Kalofer

Kalofer ( Bulgarian Калофер ) is a town in the municipality of Karlovo in Oblast Plovdiv in central Bulgaria.

Geography

Kalofer, located on the southern slopes of the Balkan Mountains, located in the immediate vicinity of the National Park Central Balkan Mountains, at the foot of Botev. The city is located in Rose Valley, between the Balkan Mountains ( to the north) and the much smaller mountain range of the Sredna Gora ( in the south). The city lies on both sides of the river Tundscha. Near the town of Byala reka the smaller river flowing.

The nearest larger town is 17 km Karlovo, Sopot to 22 km. The city is located 164 km east of the capital Sofia and 56 km west of Plovdiv. Until Burgas on the Black Sea there are 222 kilometers. The main road Sofia - Karlovo - Burgas runs along the southern edge. The railway line Sofia - Burgas is 2 km south of the place where the railway station is.

History

The name of Kalofer derives from the Voivode Kalifer. According to other versions he was Kalefer, Kalefir, Karanfil or Kalemfir. According to legend, he was the leader of a 40 -man squads of brigands who ruled this part of the Balkan Mountains, regularly raided the trade caravans of the Ottomans and the area made ​​unsafe. Your base camp was at the ruins of the ancient Slavic city and fixing Swanigrad ( Bulg Звъниград ), which had been destroyed by the Ottomans - west of present-day Kalifer.

Swanigrad, from which there is no trace today, was between Strascha and the Monastery of Kalofer, was on the banks of a small river, the Swanuschka; west of the valley of the river of Byala reka, the place is now called Poleto ( Bulg местност Полето ). Destroyed after the invasion of the Ottoman Empire ( late 14th, early 15th century ), was Swanigrad.

After years of struggle Kalifer was willing to bow to the Ottomans and eventually sought an understanding with them. Since the Ottomans these raids could not be Lord, was the Sultan Murad III. (1546-1595) forced them to meet. The decree of the Sultan ( Ferman ) offered them in the same region to settle, under the condition that they set the raids and the Strascha Pass ( Bulg проход " Стражата ") and the way Rusalska pateka ( Bulg Русалска пътека ) ​​for the Ottomans guarded, so as Derwendschi served them, which made them the exemption from tax. Kalifer accepted the offer and negotiated, that it in addition to the settlement of an area is left still, he can walk around on horseback in two days. As a ruse he had of his people along the route rested horses post, which he changed several times during his forced ride and so staked out a very large area for his new settlement. So here the Kalofer was mid-16th century, in an area where only forests were founded, with a very large surrounding area, which still belongs to the city. Next to the legend that the footmen, since they had no women, these from the neighboring town of Sopot robbed ( bride kidnapping ).

The privileges that received the settlement since its inception, promoted the preservation of their purely Bulgarian character. The traditional Bulgarian festivals were still celebrated here. The Ottomans called the settlement Uzun Uluk ( " long river bed "; Cyrillic: Узун Улук ).

In the centuries after its founding Kalofer grew into a cultural and commercial center and was referred to (Turkish Altan Kalofer ) as the "Golden Kalofer ".

1799 and 1804 the town was burnt by the inhabitants of the neighboring Kardzhali and then quickly rebuilt.

Kalofer was a center of national return during the period of the Bulgarian Revival. It was here that during this period, 150 years ago, one of the first Bulgarian schools, the school of Botjo Petkov.

Kalofer achieved in the first half of the 19th century, its heyday. At this time there were 1200 craftsmen in the city.

During the Russo- Ottoman War (1877-1878) overtook Kalofer the same fate as the neighboring towns of Karlovo and Sopot, it was burnt down and plundered by the Bashi Bazouks, irregular Ottoman troops, so that today almost nothing in from the period before 1877 Kalofer is obtained.

Attractions

Today Kalofer is also because of its many churches and monasteries known and because of the extant old Bulgarian crafts. There are still woodcarvers, weavers potters, copper driver and coopers. The city is famous for the traditional carpets and recurrent peak of Kalofer.

The monastery was built in 1640 and the convent in 1700 ( Sw. Roschdestwo Bogorodichno; Bulg Св Рождество Богородично. ). Both monasteries are burnt down several times. Today they are open to visitors. In the town are the churches Sw. Bogorodiza ( Св. Богородица ) and Sw. Atanas ( Bulg Св. Атанас " ) from the time of the Bulgarian Revival.

In the city there are three museums: the Christo Botev Museum, the Museum with one of the first Bulgarian schools and the City History Museum.

Thursday is market day. A factory for the distillation of rose oil is also in Kalofer.

Kalofer one of the 100 national tourist objects in Bulgaria. The stamp is to Christo Botev Museum.

Personalities

• Hristo Botev (1848-1876), Bulgarian revolutionary and poet
• Anastasia Dimitrova, the first Bulgarian secular teacher
• Exarch Joseph I (1840-1915), head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
• Vasil Levski (1837-1873), Bulgarian revolutionary and ideologue, went to school here
• Georgi Stranski (1847-1904) Bulgarian politician and Minister of Foreign Affairs