Perushtitsa (Bulgarian: Перущица) or Perushtitza is a Bulgarian town located in the Plovdiv Oblast at the foot of the Rhodopes. It is located about 22 kilometers south of Plovdiv.
The town is famous throughout Bulgaria for the fight that took place there in 1876 during the April Uprising against the Ottoman reign. During the suppression of the uprising by Turkish irregulars, the majority of the residents was slaughtered. The French journalist Ivan de Woestyne who visited the town in July 1876 reported for the newspaper Le Figaro, that out of a popolation of about 2000 only 150 elders and children were left.[1]
The name Perushtitsa comes from the word Peristitsa which in turn comes from the name of a God, Perun.[2]
Perushtitsa is one of the few places in Bulgaria where Mavrud grapes are grown for a typical Bulgarian wine, Mavrud.
About 2 kilometers south of Perushtitsa is the Red Church. The remains of this church date from the 5th or 6th century. The Red Church is a symbol for the city of Perushtitsa.
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