Vardun
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Vardun () is a village in
Targovishte Municipality Targovishte Municipality () is a municipality ('' obshtina'') in Targovishte Province, Northeastern Bulgaria, located in the transition between the Danubian Plain and the area of the so-called Fore-Balkan. It is named after its administrative cen ...
,
Targovishte Province Targovishte Province (, transliterated ''Oblast Tǎrgovište'', former name Targovishte okrug) is a province in northeastern Bulgaria, named after its main city - Targovishte. As of December 2009, it had a population of 129,675. Municipaliti ...
,
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 ...
.


History

Until the 1980s, Vardun had over 300 Bulgarian and several
Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...
dwellings. It was separated from the village of Cherkovna. In the 1980s, urbanization processes encouraged many inhabitants to move to larger Bulgarian towns. Gradually, Romani people began to settle in Vardun and now form the majority of the population. Vardun survived as a solely Bulgarian settlement during several waves of prosecutions against Bulgarians. After the disastrous Tarnovo rebellions (1593 and 1680),
Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...
converted many villages in the region to
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
. Many people from Vardun were killed or banished. The
Turkish Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an 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 Central Euro ...
moved Muslim nomadic tribes from Asia to this region to replace its Bulgarian population and culture. Due to their statute of ''"Voynugans"'' ( Войнуци), Vardunians had a privilege and advantage – they could own land. During the Turkish rule, the amount of Vardunian-owned land was greater than that owned by its neighbouring Muslim villages, with many Muslims working as farmhands on Vardunians' land. In his ''History of Gabrovo as a settlement with a special martial statute, 12th to 19th centuries,'' Boris Stanimirov pointed out how freedom-loving and confident Vardun Bulgarians were. Having such virtues, they managed to put fear on
Deliorman 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 Paz ...
and
Gerlovo Gerlovo or Gerilovo ( or Герилово), is a small geographic and ethnographic region in Northern Bulgaria, a hilly fertile valley in the northeastern Balkan Mountains, south of the Ludogorie region. It lies between the Lisa, Preslav-Dragoevo ...
Turks, demonstrating superiority to them. In an Ottoman tax register from the 16th century, some men from Vardun were recorded with their titles. One of them was ''logotur'' (''logotet'') Bahno. With regard to this is the interpretation of Stefan Chureshki in his publication "The List of Bulgarian Princes", where he talks about a tzar’s inscription from 1281 found near Vardun. Two ''boyars'' were mentioned there – Pagan (or Gagan after another reading) and Hinto – according to their rule over "the mountain" (it is supposed to be the near Preslavska mountain).


Location

Vardun is in the north of the
Gerlovo Gerlovo or Gerilovo ( or Герилово), is a small geographic and ethnographic region in Northern Bulgaria, a hilly fertile valley in the northeastern Balkan Mountains, south of the Ludogorie region. It lies between the Lisa, Preslav-Dragoevo ...
area, a valley enclosed by the
Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...
from the south, and by the Preslavska mountain from the northeast. Westward is the hilly Tozluk area and the Lisa mountain. Gerlovo was one of the most guarded regions in medieval Bulgaria: on the Preslavska mountain alone (about 20km away), remains of more than 10 strongholds have been found.


Landmarks

Right next to Vardun, there were two strongholds: "
Kaleto The Belogradchik Fortress (, ), also known as Kaleto (Калето, "the fortress" from Turkish ), is an ancient fortress located on the north slopes of the Balkan Mountains(Old Mountain), close to the northwestern Bulgarian town of Belogradchik ...
" (1,5km from Vardun), and "Erpeka" (about 2,5km from Vardun) which was built on an upland and had at least two fortified belts. Between both strongholds is situated a place named Holuma which was part of Vardun before the Turkish invasion. Other strongholds near Vardun entail the big stronghold "Gradishteto" (within 5km from Vardun before Prolaz) and " Hisarlaka" (near Paidushko village and within 7km from Vardun). The "Krumovo kale" stronghold or "Misionis", within 8km of the chief town of Targovishte, is the only excavated stronghold in the region. These three strongholds kept guard over the Boaza passage. Eastwards there were also the big stronghold "Tepeto" (within 4km from Vardun) near Cherkovna, "Chanakkale" stronghold (within 9km from Vardun) near Tarnovca and "Kaleto" stronghold (within 6km from Vardun) near Koprec. Other strongholds situated in the Preslavska mountain, were "Beloto gradishte" in the Dervishki passage, the strongholds near villages Ovcharovo, Dolna Kabda and others inside the mountain. In Gerlov the so called Tsika (or Chika) (Τζίκας) existed. A modern interpretation (based on unknown premises) claims that Tsika was the capital of the tribe of Severs. The chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor from the 9th century states that Tsika was the supposed capital (if a settlement is meant) or the inner (metropolitan) region of the Bulgarian state in which the palaces (αυλὴν) were located. "The healing spring" is one of the largest attractions in the village of Vardun. According to legend, locals believe that the spring water can cure illnesses, including kidney and stomach problems.


Honours

Vardun Point on
Graham Land Graham Land is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula that lies north of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This description of Graham Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the British Antarctic Place-names Committee ...
,
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 the village.


References

{{Authority control Villages in Targovishte Province