Chernichevo, Kardzhali Province

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[edit] Common information

Chernichevo (Bulgarian: Черничево) is an old Bulgarian village situated in the Eastern part of Rhodope Mountains, near the border with Greece. Its original Bulgarian name is "Dunyata" (Bulgarian: Дунята). The correct geographical location of Chernichevo is 41° 21' N, 25° 47' E.

[edit] History

Chernichevo lies on a region with an ancient history and rich past. Near the settlement there are seven dolmens from the time of the Thracians.

The Bulgarians inhabited the area since the 7th century CE. The Bulgarian population of the Rhodopes is a mixture of Thracians, Slavs and Bulgars.

During the Middle Ages the Rhodopes were a battlefield of many wars between the Eastern Roman Empire and the Bulgarian kingdom for influence in the Balkans. In these wars the local Bulgarian population supported the army of Bulgaria. Later, in the medium of 14th century, the region was under the attacks of the Turkish hordes, which appeared significantly for a first time in the European history in these years. Near Chernichevo there are ruins of an old village, a medieval fortress and a monastery, destroyed probably during the Ottoman invasion.

During the Ottoman yoke, a part from the population of Chernichevo was converted by violence to Islam, but the Christians survived and later they built the Orthodox church called "St. Atanasios" (Bulgarian: "Свети Атанасий"). In the end of 19th century the Bulgarians - Christians in Chernichevo established a secret representation of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization.

In the summer and the autumn of 1913 fairly 100 Christian inhabitants of Chernichevo were killed by the Muslim volunteers in the Balkan Wars. Today the memory of the innocent victims is honoured on the big monument in the center of the village (see the picture in up right).

Soldiers from Chernichevo died during the World wars, defendind their country.

[edit] Chernichevo today

In the last few decades the settlement's population is decreasing. Many young people left their village to find better job and opportunities for a social development.