:
66 kilometers (about 1 hour and 02 minutes by car) from the capital
106 kilometers (about 1 hour and 38 minutes by car) from the city of Plovdiv
435 kilometers (about 5 hours and 15 minutes by car) from the city of Varna
344 kilometers (about 3 hours and 34 minutes by car) from the city of Burgas
30 kilometers (about 30 minutes by car) from the city of Panagyurishte
And finally, my dear friends,
you shouldn't miss to check out
the special album with photo moments –
discovered, experienced, filmed and shared with you!
Comments