Krivnya () is a village in northeastern

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 ...

, part of

Vetovo Municipality Vetovo Municipality () is a municipality ('' obshtina'') in Ruse Province, Central-North Bulgaria, located in the western parts of Ludogorie geographical region, part of the Danubian Plain. It is named after its administrative centre - the town o ...

Ruse Province Ruse Province (), or Rusenska Oblast (, former name Ruse okrug) is a province in northern Bulgaria, named after its main city, Ruse, neighbouring Romania via the Danube. It is divided into eight municipalities with a total population, as of F ...

. Krivnya is picturesquely situated in the valley of the Beli Lom River in the western part of the

Ludogorie The Ludogorie () or Deliorman (; and Bulgarian: lud - "mad", "crazy" and gora - "forest"), is a region in northeastern Bulgaria stretching over the plateau of the same name. Major cities in the region are Targovishte, Razgrad, Dulovo, Novi P ...

located in the hilly

Danubian Plain (Bulgaria) The Danubian Plain () constitutes the northern part of Bulgaria, situated north of the Balkan Mountains and south of the Danube. Its western border is the Timok River, and to the east it borders the Black Sea. The plain has an area of . It is a ...

. The village is surrounded by rock formations, among which the river meanders and divides the village into two parts. In the past the river flowed slowly making a big curve and forming a sort of peninsula. In the last century (1959) an artificial correction of the riverbed is made by using of explosions and the rock formation is "cut." Today this place is known as " Prosyakata." The altitude of the area ranges between 100 and 200 meters. Relief, except the rocky formations around the river is favorable for agriculture. The climate is continental with hot summers and cold winters. The village is located 3 km from the Ruse-Varna railway line and between the towns of Vetovo and Senovo,

History

Life in the village of Krivnya never stopped throughout the centuries. There are many remains of ancient settlements where many archaeological artifacts are found. In the vicinity of the village is the fortress "Sin Grad". A part of the foundations of the city walls is preserved today. Some pottery from

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

times is found in this place. There are also traces of an ancient settlement with a shrine for the worship of Heros (

Thracian horseman The Thracian horseman (also "Thracian Rider" or "Thracian Heroes") is a recurring Motif (visual arts), motif depicted in reliefs of the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic and Roman Empire, Roman periods in the Balkans—mainly Thrace, Macedonia (reg ...

). Some rock churches and monasteries found in this area like for example "Chekartsa" and "Chesnova kanara" date from the time of Bulgarian medieval. On the wall of one of the rock churches in the place known as "Shanlak kanara" in the town of Senovo there is an inscription: "Says pop Peya from Krivinu". One of the cells of the former cloister in "Chakarskata kanara" near the village of Krivnya has an inscription: "Written by pop Peya". According to different experts, the two inscriptions were written by one hand and are dated from the second half of the 14th century. Krivina is the old name of Krivnya so called because of the curves, which Beli Lom River makes. In documents from the 16th and 17th centuries the village is known with the names Kirivina and Kirvine. In 1876 Bulgarian revolutionary Tanyo Voivoda passed through these lands with his squad.

Karel Škorpil Karel Václav Škorpil (; 15 May 18599 March 1944) was a Czechs, Czech-Bulgarian archaeologist and museum worker credited along with his brother Hermann Škorpil, Hermann with the establishment of those two disciplines in Bulgaria. Born in the c ...

(1859-1944) a Czech-Bulgarian archaeologist and researcher - one of the founders of Bulgarian archeology explored these places in the late 19th century. He made a detailed description of the ruins along the Beli Lom River including those located in the vicinity of the village of Krivnya.

