Kilifarevo ( bg, Килифарево ) is a small town in central northern

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 ...

, administratively part of Veliko Tarnovo Municipality,

Veliko Tarnovo Province Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Област Велико Търново, Oblast Veliko Tǎrnovo) is a province in the middle of the northern part of Bulgaria. Its capital city, Veliko Tarnovo, is of historical significance as it is known as the capital of ...

. Previously a village, it was proclaimed a town in 1973.

History

Ruins and remains are proof of the presence of civilization in the neighbouring area since the times of the

Thracians 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 t ...

. A fortress which guarded a pass through the Balkan Mountains existed nearby during the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...

. During the Second Bulgarian Empire and more precisely the rule of Ivan Alexander (1331–1371), Kilifarevo was a centre of literary activity and the site of

Theodosius of Tarnovo The Holy Venerable Theodosius of Tarnovo ( bg, Теодосий Търновски, ''Teodosiy Tarnovski'') (died 1363) was a high-ranking 14th-century Bulgarian cleric and hermit. He is credited with establishing hesychasm in the Second Bulgarian ...

's school and monastery, founded in 1350, which actively promoted the spiritual practice of hesychasm. Upon Bulgaria's conquest by 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) ...

, the monastery was besieged, captured and razed by the invading Ottomans. It was later reconstructed and still exists today. During the Ottoman rule, Kilifarevo was the birthplace of Velcho Atanasov the Glazier, who organized the Velchova zavera (Велчова завера), an unsuccessful uprising against the Ottomans, in 1835. Kilifarevo has a cultural centre (''

chitalishte A ''chitalishte'' (, . Derives from the verb "чета" - "to read" or "читател" - "reader") is a typical Bulgarian public institution and building that fulfills several functions at once, such as a community centre, library, and a theat ...

''), founded in 1884 and called Napredak ("Progress"), and a museum of local history, which occupies an old house. There are two

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...

churches, St Archangel Michael and Dormition of the Mother of God.

Namesakes

Kilifarevo Island Kilifarevo Island ( bg, остров Килифарево, Ostrov Kilifarevo, ) is an ice-free island in the Aitcho group on the west side of English Strait in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The island is situated northwest of Jorge ...

Aitcho Islands The Aitcho Islands (''‘Aitcho’'' standing for ''‘H.O.’'' i.e. ''‘Hydrographic Office’'') are a group of minor islands on the west side of the north entrance to English Strait separating Greenwich Island and Robert Island in the Sou ...

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 after Kilifarevo.Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica:
Kilifarevo Island.

Gallery

Image:Kilifarevo-monastery-Mitaka.jpg, Main church of the Kilifarevo Monastery Image:Bulgaria-Kilifarski-Monasterio-01.jpg, Kilifarevo Monastery Image:Bulgaria-Kilifarski-Monasterio-02.jpg, Kilifarevo Monastery Image:Bulgaria-Kilifarski-Monasterio-03.jpg, Entrance to the Kilifarevo Monastery Kilifarevo-Island-Model.png, Model of

in Antarctica Park, Kilifarevo

References

External links

Website on the history of Kilifarevo

Kilifarevo
Towns in Bulgaria Populated places in Veliko Tarnovo Province Places associated with hesychasm Eastern Orthodox monasteries in Bulgaria {{VelikoTarnovo-geo-stub