To tell you about what makes the town of Koprivshtitsa so special, I must first tell a small amount of Bulgarian history, so bear with me. Perhaps someday I will write a long piece about the history but today only a short one.
Since I am sure that all of you studied ancient Greek history, you will know the land where I now write was called Thrace several centuries before Christ, but Thrace doesn’t concern us right now. I want to write about Bulgaria.
There has been a land, a kingdom, called Bulgaria since at least the 7th century A.D. Like all European kingdoms, the boundaries of Bulgaria expanded and shrank with the vagrancies of war and conquest but Bulgaria existed as a country for 700 years until being conquered by the Ottoman Turks in the late 1300s. Not only Bulgaria fell but also large areas of eastern and central Europe before the Ottomans were stopped “almost at the gates of Vienna.” Today’s Muslim populations in Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia are a result of conversions to Islam by local populations during the occupation. Some Bulgarians converted but a relatively small number.
After Bulgaria fell to the Ottomans, Turkey ruled this land for the next 500 years. In Bulgarian history these years of oppression are known as the “Turkish yoke.” Throughout these long years, Bulgarian culture was kept alive through the unique Bulgarian language and the structure of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The Muslim Ottomans normally did not force conversions to Islam in Bulgaria. It was not in their best interests. The Turks charged higher taxes to Christians so there was a disincentive to force mass conversions.
By the 1800s a cultural revival began in Bulgaria with the publication of a book on Bulgarian history and a resurgence of efforts by Bulgarian intellectuals. With the new interest in a national identity, Bulgaria’s yearning for freedom from the Ottoman yoke finally boiled over in April 1876. The April Uprising began right here in Koprivshtitsa with the first shots being fired at the Turks. It can be said that Koprivshtitsa is the cradle of modern Bulgarian liberty. It occupies a spot in Bulgarian history somewhat similar to Concord Bridge in the American Revolution.
The April Uprising failed when it was put down brutally by the Turks. But the Uprising also succeeded because it generated sympathy among the Great European Powers (Britain, France, Russia) for the Bulgarian people. So two years later when Russian defeated Turkey in the Russo-Turkish War of 1878, the Great Powers carved out an autonomous Bulgaria which became fully independent about 20 years later. And it all started with events here in Koprivshtitsa.
So that is one reason why Koprivshtitsa is an important and exciting small town. There are monuments to the patriots and an ossuary in the center of town containing the relics of those who died in the Uprising.
But there are yet more reasons for you to visit Koprivshtitsa and for us to want to live there. So back to a little history.
Koprivshtitsa was founded in the 1400s by Bulgarians fleeing the invading Turks. Soon, however, Koprivshtitsa became a center of commerce selling to the Turks and others. Sheep and goat farming formed the backbone of the town’s wealth and the resulting wool and dairy products, including carpets, woolen clothing, and cheese were traded throughout the Ottoman Empire and the local merchants became rich. These merchants traveled to Egypt and Venice and beyond. Local houses are decorated with scenes from these foreign locales. Rich men build rich houses and Koprivshtitsa had more than its share of both. By the time of the uprising the town had a population of 12,000 and rivaled the capital, Sophia, in both size and importance.
After the liberation, however, commercial life began to shift to lowland towns and places like Koprivshtitsa stagnated, leaving it as a kind of fossil. Today the town has shrunk to a population of 2400 but what remains of the town is magnificent beyond words. The houses of the middle and upper classes of 1870 Koprivshtitsa are all still here, built in the elaborate Bulgarian Revival style.
Much of the town is a huge museum. More than 330 of the old houses remain and most have been restored. Much of modern Bulgaria is stone, concrete, or block houses (not counting all the communist huge apartment blocks). Here in Koprivshtitsa are wonderful half timbered houses with tall walls around the yard (to keep the Turkish officials from looking in.) Almost every house has elaborate wooden gates, carved wooden ceilings and brightly painted exteriors.
For me it is pure delight to walk the narrow streets full of old houses, some going back 250 years. You must see this town.
Of course this a tourist destination. There are 20 or more small hotels and guest houses. The largest hotel has 70 beds but most are 15 or less. Guest houses may have two or three rooms. So if you come, there are plenty of wonderful places to stay for around $50 a night. A number of outdoor restaurants and cafes are great for summer and fall evenings but winter snows will drive us all indoors.
Even the non-historic parts of town look historic. This has been declared a “museum town” since 1952 and there are strict codes for any new structures. They must blend in. Except for the main street through town, all streets are cobblestone.
But more than a museum, Koprivshtitsa is still a working agricultural community. Every day we saw numerous horse-drawn wagons hauling hay, farm workers and goods. Every Friday is market day with merchants coming in from out of town. The hardware stores still carry horseshoes, farm tools, and other necessities of daily life.
Yes, we like this town and we hope to fit in once we learn more Bulgarian and learn our place in this community.
Here are just a few of Shirley’s pictures of Koprivshtitsa. More will follow next month.
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