| Petrevene | |
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Petrevene
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Bulgaria |
| Provinces (Oblast) |
Lovech Province |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Nikolai Aleksandrov Ivanov (Bulgarian Socialist Party) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 17.823 km2 (6.9 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 135 m (443 ft) |
| Population (2006-01-01) | |
| • Total | 659 |
| • Density | 37/km2 (95.8/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Petreventzi, (Петревенци) |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Postal Code | 5784 |
| Area code(s) | 06981 |
| Website | http://www.petrevene.com/en/ |
Petrevene (Bulgarian: Петревене) is a village in north central Bulgaria on the left bank of Zlatna Panega (Bulgarian: Златна Панега, meaning "Golden Panega") river. It is in Lukovit Municipality, part of Lovech Province and lies on the main road E83, 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) away from the county centre Lukovit [1]
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Petrevene was first recorded in a written document in the far 1430. Past versions of its name are: Mramor, meaning "marbel", Petrevo selo, meaning "Peter's village", Petre, Petreven (Bulgarian: Мрамор, Петрево село, Петре, Петревен). During the Principality of Bulgaria after the end of the Ottoman rule (1878) and until 1908 it was called Petryovene and Petrovene (Bulgarian: Петрьовене, Петровене), still in use in local dialects.[2] There are several hypotheses about the origin of its name. One is that it was named after the familyhead of the first settlers in the village, Petǎr, however without a historical merit.[3] A more probable hypothesis is that it was named after some Orthodox Christian monk, Petǎr, from a ruined now monastery located at the bridge of the Belenskata River to the south of the village, the ruins of which are called Petrova gradezh, meaning "Peter's structure".[3] However the most likely and most widely accepted hypothesis is that Petrevene is named after the ancient Greek word for stone, "petros" (ancient Greek:πέτρoς), similarly to the Nabataean city of Petra, due to the numerous sandstone quarries around the village.[3] Indeed, one of its earliest documented names, Mramor (meaning "marbel"), supports this hypothesis.
On the edge of the Danubian plain and Stara Planina, Petrevene lies almost entirely on the left bank of the river Zlatna Panega. The village is bordered by the hill Belopole to its west and by Zlatna Panega to its east.[4] It is built primarily on terraces which face towards the river and are built into the hillside.[5]
The climate is well-defined temperate continental; precipitation being an average of 450 mm (18 in) to 550 mm (22 in) a year. This is lower than the standard precipitation for the Danubian plain as its proximity to Stara Planina means that the annual rainfall is lower. However since Petrevene lies on the river Zlatna Panega it is well irrigated and is home to a large amount of natural springs. A lot of these natural springs were then developed and made into public drinking water taps. Among these there are the Rashkovo Kladenche, Blyalata Cheshma and Ibovetz. There is also a tributary which feeds into the river Zlatna Panega locally known as Dulǎt (Bulgarian: Дулът). Most of the households which lie on either side of Dulǎt use as an open sewer for human and household waste. Although the village does have a minor sewage disposal system it does not extend to the entire village lest why this problem has occurred.
Petrevene is located 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) away from Geopark Iskǎr-Panega, (a UNESCO run nature reserve which is managed by the Lukovit County). Much of the flora and fauna present there can also be found in Petrevene. As the agricultural industry in Petrevene diminished, many of the surrounding fields were left un-farmed, and were consequently overrun by wilderness and weeds. This meant that many of the original animals and plants that were driven out in order to make the land fully arable could now being to restore their presence. On the other hand, many plants common to the sphere of agriculture have been naturalized and have become commonplace due to the extensive farming. For example wheat can be commonly found around the area.
