Poibrene () is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the

Panagyurishte municipality Panagyurishte Municipality is located in the Pazardzhik Province, western Bulgaria. It is one of the 11 municipalities in the province. Its territory is 598,5 km² being fourth in the province after the municipalities of Velingrad, Batak, Bu ...

, western

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 ...

. It is located west of the town and has 850 inhabitants. The large dam Topolnitsa is 1 km west of the village. Several monuments there commemorate participants in the

April Uprising The April Uprising () was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876. The rebellion was suppressed by irregular Ottoman bashi-bazouk units that engaged in indiscriminate slaughter of both rebels ...

. Due to the dam, the baths and the clear natural environment, many citizens of

Panagyurishte Panagyurishte (, also transliterated ''Panagjurište'', ) is a town in Pazardzhik Province, Southern Bulgaria, situated in a small valley in the Sredna Gora mountains. It is 91 km east of Sofia, 43 km north of Pazardzhik. The town is ...

have summer houses in or near the village.

Geography

Poibrene is located in the north-western part of the

Pazardzhik Province Pazardzhik Province ( ''Oblast Pazardzhik'', former name Pazardzhik okrug) is a province in Southern Bulgaria, named after its administrative and industrial centre: the city of Pazardzhik. The territory is that is divided into 12 municipaliti ...

on the left bank of the Topolnitsa river. The land of the village encompasses 108 km² in Sashtinska and Ihtimanska

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

separated by the Poibrene Gap. The closest villages are

Oborishte Oborishte () is a village located in the Panagyurishte municipality, Pazardzhik Province, western Bulgaria. It is relatively large for the region and has 1,307 inhabitants. Its name until 1950 was ''Mechka'' (Мечка), which in Bulgarian means ...

at 9 km to the east,

Belitsa BelitsaTown of Belitsa, Municipality Belits ...

at 13 km to the west and

Petrich Petrich ( ) is a town in Blagoevgrad Province in southwestern Bulgaria, located in Sandanski–Petrich Valley at the foot of the Belasica Mountains in the Strumeshnitsa Valley. According to the 2021 census, the town has 26,778 inhabitants. ...

at 14 km to the north. The centre of the municipality Panagyurishte lies at 18 km to the east. There are 3 buses from and to the capital

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

and 5 buses from and to Panagyurishte daily. The construction of the Topolnitsa Dam began in 1948 near the village and some of the neighbourhoods remained underwater. In 1972 a

mineral spring Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produce hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage un ...

was discovered near Poibrene at depth of 610 m and temperature of the water 42 °C. The mineral bath in the village was constructed in 1979. There are three shops, a restaurant, cafes and a small hotel. There is potential in village, spa and eco-tourism as well as hunting and fishing.

History

The lands of the village were inhabited since antiquity. There are remains a

dolmen A dolmen, () or portal tomb, is a type of single-chamber Megalith#Tombs, megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the Late Neolithic period (4000 ...

with funeral gifts. Two fortresses were constructed to defend the gorge called ''Asenovo kale'' and ''Shishmanovo kale''. Many of the names of the localities around Poibrene are connected with battles and warfare in the past such as the ''Cry Mound'', ''Grave'', ''Battle Dingle'', ''Vatahs Ditch'', ''Asian Dingle'' and others. During the Ottoman domination the village had a special status - the inhabitants did not pay taxes and were responsible for the security of the gorge. The Turks were not allowed to settle in the village. There were 18 neighbourhoods. The population took active part in the

. During the wars for National Unification, the two

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 ...

, Poibrene gave 176 killed and 18 missing soldiers. In 1934 the population reached 4,499. Poibrene-village-Bulgaria-war-monument

Public institutions

* Village Hall * ''

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 ...

'' "Vancho Pashov". The first ''chitalishte'' in Poibrene was built in 1885 and named "Zdravets". Nowadays the ''chitalishte'' is located in contemporary and functional edifice and named after a hero of the resistance. There is a library, a group for folk dances and songs, cinema and theatre hall and internet club. * The church was built in 1830. With the silver cross from that church the priest Nedelyo Ivanov sanctified the Banner of Rayna Knyaginya. * School with 135 pupils and kindergarten.

Events

* The village holiday is at Holy Trinity -

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 49th day (50th day when inclusive counting is used) after Easter Day, Easter. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spiri ...

Honours

Poibrene Heights in

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. ...

are named after the village.

Notes

{{Panagyurishte Villages in Pazardzhik Province