Drazhevo
Encyclopedia
Drazhevo is a village
in the southeast of Bulgaria
, located in the Tundzha Municipality
of the Yambol Province
. It is situated near the Tundja river, near forest areas 9 km (6 mi) away from the town
of Yambol
, 17 km (11 mi) away from the town of Sliven
, and 51 km (32 mi) away from the town of Elhovo
. Drajevo borders the villages of Hadjidimitrovo, Krushare (Sliven Province
), Zhelio Voyvoda (Sliven Province), Kabile
and town of Yambol. There is a medical centre, post office, several shops and cafés and has regular bus connections to the town of Yambol.
". It is where the river changes its flow from the east to south, towards "Uskudama, Adrianopolis"(modern-day Edirne
). On its way to Aegean Sea
, the river merges with the rivers Maritsa
and Arda
. At the end of the II mil. at the foot of the tip, is formed the city of Kabile
- a part of the Roman province of Thrace. Under the Avary's attacks the city was destroyed during the 6th century.
The history of the village Drazhevo has ancient beginnings. This is evident by pottery remains from an ancient Thracian settlement discovered northeast of the village huddled at the foot of the peak "Zajchi vrah". Excavations in 2004 at the hill "Dyado Sabev bair", which is located right next to the hill "Zajchi vrah", opened a unique tumulus
, (or burial mound), of the Yamna culture
. These people were steppe nomads from the second level of the Early Bronze Age.
The first mention of the village of Drazhevo was in 1666 in the old Turkish document as Ohada (Awhdy). By this time, the watercourse of the river Tonzos(Tunja
) had been already moved 2–3 km in north. The old river bed had been covered with dense forest, which people called Kara orman (Montenegro). Old people of the village still remember the forest, part of which was kept to the end of Ottoman rule, when it was cut and turned into fields. They say that the northern part of the village has ended with a fence - a precaution against wild animals. Later people started to call the old bed of the river "Tundzhalak" due to the sand in the soil. (There is only sand in some places). Ground water is very close to the surface and is potable. After 1944 the land was nationalized and turned into rice paddies
During the Ottoman rule in the village was settled moderately wealthy Turk named Atla grazing, who kept breeding horses. The people of his village had been committed as apprentices in keeping the horses. At that time the houses in the number of the houses in the village was around 17. At that time, the village began to be called Atliy (from Turkish "at" - horse).
From the beginning until now the population of Drazhevo had been dealing with livestock (sheep, horses, buffaloes and cows) and horticulture
. Traditional horticultural crops were wheat, barley and rye. The planting of crop vegetables started much later. Old people from the village say that in the past, the vegetables had been purchased from "bachvandzhii" - gardeners from the Balkans. People had used their yards around the house as a stackyard - a place where the harvest was threshing in the past with "dikanya".
In the 19th century, the detachment of Panajot Hitov acted in the land of the village. After the liberation of Bulgaria
in 1878, the population of the village was increased by a significant number of refugees from Turkish Thrace
. Till the 1885 Bulgarian Crisis
, the village of Atliy was a part of Eastern Rumelia
. In 1890, for unclear reasons, the village was renamed as the village Borissovo - the name of King Boris I by the decree № 582. In the archives of Dr. Tabakov from Sliven, it was noted that during 30 years of the 20th century, in the village were 104 houses with 461 inhabitants.
By decree № 45 of the National Assembly on February 8, 1950 the village was re-named Drazhevo - the name of George Drazhev, the chairman of Revolutionary Committee during the April Uprising for the Yambol region, who was hanged on a bridge in the town of Yambol named "Kargonskiya".
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in the southeast of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, located in the Tundzha Municipality
Tundzha municipality
Tundzha municipality is a municipality of Yambol Province, southeastern Bulgaria. The municipality has an area of 1,218.86 square kilometres, making it the second-largest by area in the country after the Capital Municipality . It covers 44 villages and has a population of 27,225 according to 2005...
of the Yambol Province
Yambol Province
Yambol is a province in southeastern Bulgaria, neighbouring Turkey to the south. It is named after its main city Yambol, while other towns include Straldzha, Bolyarovo and Elhovo...
. It is situated near the Tundja river, near forest areas 9 km (6 mi) away from the town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
of Yambol
Yambol
Yambol is a city in southeastern Bulgaria, an administrative centre of Yambol Province. It lies on both banks of the Tundzha river in the historical region of Thrace. As of February 2011, the town has a population of 72,843 inhabitants. It is occasionally spelt 'Jambol'.The administrative centres...
, 17 km (11 mi) away from the town of Sliven
Sliven
Sliven is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality. It is a relatively large town with 89,848 inhabitants, as of February 2011....
, and 51 km (32 mi) away from the town of Elhovo
Elhovo
Elhovo is a Bulgarian town in Yambol Province, located on the left bank of Tundzha river, between Strandzha and Sakar mountains. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Elhovo Municipality...
. Drajevo borders the villages of Hadjidimitrovo, Krushare (Sliven Province
Sliven Province
Sliven Province is a province in southeastern Bulgaria, named after its administrative and industrial centre - the city of Sliven. It embraces a territory of 3,544.1 km² that is divided into 4 municipalities, with a total population, as of December 2009, of 204,887...
), Zhelio Voyvoda (Sliven Province), Kabile
Kabile
Kabile is a village in southeastern Bulgaria, part of the Tundzha municipality, Yambol Province. The ruins of an ancient Thracian royal city can be found nearby, and it remained an important fortress throughout the Middle Ages.- Geography :...
and town of Yambol. There is a medical centre, post office, several shops and cafés and has regular bus connections to the town of Yambol.