The surrounding country side is home to many animals and types of wildlife, however it should be noted that most of the animals present in the region can be observed in other areas of Bulgaria. The variety of mammals in the region, for example, is quite rich. Species that are widely spread throughout Bulgaria are predominant here:[6] these include hedgehogs (Erinaceus concolor), mole (Talpa europaea), blind mole-rats (Nannospalax leucodon), Eurasian red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris), striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius), common vole (Microtus arvalis), wild rabbit (Lepus capensis), hamster (Spermophilus citellus), wildcat (Felis sylvestris), fox (Vulpes vulpes), beech marten (Martes foina), badger (Meles meles), weasel (Mustela nivalis), otter (Lutra lutra), polecat (Mustela putorius), jackal (Canis aureus), cinghiale (Sus scropha) and roe deer. (Capreolus capreolus)[6]
The bird life of the region is quite rich. Most of these bird species are widely spread in the country. Some of these typically inhabit of the fields – partridge (Perdix perdix), quail (Coturnix coturnix), field-lark (Alauda arvensis), yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava), grey rook (Corvus corone), blue crow (Coracias garrulus), bee-eater (Merops apiaster)[6], others inhabitants of the forests – nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), wood-lark (Lullula arborea), garden warbler (Sylvia atricapilla), long-eared owl (Asio otus), Tawny Owl (Strix aluco). There are also several birds which inhabit the area that are listed in the Bulgaria section of the IUCN Red List.[6] These include, (but are not limited to), Black Stork (Ciconia nigra), Pygmy cormorant (Haliaetor pygmeus), Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), Levant Sparrowhawk (Accipiter brevipes) and the Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina). The area is home to many reptiles, among which feature the Great Crested Newt (Triturus cristatus), Interestingly, a common occurrence is for these animals to come into contact with the local people, either directly or indirectly. For example badgers, weasels, and beech martens are regularly blamed for attacked local livestock, (mostly chicken and small fowl). Indeed, this is a major problem in some instances as jackals, for example, may wander into the village and attack sheep, livestock, and sometimes even guard dogs. For this reason most livestock owners tend to lock up their animals during the night
According to the botanical – geographic partition of Bulgaria Petrevene falls in Euro-Asian steppe area and forest steppe area, specifically Illyrian province, part of the Pre-Balkan Range, Troyan-Tǎrnovo area.[7]. As with much of the fauna, many of the plants present can be found in the Geopark Iskǎr-Panega. The area is home to a rich variety of flora, as many plant species are distributed on the limestone terrains of Petreven's region within Bulgaria.[7] Among them there are some rare and endemic plants, which are decreasing throughout Bulgaria. These include endemic species like Urum, (Seseli degenii), a plant endemic of the area, (found primarily within the central section of the Pre-Balkan area), which is listed in the Bulgaria section of the IUCN Red List as well as in the European Register for the rare, threaten of extinction and endemic plants species.[7]
The post of mayor is currently being held by Nikolai Aleksandrov Ivanov, from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP). He has held the post since 2003 and will remain mayor at least until 2011 when the next local elections are planned.[8]
As part of the village's public services and institutions, there exist a post office, an Orthodox Christian church and a public library, which covers a total of 190 square metres (2,000 sq ft), contains 4786 volumes and hosts a community centre.[9] There are a total of 40 registered members of the library.
The medieval population of Petrevene, along with that of several other villages in the region, adhered to Paulicianism, a religious sect persecuted by the officials. The village was included in the Ottoman tax registry from the beginning of the Ottoman era, where it is listed as Miramor, Betreve sele (Mramor, Petrevo selo, 1430) and Betre (Petre, 1585). According to Felix Kanitz, its name in 1882 was Petreven.[10] It is thought that that in the 17th century its inhabitants were converted to the Islam and adopted the name Pomaks (Muslim Bulgarians).[11] By the end of the Ottoman rule (1878) Petrevene would have primarily been a Pomak village, with only 2-3 families of Orthodox Christian Bulgarians – grocers and craftsmen from the town of Teteven (Tetevene, Tetyuvene).[3] The post-Ottoman era brought a wave of Orthodox Christian Bulgarian settlers to Petrevene from the villages of Brusen, Vidrare and its hamlets Smolevica, Kraeva Bachiya, etc. Their previous property was bought, transferred to, or abandoned and acquired by the remaining inhabitants. Initially, the marriages among the new generations of Bruseners and Vidrareans were banned, due possibly to their coming from and belonging to different dioceses.[3] The first mayor of Petrevene after the end of the Ottoman rule (1878) was Tono Benchev, born in Smolevica, part of Vidrare. The Unification of Bulgaria (1885) brought an exodus of Pomaks to East Thrace, mainly to the town of Chorlu, now in Turkey,[12] so that in 1893 there were only 22 Pomaks left in the village.[13] The land and homes of Pomaks were thereby bought, transferred to, or abandoned and acquired by the remaining villagers.[3] Several Italian quarrymen settled in Petrevene at the beginning of the 20 century and created many skillful gravestones in the village cemetery.
