Kilifarevo ( ) is a small town in central 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 ...

, administratively part of

Veliko Tarnovo Municipality Veliko Tarnovo Municipality () is a Municipalities of Bulgaria, municipality (''obshtina'') in Veliko Tarnovo Province, Central-North Bulgaria, located mostly in the so-called Fore-Balkan area north of Stara planina mountain. It is named after its ...

Veliko Tarnovo Province Veliko Tarnovo () is a province in the middle of the northern part of Bulgaria. Its capital city, Veliko Tarnovo, is of historical significance as it was the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire. The province is divided into ten municipalitie ...

. 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 (; ; ) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared betwee ...

. A fortress which guarded a pass through the

Balkan Mountains The Balkan mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. It then runs f ...

existed nearby during the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. During the

Second Bulgarian Empire The Second Bulgarian Empire (; ) was a medieval Bulgarians, Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1422. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan of Bulgaria, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II ...

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 (, ''Teodosiy Tarnovski'') (died 1363) was a high-ranking 14th-century Bulgarian cleric and hermit. He is credited with establishing hesychasm in the Second Bulgarian Empire. A disciple of Gregory of Sinai ...

's school and monastery, founded in 1350, which actively promoted the spiritual practice of

hesychasm Hesychasm () is a contemplative monastic tradition in the Eastern Christian traditions of the Eastern Orthodox Church and Eastern Catholic Churches in which stillness (''hēsychia'') is sought through uninterrupted Jesus prayer. While rooted in ...

. Upon Bulgaria's conquest by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, 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'' (, ) is a traditional Bulgarian public institution and building that fulfills several functions at once, such as a community centre, public library, and a theatre. It is also used as an educational institution, where people o ...

''), 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, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

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

1923 Bulgarian coup d'état Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

, Kilifarevo saw a against the new government. Between 1924 and 1925, anti-fascist partisan activity was also carried out by a local anarchist Cheta, led by , , and Mariola Sirakova.

Namesakes

Kilifarevo Island Kilifarevo Island (, ) 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 Island, north of Riksa Islands and southeast of Morr ...

in Aitcho Islands in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands located in the Drake Passage with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the n ...

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

is named after Kilifarevo.Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica:
Kilifarevo Island.

Gallery

File:Kilifarevo-monastery-Mitaka.jpg, Main church of the Kilifarevo Monastery File:Bulgaria-Kilifarski-Monasterio-01.jpg, Kilifarevo Monastery File:Bulgaria-Kilifarski-Monasterio-02.jpg, Kilifarevo Monastery File: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
{{Veliko Tarnovo Municipality Towns in Bulgaria Populated places in Veliko Tarnovo Province Places associated with hesychasm