Aytos ( bg, Айтос ), sometimes written Aitos and Ajtos, is a town located in eastern

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

some 30 kilometers from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and belonging to the administrative boundaries of Burgas Province. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous

Aytos Municipality Aytos Municipality ( Bulgarian: Община Айтос, ''Obshtina Aytos'') is a municipality in Burgas Province, Bulgaria. It includes the town of Aytos Aytos ( bg, Айтос ), sometimes written Aitos and Ajtos, is a town located in east ...

. As of December 2021, the town has a population of 18974 inhabitants.

History

Aytos has a rich and long history dating back to antiquity. Founded by

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

tribes, archaeological finds near the town testify that its existence dates back to the 5th century BC. Throughout the centuries, the town has been known under different names including Aetòs (in

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Αετός meaning eagle), Astòs (Αστός), Eidos (Είδος), Aquilia, Tchengis, etc. During the reign of Khan

Tervel Khan Tervel ( bg, Тервел) also called ''Tarvel'', or ''Terval'', or ''Terbelis'' in some Byzantine sources, was the khan of Bulgaria during the First Bulgarian Empire at the beginning of the 8th century. In 705 Emperor Justinian II named ...

, the region was incorporated in the

Bulgarian Empire In the medieval history of Europe, Bulgaria's status as the Bulgarian Empire ( bg, Българско царство, ''Balgarsko tsarstvo'' ) occurred in two distinct periods: between the seventh and the eleventh centuries and again between the ...

for the first time. The fortress ''Aetos'' took an important part in the defensive system of the Bulgarian lands against the sudden attacks of the

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different Turki ...

, the Avars and the

Crusade The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...

rs. In 1206, Aytos together with many cities in Bulgarian province of

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

was destroyed by the Crusaders, led by

Henry of Flanders Henry (c.1178 – 11 June 1216) was Latin emperor of Constantinople from 1205 until his death in 1216. He was one of the leaders of the Fourth Crusade in which the Byzantine Empire was conquered and Latin Empire formed. Life Henry was born i ...

. Henry of Flanders was a brother of Baldwin I, emperor of

Latin Empire The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byza ...

of Constantinople. A fortified city was rebuilt at 1488. In 1378 the town was conquered by the armies of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

under

Murad I Murad I ( ota, مراد اول; tr, I. Murad, Murad-ı Hüdavendigâr (nicknamed ''Hüdavendigâr'', from fa, خداوندگار, translit=Khodāvandgār, lit=the devotee of God – meaning "sovereign" in this context); 29 June 1326 – 15 Jun ...

. During the Russian-Turkish War (1828–1829), General Hans Karl von Diebitsch turned the town into a strategic strong point. After the Treaty of Edirne in 1829, many of the town's citizens fled to

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds o ...

to join the Bessarabian Bulgarians. During the Bulgarian National Revival the population participated in the Bulgarian struggles for liberation. Vasil Levski organized a revolutionary committee in the town. After the Liberation, Aytos became a commercial center, reputedly more important than

Burgas Burgas ( bg, Бургас, ), sometimes transliterated as ''Bourgas'', is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the fourth-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, and Varna, with a pop ...

. The first girls' agricultural school in the country was established in Aytos during the period.

Transport

The geographic location determines the special significance of the municipality as a transport junction, where the road networks between Northern Bulgaria and Southern Bulgaria in this part of the country join. Important highways and the railway from Sofia to Burgas pass through it. Its good transport characteristics are also determined by the fact that it is only 28 km from Burgas, a key

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

port.

Climate

Culture

The town hosts the annual folk festival and competition

Slaveevi Noshti Slaveevi Noshti ( bg, Славееви Hощи) or " Nightingales' Nights" in English, is an annual folk music and dance festival held in Aitos, Bulgaria. Each year the festival attracts individual performers, dance ensembles and folk choirs from al ...

, which takes place every Spring during the months of May and June. The festival is held at the "Slaveeva Reka" Recreational Park and it celebrates traditional dance and folk music from across Bulgaria.

Demography

The town of Aytos has 18,974 inhabitants as of December 2021.https://nsi.bg/bg/content/2975/%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5-%D0%BF%D0%BE-%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8-%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%89%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B8-%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B5-%D0%B8-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB Most inhabitants are ethnic

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely underst ...

(68%), followed by large Turkish (17%) and Roma minorities (14%).

Sports

Established in the early '50s, the famous Aytos Sports Academy “Vihar” has produced many national and international gymnastics champions including three-time international champion Silviya Kostova. The Academy has a soccer team as well -- "Vihar Aytos".

Recreation and tourism

Natural landmarks

* Recreation Park " Slaveeva Reka" ("Nightingale's River") — Few towns in Bulgaria can boast parks as big as "Slaveeva Reka" park. The park also hosts the Aytos Animal Zoo. * Rock Formation " Trite Bratya" ("The Three Brothers") * Natural Reserve " Kazanite" * Natural Reserve "Hisarya" * State Forest " Koriata"

Historical landmarks

* Ancient Fortress "Aetos" * Aitoski Historical Pass — Connecting the ancient lands of

and

Moesia Moesia (; Latin: ''Moesia''; el, Μοισία, Moisía) was an ancient region and later Roman province situated in the Balkans south of the Danube River, which included most of the territory of modern eastern Serbia, Kosovo, north-eastern Alban ...

* St. Dimitrii Solunski Orthodox Church * Aitos Mineral Baths

Cultural landmarks

* Ethnographic Complex "Genger" — A small Etara-like ethnographic center built in the traditional local architectural style. The complex has a variety of different traditional Bulgarian arts and crafts shops as well as a traditional hotel, taverns, cafes and restaurants. * Museum of "Peter Stanev" * Theater "Vasil Levski"

Famous citizens

* Ivana (singer) — Singer * Vladimir Nenov — Filmmaker * Eva Kirilova — Singer from

Tonika Tonika ( Bulgarian: Тоника) was a Bulgarian pop music group similar in style to the Italian group Ricchi e Poveri. History Tonika was formed in Burgas in 1969 by a graduate of Bulgaria's National Academy of Music, Stefan Diomov. Tonika gre ...

* Filip Kutev — Composer and founder of the Bulgarian National Ensemble & Choir * Zhivko Mutafchiev — Painter * Panayot Panayotov — Singer * Pencho Peev — Poet * Marie George Pepper - Psychotherapist,

Cambridge, England Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge became ...

* Georgi Popgeorgiev — Painter and founder of the Young Bulgarian Painters Society * Petar Stanev — Painter * Hristo Tanev — Sculptor * Yovi Tenev — Federal Prosecutor for the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

* Sava Tanev — Sculptor * Tatyana Yotova — Poet * Rositsa Zhivkova * Ivan Angelov — Music Idol Star

Honour

Aytos Point Aytos Point (Nos Aytos \'nos 'ay-tos\) is a point on the coast of Bransfield Strait, Livingston Island, Antarctica formed by an offshoot of Christoff Cliff. The point was named after the Bulgarian town of Aytos. Location Aytos Point is located ...

Livingston Island Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of Antarctic islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was the first land discovered south of 60 ...

in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1 ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

is named for Aytos.

References

External links

Official Site of Aitos Municipality

EcoTrail Aitos - Official Tourism Site
{{Authority control Populated places established in the 5th century BC Populated places in Burgas Province Towns in Bulgaria