Koprivshtitsa ( bg, Копривщица, pronounced , from the Bulgarian word , ''kopriva'', meaning "

nettle {{redirect, Nettle Nettle refers to plants with stinging hairs, particularly those of the genus '' Urtica''. It can also refer to plants which resemble ''Urtica'' species in appearance but do not have stinging hairs. Plants called "nettle" includ ...

") is a historic town in the Koprivshtitsa Municipality in Sofia Province, central

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 ...

, lying on the

Topolnitsa River The Topolnitsa ( bg, Тополница ) is a river in southern Bulgaria, an important left tributary of the Maritsa. It takes its source from Bich Peak in Sredna Gora close to Koprivshtitsa; it is known as the Shirineyska in its upper course. Its ...

among the

Sredna Gora Sredna Gora ( bg, Средна гора ) is a mountain range in central Bulgaria, situated south of and parallel to the Balkan Mountains and extending from the Iskar to the west and the elbow of Tundzha north of Yambol to the east. Sredna Gora ...

mountains. It was one of the centres of the

April uprising The April Uprising ( bg, Априлско въстание, Aprilsko vastanie) was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876. The regular Ottoman Army and irregular bashi-bazouk units brutally su ...

in 1876 and is known for its authentic Bulgarian architecture and for its

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

festivals, making it a tourist destination. Koprivshtitsa preserves the atmosphere of the

Bulgarian National Revival The Bulgarian National Revival ( bg, Българско национално възраждане, ''Balgarsko natsionalno vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and tr, Bulgar ulus canlanması) sometimes called the Bu ...

period of the 19th century. The town is huddled in the mountain-folds, 111 km east of Sofia. The town has a number of architectural monuments from the period, 383 in all, most of which have been restored to their original appearance. Collections of ethnographical treasures, old weapons, National Revival works of art, fretwork, household weaves and embroidery, national costumes and typical Bulgarian jewelry have also been preserved. It was here that the first shot of the April Uprising against the Ottoman domination was fired in 1876. Since 1965, the National Festival of Bulgarian Folklore takes place approximately every five years in Koprivshtitsa, gathering musicians, artists and craftsmen from across Bulgaria. Featuring thousands of performing artists in a pastoral setting in the hills above the town, the Koprivshtitsa festival is the only significant Bulgarian music event focusing on amateur performances. The majority of authentic Bulgarian village music records released during Communist rule were recorded in Koprivshtitsa by Balkanton during the 1970s and 1980s. As of September 2009, the town has a population of 2,541 and the Deputy Mayor is Radka Lukanova Skenderova. Koprivshtitsa is located at 1,030m above sea level, at . The anthem of the city is "Beautiful, my forest" with lyrics by

Lyuben Karavelov Lyuben Stoychev Karavelov ( bg, Любен Стойчев Каравелов) (c. 1834 – 21 January 1879) was a Bulgarian writer and an important figure of the Bulgarian National Revival. Karavelov was born in Koprivshtitsa. He began his e ...

and music by Georgi Goranov.

Geography

The town is located 110 km from the capital

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

and

Pirdop Pirdop ( bg, Пирдоп ) is a town located in South-West Bulgaria in Pirdop Municipality of Sofia Province in the southeastern part of the Zlatitsa - Pirdop Valley at 670 m above sea level. It is surrounded by the Balkan Range (also known a ...

(24 km),90 km north from Plovdiv and Strelcha (22 km). The town is located in a valley along the river Topolnitsa, in a mountainous area, central part of the mountain

Climate

In the coldest month, January, the average temperature is −4,2C, while in the hottest, July, 16,8C.

Soil

In the area of the town Prevail the brown wood soils.

History

There are a few legends about the foundation of the town. One of them is that the town was a crossroads to the towns Zlatarica,

and Klisura. Another story tells us that Koprivshtitsa was founded by refugees. The Orthodox Cathedral was built in 1817. Twenty years later, the first school was founded. The first museum in the town was established in 1930.

Demography

According to the 2011 census, Koprivshtitsa has 2,410 inhabitants. Nearly all of those 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 unders ...

