Gumoshtnik is a village in

Troyan Municipality Troyan Municipality () is a municipality ('' obshtina'') in Lovech Province, Central-North Bulgaria, located from the northern slopes of the central Stara planina mountain to the area of the Fore-Balkan. It is named after its administrative centr ...

Lovech Province Lovech Province (, former name Okrug, Lovech okrug) is one of the 28 provinces of Bulgaria, lying at the northern centre of the country. It is named after its main city: Lovech. As of December 2009, the population of the area was151,153.

, northern

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

Geography

Gumoshtnik is situated 499 metres above sea level in the

Beklemeto Pass Beklemeto Pass ( ), also known as Troyan Pass ( ), is a mountain pass in the Balkan Mountains (Stara Planina) in Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern por ...

of the Balkan Mountains. It lies 20 kilometres outside the town of

Troyan Troyan ( ) is a town remembering the name of Roman Emperor Trajan, in Lovech Province in central Bulgaria . It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Troyan Municipality. The town is about away from the country capital Sofia. The river ...

and 15 kilometres from

Apriltsi Apriltsi ( ) is a small town in Lovech Province, Central-North Bulgaria, located in the vicinity of the highest part of Stara Planina mountain. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Apriltsi Municipality. As of December 2009, the tow ...

Population

Gumoshtnik was at its largest in the

15th century The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian calendar dates from 1 January 1401 (represented by the Roman numerals MCDI) to 31 December 1500 (MD). In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Re ...

, containing over 4,000 people at its height. As of the 2021 census, the village has around 240 residents.

History

The earliest evidence of settlement in Gumoshtnik dates from the

1st millennium BC File:1st millennium BC.jpg, 400x400px, From top left clockwise: The Parthenon, a former temple in Athens, Greece; Aristotle, Greek philosopher; Gautama Buddha, a spiritual teacher and the founder of Buddhism; Wars of Alexander the Great last from ...

, as bronze belts and armlets from the period were found in the village. Gumoshtnik was an administrative centre in the 15th century, containing seven

public houses A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

and eight manufacturing businesses.

Monastic Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

education was introduced into the village in 1829, when a monastery school was founded. In 1926, residents built the St. Nicholas Letni Church, which has been declared a site of national significance for Bulgaria. A year later, the village established a community center, named after

Paisius of Hilendar Saint Paisius of Hilendar or Paìsiy Hilendàrski () (1722–1773) was a Bulgarian Orthodox clergyman and a key Bulgarian National Revival figure. He is most famous for being the author of '' Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya'' (1762), the first signi ...

. The centre contains a

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

with over 9,000 books, and a gallery dedicated to artwork by a local artist, Tsanko Marinov. Both have received local recognition as places of historical interest.

Titanic

Of the 38 to 50 Bulgarian nationals who boarded the ill-fated

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

in 1912, most of them were from Gumoshtnik. A total of eight men from Gumoshtnik were on board, who died when the boat sank. A

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

stands on the grounds of the St. Nicholas Letni Church, and Gumoshtnik residents hold an annual remembrance of the disaster. The Gumoshtnik memorial is the only memorial dedicated to the disaster in Bulgaria. The Gumoshtnik residents who are presumed to have died on the Titanic are as follows: * Peyo Kolchev: Also listed as Petr Kolev and Peju Coltcheff; a general labourer who boarded the Titanic aged 36. * Lazar Minkov: First cousin of Peyo, he was 23 years of age. * Penko Naidenov: Aged 22 at the time of the disaster. * Iliya Stoychev: Aged 19 at the time of the disaster. * Lazar Yonkov: Went by the nickname of “Lalyo,” and was 23 years old at the time of his presumed death. * Marin Markov: 35 years old at the time of his presumed death. * Stoycho Mihov: 28 years old at the time of the disaster. * Nedyalko Petrov: Also known as Nedialco Petroff. Though he is recorded in the British

National Archives National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention. Conceptual development From the Middle Ages i ...

as having been 19 years old at the time of his presumed death, he is remembered locally as having been newly 18 years old at the time of the disaster. Although some sources erroneously record that one of the eight men from the village survived, this appears to be based on a local legend, as the memorial contains eight names that can be located on the Titanic's passenger list.

References

{{Troyan Municipality Villages in Lovech Province RMS Titanic memorials