Places of interest

Sin Grad Fortress: Also known as "Kaleto" is located five kilometers northwest of the village Krivnya. The fortress is accessible through a dirt road and trail. The area has been studied by archaeologists. Remnants of the old settlement and ceramics from the

and

times are found here. In the lower part of the fortress foundations of early Christian churches can be seen. There are also remains of an ancient settlement from the 4th century. Rock Monasteries: Located near the village Krivnya in the areas called " Chekartsa " (five cells church ) and " Chesnova kanara". Cave "Kulina Dupka" ("Bozhkova Dupka", "Kumnitsa"): The cave is 1200 meters east of Krivnya in the middle of the rock formation between the village and the town of Senovo. Formed in limestone rocks, Kulina dupka cave known also as Bozhkova dupka and Kumnitsa is the longest cave in the

and the fourth longest in

. The total length is 326 meters. It is branched, horizontal and dry. It is divided into two parts. The first gallery has some fallen stones on the floor. After 36 meters the gallery narrows and a narrow opening leads to the second part of the cave. The second gallery has several chambers with a maximum height of 7–8 meters. All branch ends are impassable. In many places large amounts of bats'

guano Guano (Spanish from ) is the accumulated excrement of seabirds or bats. Guano is a highly effective fertiliser due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant growth. Guano was also, to a le ...

(up to 120 cm thick) can be seen. Cave "Mustafa Chelebi Kanara": Located near the village Krivnya. The cave has a total length of 215 meters. Altitude: 190 m. Mapped in 1976, it consists of 15 niches and smaller caves. Beli Lom Nature Reserve: The Beli Lom Nature Reserve is one of the most interesting protected areas in

North Bulgaria Northern Bulgaria (), also called Moesia (, ''Mizija'') is the northern half of Bulgaria, located to the north of the main ridge of the Balkan Mountains which conventionally separates the country into a northern and a southern part. Besides the B ...

. It covers part of the valley of river Beli Lom that flows into river Rousenski Lom, the last right-side tributary of the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

River. The nature reserve covers 7730 acres along the Beli Lom River west of Krivnya. Includes woodlands called “Alibaliytsa”, “Kortelov grob”, “Ortaburun”, “Goryanska padina”, “Kiseltsite” and “Dabova gora” all dominated by oak and lime trees. Some of the animal species that live in the reserve are wildcat (Felis silvestris), forest sanlishvets (Driomys nitedula), ground squirrel (Spermophilus citellus), red deer (Cervus elaphus), rusty shelduck (Tadorna ferruginea),

Egyptian vulture The Egyptian vulture (''Neophron percnopterus''), also called the white scavenger vulture or pharaoh's chicken, is a small Old World vulture in the monotypic genus ''Neophron''. It is widely distributed from the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa ...

(Neophron percnopterus), Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), owl (Bubo bubo), honey-buzzard (Pernis apivorus), short-legged lizard (Ablephaurus kitgaibelli). Other Sites: Interesting places to visit are “Karadzhovitsa”, “Yurta”, “Kavanlak”, “Alibaliytsa” (Kainaka). In “Alibaliytsa” there is a small hut which is built next to a natural mineral water spring. The chalet is located at the beginning of a dense forest, which is part of Beli Lom Nature Reserve. In the center of the village stands an old war memorial erected in memory of the villagers who died during the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

and the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Here are located all public buildings. Among them are the church, town hall and community center. One of the premises of the library has a museum collection (1989). One can see many vessels, tools and other household items, coins of Thracian, Roman, Byzantine and Bulgarian time, epitaphs, weapons, arrowheads, spears, maces, axes and many more items dating from ancient times to the early 20th century. Opposite to the village, located on a hill, is the TV transmission tower.

Gallery

File:Krivnya.jpg, Panoramic view of the village File:Krivnyamonument.JPG, War memorial File:The Churge Krivnya.jpg, St. George Church File:Rockskrivnya1.jpg, Rock formations near Krivnya File:Rockskrivnya2.jpg, Rock formations near Krivnya File:Prosyakata Krivnya.jpg, Prosyakata File:Krivnya Kainaka.jpg, Kaynaka {{Vetovo Villages in Ruse Province