History
Tonzos river valley (now Tundja) was inhabited by Thracian tribes in the Bronze and Iron Age. The especially favourable location, which attracted settlers as early as the Stone-Copper Age, is the bight Tonzos, around the last hill "Zajchi vrah" of the mountain "Sredna goraSredna Gora
Sredna Gora is a mountain range in central Bulgaria, situated south of and parallel to Balkan mountain range and extending from the river Iskar to the west and the elbow of Tundzha north of Yambol to the east. Sredna Gora is 285 km long, reaching 50 km at its greatest width...
". It is where the river changes its flow from the east to south, towards "Uskudama, Adrianopolis"(modern-day Edirne
Edirne
Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...
). On its way to Aegean Sea
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
, the river merges with the rivers Maritsa
Maritsa
The Maritsa or Evros , ) is, with a length of 480 km, the longest river that runs solely in the interior of the Balkans. It has its origin in the Rila Mountains in Western Bulgaria, flowing southeast between the Balkan and Rhodope Mountains, past Plovdiv and Parvomay to Edirne, Turkey...
and Arda
Arda
In J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium, Arda is the name given to the Earth in a period of prehistory, wherein the places mentioned in The Lord of the Rings and related material once existed...
. At the end of the II mil. at the foot of the tip, is formed the city of Kabile
Kabile
Kabile is a village in southeastern Bulgaria, part of the Tundzha municipality, Yambol Province. The ruins of an ancient Thracian royal city can be found nearby, and it remained an important fortress throughout the Middle Ages.- Geography :...
- a part of the Roman province of Thrace. Under the Avary's attacks the city was destroyed during the 6th century.
The history of the village Drazhevo has ancient beginnings. This is evident by pottery remains from an ancient Thracian settlement discovered northeast of the village huddled at the foot of the peak "Zajchi vrah". Excavations in 2004 at the hill "Dyado Sabev bair", which is located right next to the hill "Zajchi vrah", opened a unique tumulus
Tumulus
A tumulus is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, Hügelgrab or kurgans, and can be found throughout much of the world. A tumulus composed largely or entirely of stones is usually referred to as a cairn...
, (or burial mound), of the Yamna culture
Yamna culture
The Yamna culture is a late copper age/early Bronze Age culture of the Southern Bug/Dniester/Ural region , dating to the 36th–23rd centuries BC...
. These people were steppe nomads from the second level of the Early Bronze Age.
The first mention of the village of Drazhevo was in 1666 in the old Turkish document as Ohada (Awhdy). By this time, the watercourse of the river Tonzos(Tunja
Tunja
Tunja is a city and municipality located in the central part of Colombia, in the region of "Alto Chicomocha". As of the 2005 Census it had 152,419 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Department of Boyacá and part of the subregion of the Central Boyacá Province. It is approximately 145 km...
) had been already moved 2–3 km in north. The old river bed had been covered with dense forest, which people called Kara orman (Montenegro). Old people of the village still remember the forest, part of which was kept to the end of Ottoman rule, when it was cut and turned into fields. They say that the northern part of the village has ended with a fence - a precaution against wild animals. Later people started to call the old bed of the river "Tundzhalak" due to the sand in the soil. (There is only sand in some places). Ground water is very close to the surface and is potable. After 1944 the land was nationalized and turned into rice paddies
During the Ottoman rule in the village was settled moderately wealthy Turk named Atla grazing, who kept breeding horses. The people of his village had been committed as apprentices in keeping the horses. At that time the houses in the number of the houses in the village was around 17. At that time, the village began to be called Atliy (from Turkish "at" - horse).
From the beginning until now the population of Drazhevo had been dealing with livestock (sheep, horses, buffaloes and cows) and horticulture
Horticulture
Horticulture is the industry and science of plant cultivation including the process of preparing soil for the planting of seeds, tubers, or cuttings. Horticulturists work and conduct research in the disciplines of plant propagation and cultivation, crop production, plant breeding and genetic...
. Traditional horticultural crops were wheat, barley and rye. The planting of crop vegetables started much later. Old people from the village say that in the past, the vegetables had been purchased from "bachvandzhii" - gardeners from the Balkans. People had used their yards around the house as a stackyard - a place where the harvest was threshing in the past with "dikanya".
In the 19th century, the detachment of Panajot Hitov acted in the land of the village. After the liberation of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
in 1878, the population of the village was increased by a significant number of refugees from Turkish Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
. Till the 1885 Bulgarian Crisis
Bulgarian Crisis (1885 - 1888)
The Bulgarian Crisis refers to an event as part of the Balkan crisis between 1885 and 1888 which saw a conflict between the Germans and the Russians....
, the village of Atliy was a part of Eastern Rumelia
Eastern Rumelia
Eastern Rumelia or Eastern Roumelia was an administratively autonomous province in the Ottoman Empire and Principality of Bulgaria from 1878 to 1908. It was under full Bulgarian control from 1885 on, when it willingly united with the tributary Principality of Bulgaria after a bloodless revolution...
. In 1890, for unclear reasons, the village was renamed as the village Borissovo - the name of King Boris I by the decree № 582. In the archives of Dr. Tabakov from Sliven, it was noted that during 30 years of the 20th century, in the village were 104 houses with 461 inhabitants.
By decree № 45 of the National Assembly on February 8, 1950 the village was re-named Drazhevo - the name of George Drazhev, the chairman of Revolutionary Committee during the April Uprising for the Yambol region, who was hanged on a bridge in the town of Yambol named "Kargonskiya".