Rose Valley, Bulgaria
The Rose Valley or Valley of Roses ( Bulgarian Розова долина; Scientific Transcription: Rozova dolina ) is an area in central Bulgaria, 200 km east of Sofia.
The Rose Valley is for the open-air cultivation of roses (white, pink and red) known to grow there on miles of fields for industrial purposes. There, in the wind -protected valley between the two running east -west mountain ranges, the summer blooming damask rose ( Rosa damascena ) have been grown for centuries, mainly the variety trigintipetala, synonymous Kazanlak, already in 1689 mentioned as "Bulgarian oil-bearing rose ." From the petals of this rose is recovered by distillation, the precious rose oil, one of the most expensive essential oils. Rose oil is widely used in perfumery, in the perfuming of food and beverages and pharmaceuticals.
Location
The Rosental runs in an east - west direction. The valley is relatively wide, almost a level that is limited just to the north and south by mountain ranges - in the north of the central Balkan Mountains, in the south of the eastern part of the mountain range Sredna Gora. The Rose Valley is geologically composed of two river valleys - in the west the valley of the Strjama and in the east the valley with the river Tundscha. The western part of Rose Valley is ( котловина Bulg Карловска, after the town of Karlovo ) as Karlowo - basin called and the eastern part of Rose Valley is known as the Kazanlak - valley ( Bulg Казанлъшкото поле ), named after the nearby town of Kazanlak.
History
In the 17th century, the Rosenkultivation stretched from Persia to India, North Africa and Turkey from. In 1710 the cultivation of roses in Bulgaria began in Kazanlak. From 1750 to the present, the region between Kazanlak and Karlovo is the most important producing region for the production of rose oil. Beginning of the 20th century, there were still about 2,800 in Bulgaria Kleindestillierbetriebe for rose oil with steam tanks for about one to ten tons of flowers.
Bulgaria is the world's largest producer of rose oil, it provides 70 % of the world production of rose oil. The roses are grown mainly for im Rosental. The petals are very early in the morning harvested because the oil content in them is greatest. For three tons of flowers a liter of rose oil is approximately distilled. Corresponding to a yield of only 0.02 to 0.05%. Bulgaria produced about 900 kg of rose oil in 2003. The center of the rose oil industry is Kazanlak, other smaller centers are Karlovo, Sopot and Kalofer.
The season for picking the rose petals lasts from May to June. During this time, the whole valley smells of roses and is covered with roses. Picking a rose is traditionally a task of the women, this much skill and stamina is required. The flowers are carefully cut individually, placed in wicker baskets and taken to the distillery. After the end of the picking season in June flowers celebrations and folk festivals are celebrated in the villages and cities. Every year a festival of roses and rose oil is held in the Rose Valley.
In addition to the cultivation of roses and wine production in the Rosental. The geographical origin " Rosental kadarka " is named after the Rose Valley.
Im Rosental there are also some grave mound of the Thracians.
People
Im Rosental the revolutionaries of the Bulgarian Revival grew up:
- Vasil Levski (born in Karlovo )
- Hristo Botev (born in Kalofer ) and
- Ivan Vazov (born in Sopot )
Coordinates: 42 ° 37 '0 "N, 25 ° 24 ' 0" O42.61666666666725.4 ( Kazanlak in the east) and 42 ° 38 '0 "N, 24 ° 48 ' 0" O42.63333333333324.8 ( Karlovo in the West)