An elementary school was founded in Petrevene after the end of the Ottoman rule (1878). Until 1891 it was located in a Pomak house, when the current schoolhouse (now derelict) was built by the native Stoyu Stanev and the former schoolhouse became the Village Hall. Andrey Gadzhovski from Lukovit (born the village of Dranchevo in the Macedonian area) and Marko Markov, born in the town of Karlovo, were appointed as first teachers. The first teacher born in Petrevene was Velyu Ninov. In 1890s the village was visited by Stefan Stambolov, the Prime Minister of the time during his travels in the Principality of Bulgaria. By the end of the Ottoman rule (1878) and for a brief period during the post-Ottoman era approximately in the center of the village there was a mosque,[3] destroyed during the end of the 19th or the beginning of the 20th century, due to the strong anti-islamism[14] and nationalism existing in the post-Ottoman era of the Principality of Bulgaria, and its materials were incorporated in the current Orthodox Christian church constructed by builders from the Trǎn region in 1902.[3]
During the Kingdom of Bulgaria a Community Center with Library, named Probuda,[3] (Bulgarian: Пробуда, meaning "awakening") was set up in 1918 by Yosif Benchev, born in Petrevene, and a middle school opened in 1921. A Village Cooperative Bank was founded in 1927 with Toma Yosifov, born in Petrevene, as a director and Todor Dikov as a chairman. It used to have a total of about 923 registered members from Petrevene and the neighboring villages of Oreshene, Todorichene, Belenci and Rumyancevo. A Village Cooperative named Zhetvarka, meaning "harvesterwoman", was founded by Toma Yosifov, who pushed a broad construction program to build a village wine cellar, a diary cellar and an industrial incubator with a chicken nursery. Petrevene was "The Model-Village of the Kingdom of Bulgaria" for 1942.
Petrevene's population remained almost unaffected by the two World Wars, with only a small number of inhabitants going off to participate and less fifty actually lost their lives[15]. They are all commemorated on a limestone monument in the village's main square.
With the compulsory collectivization (1956) in the People's Republic of Bulgaria during the communist rule in the post-monarchist era, and the establishment of a Working Peasant Cooperatives' Federation (ТКЗC),[16] Petrevene's fields became collectively farmed and managed, and its agricultural capacity grew and became modernized.[17] Twenty percent of the fields were allotted to the villagers for the their own personal cultivation, but they were still required to work with the WPCF[18] on the main fields. A system was set up where every farmer was entitled to four tons of wheat for personal consumption per year. Four tons being too much to consume or use, the farmers were then encouraged to return two tons to the newly-built WPCF bakery in exchange for coupons entitling them to two loafs of black, and one of white, bread a day[18].
It the 1960s the immigration of Bulgarian Roma, (often referred to as gypsies), into the village helped keep open the local school, (now closed) which had seen a decline in admissions as people left Petrevene for larger cities. The railroad to the cement plant "Zlatna Panega" was designed in the 1960s to pass through Cherven Bryag, Lukovit and to go along the periphery of Petrevene by the railroad engineer Vasil Tonev, born in Petrevene, and the railway station "Petrevene" was constructed.