(97.6%). There are also 44

Roma people The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

living in Koprivshtitsa and only 3 ethnic

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

Religion

"Assumption" or "Holy Mother" is the oldest church in Koprivshtitsa, built in 1817. The steeple of the Dorminion of the Theotokos church

According to the latest Bulgarian census of 2011, the religious composition, among those who answered the optional question on religious identification, was the following:

Landmarks

* the Oslekov House (1853–1856), today an ethnographical museum * the

Georgi Benkovski Georgi Benkovski ( bg, Георги Бенковски) (1843 – 12 May 1876) was the pseudonym of Gavril Gruev Hlatev (Гаврил Груев Хлътев), a Bulgarian revolutionary and leading figure in the organization and direction of the Bu ...

Memorial House (1831) * the

Memorial House complex (1810–1835) * the Dimcho Debelyanov Memorial House (1830) * the

Todor Kableshkov Todor Kableshkov ( Bulgarian: Тодор Каблешков) (13 January 1851 – 16 June 1876) was a 19th-century Bulgarian revolutionary and one of the leaders of the April Uprising. Born in Koprivshtitsa in a wealthy family, he studied in his ...

Memorial House (1845) * the Lyutov House (1854) * the

Nayden Gerov Nayden Gerov ( bg, Найден Геров), born Nayden Gerov Hadzhidobrevich ( bg, Найден Геров Хаджидобревич) February 23, 1823, Koprivshtitsa – October 9, 1900, Plovdiv) was a Bulgarian linguist, folklorist, writer ...

House * the Church of the

Dormition of the Theotokos The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the ''Theotokos'' ("Mother of ...

(1817) * the Church of St Nicholas (1839) * the Memorial Ossuary of April 20 housing the bones of those who died in the April Uprising (1926) * the bridge where the first shot of the uprising was fired in 1876, Kalachev most (1813) * the Hadzhi Nencho Palaveev Community 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 ...

'') (1869) * the Sts.

Cyril and Methodius Cyril (born Constantine, 826–869) and Methodius (815–885) were two brothers and Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries. For their work evangelizing the Slavs, they are known as the "Apostles to the Slavs". They are credited wit ...

School (1837), the first class school in Bulgaria (1837) * the Street of Handicrafts

Notable people

Born in Koprivshtitsa

(1823–1900), writer *

Yoakim Gruev Joakim Gruev ( bg, Йоаким Груев, died 1912) was a Bulgarian teacher and translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English languag ...

(1828–1912), teacher and translator *

(1834–1879), writer *

(1843–1876), revolutionary *

Petko Karavelov Petko Stoichev KaravelovFrederick B. Chary, ''The History of Bulgaria'', ABC-CLIO, 2011, p. 181 ( bg, Петко Стойчев Каравелов; 24 March 1843 – 24 January 1903) was a leading Bulgarian liberal politician who served as Prime M ...

(1843–1903), politician *

(1851–1876), revolutionary * Dimcho Debelyanov (1887–1916), poet

Related to Koprivshtitsa

* Neophyte of Rila (1790–1881), teacher in the town *

John Butler (musician) John Charles Wiltshire-Butler (born 1 April 1975), professionally known as John Butler, is an American-Australian singer, songwriter, and music producer. He is the front man for the John Butler Trio, a roots and jam band that formed in Freman ...

, ancestry in the town, via great-grandfather

Gallery

File:Koprivchtitsa 10 12.jpg File:Koprivshtitsa 1.jpg File:Koprivshtitsa-Mixi.jpg File:Koprivshtitsa 6.JPG File:Karavelov House-7.JPG File:Debelyanov House-1.JPG File:Народно Читалище.jpg File:Kableshkov House-3.JPG File:Lyutov House-2.JPG File:Monument-Georgi-Benkovski-Koprivshtitsa-2.jpg File:Green-House-Kopriv.JPG File:Todor Kableshkov-statue-3.JPG File:Bulgaria Koprivshtica 09.JPG File:Bulgaria Koprivshtica 07.JPG File:Храм Свети Николай.jpg

Twin towns – Sister cities

Koprivshtitsa is twinned with: * Szentendre in Hungary

References

External links

Website of Koprivshtitsa
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Video in celebration of the city

Pictures of Koprivshtitsa

Koprivshtitsa Folklore Festival, 2010 information

Anthem Koprivshtitsa in YouTube
> {{Coord, 42, 38, N, 24, 21, E, region:BG_type:city, display=title Bulgarian culture Populated places in Sofia Province Towns in Bulgaria