After the end of the communist rule in the Republic of Bulgaria (1989) the WPCF was dissolved (although other villages retained theirs and privatized them), and became derelict. Petrevene's agricultural output and capacity were reduced severely. The collectivized fields were then divided as they were prior to the collectivization and returned to their original owners. However, many of agricultural workers had chosen to go into retirement and became state pensioned. Many of the younger families took the opportunity that democracy in the Republic of Bulgaria had offered them and settled in larger cities for economical reasons. As a result a large amount of the fields and vineyards that had previously dominated the landscape became abandoned and uncultivated, and the village's population shrank rapidly. Additionally due the economic crisis that followed[19], and very low state pensions many owners were unable to afford the upkeep of their home meaning that a large amount of the houses fell into disrepair.[20]
Recently Petrevene has enjoyed a revival with Bulgaria's overall economic growth, as well as the re-cultivation of many of the fields. Additionally increased incomes mean that many people can now afford to improve their homes. There have also been several commercial developments spurred by a competent administration, including the establishment of a new bakery, Lazarov Komers[21] , and a motorbike rally.
In August 2005, along with the rest of Bulgaria,[22] Petrevene experienced heavy flooding. As a result the drainage canal and river tributary Dulǎt was widened, dredged and in more central areas covered over in concrete blocks to protect from erosion and to ease future floods. This was achieved using money from the EU Solidarity Fund which at the time had allocated 106 million euros to aide the crisis.[23]
After Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007 some villagers were able to benefit from the SAPARD program for agricultural and rural development, and as of April 2009 some sections of the WPCF have been restored to working order. Furthermore the Dulǎt tributary now has two new bridges, (both built in 2008) running across it.
There is very little that is of any cultural significance beyond the Church and the Library in Petrevene, however the village does harbor many historic buildings mostly built in the early 20th and late 19th centuries, with some buildings dating as far back as the 18th century. However many of these buildings are now decrepit and derelict as the village population shrunk heavily during the post-communist era, with many owners either emigrating to larger cities and leaving their land behind, or simply dying out due to old age and leaving their property to descendants who were unwilling or unable to maintain it. With the massive collectivization of 1956, the village became an agricultural community.
Watermelon Day is a popular annual celebration within Petrevene celebrated every year on the penultimate Saturday of August.[3] It was first held in 1936 and it is a popular belief within the village that it started of as a regional land dispute between Petrevene and the nearby village of Todorichene.[24] The legend, according to the local people, is that several bad harvests had impelled the Petrevenians to place claims on lands of Todorichene. To settle the dispute that followed a regional judge was brought in from Pleven to settle the matter. He declared that everyone should be assigned 1.5 square kilometres (0.58 sq mi) of land. With the lack of wheat the Petrevenians then decide to plant watermelon instead, however with no market for them the younger men of the village decide to collect all the watermelons and store them in the schoolhouse and let anyone eat as much as they want for free, but on the condition that they would first see the caricaturist Nicola Velev's exhibition in the library.[24] Although popular, the story has little historical basis. Although there have been records of Watermelon Day going as far back as 1936, no existing records tell of bad harvests in the years prior to that date or, of the above mentioned land divisions.[25]
See also History
By the end of the Ottoman rule (1878) approximately in the center of the village there existed a mosque, as the bulk of its inhabitants were Pomaks (Muslim Bulgarian).[3] At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century it was destroyed and its materials were used to build the current Orthodox Christian church in 1902. In 2009 the church, which had fallen into disrepair received extensive restoration work. The restoration was funded by the Ministry of Disasters and Accidents, (now known as the Ministry of Emergency Situations), with total of €104,000 being released to the local government.[26] The church is set to be re-opened and blessed by a priest on 8 September 2009. The village obrok (Bulgarian: оброк) was recently restored.[27] The obrok would have been a holy site, where the elders of the village would have met and would have discussed. It is located at one of the highest points surrounding the village, so as to have been as close to God as possible. The original obrok was first erected in 1923, and was made of stone.[27] The new obrok is constructed from steel except for the structure's bell which is made from copper and was the village's church's original bell.
A limestone memorial to Petrevene's casualties in the First and Second World Wars, as well as the Balkan Wars, was unveiled on August 23, 2003. It lists the 26 citizens of Petrevene who lost their lives between 1912 and 1945.[15].
A 2008 National Academy of Arts incentive[28] has seen the introduction of two new sculptures to the village, one at the beginning of the village and one near the end, (going along the E83). There were designed and constructed by two students of the academy, Ivan Stoyanov and Valko Bekirski.[28]
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