Lyaskovets
Encyclopedia
Lyaskovets is a town in central northern Bulgaria
, located in Veliko Tarnovo Province
, 10 km northeast of Veliko Tarnovo
, 2 km southeast of Gorna Oryahovitsa
and 5 km south of the Yantra River
, north of the Balkan Mountains
. Its name comes from the word leska ('hazel
') or leshnik ('hazelnut'), because the tree was abundant in the area. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 8,277 inhabitants.
Lyaskovets Peak
, in the sub-Antarctic, is named after the town.
, during the Second Bulgarian Empire
, because of its proximity to the capital fortress of Veliko Tarnovo. The SS Peter and Paul Monastery helped its development as a religious centre, and Lyaskovets took the form of five neighbourhoods named after their respective churches (for which the town is still famous): St Athanasius, St Basil, St George, St Demetrius and St Nicholas. These neighbourhoods were established at different time by settlers, and grew to merge as one.
After the Ottoman
conquest of Bulgaria in the 14th century, Lyaskovets, together with the neighbouring villages of Gorna Oryahovitsa, Dolna Oryahovitsa
and Arbanasi, was formally regarded as autonomous (i.e. not part of the rayah
) according to a 1538 decree of Selim II
. Though this was confirmed by later decrees, such as one by Mahmud II
in 1810, Lyaskovets developed as a centre of revolutionary activity, and three armed uprisings set off from the monastery in the 18th and 19th century.
Lyaskovets was bloodlessly liberated by the Imperial Russian Army
in June 1877 due to the flight of the Ottoman garrison in the town after having heard that Veliko Tarnovo was captured, and became part of the Principality of Bulgaria
. The former village was proclaimed a town on 15 March 1880.
An earthquake
in 1913 with a Richter magnitude of 7.0 destroyed many of the brick buildings in the town, including all five churches, which were later reconstructed. The earthquake claimed seven victims and injured over 30.
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 Veliko Tarnovo Province
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 is known as the capital of Medieval Bulgaria...
, 10 km northeast of Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred to as the "City of the Tsars", Veliko Tarnovo is located on the Yantra River and is famous as the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists...
, 2 km southeast of Gorna Oryahovitsa
Gorna Oryahovitsa
Gorna Oryahovitsa is a town in northern Bulgaria, situated in Veliko Tarnovo Province, not far from the city of Veliko Tarnovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Gorna Oryahovitsa Municipality...
and 5 km south of the Yantra River
Yantra River
The Yantra is a river in northern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the Danube. It is 285 km long and has a watershed of 7,862 km²....
, north of the Balkan Mountains
Balkan Mountains
The Balkan mountain range is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The Balkan range runs 560 km from the Vrashka Chuka Peak on the border between Bulgaria and eastern Serbia eastward through central Bulgaria to Cape Emine on the Black Sea...
. Its name comes from the word leska ('hazel
Hazel
The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.They have simple, rounded leaves with double-serrate margins...
') or leshnik ('hazelnut'), because the tree was abundant in the area. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 8,277 inhabitants.
Lyaskovets Peak
Lyaskovets Peak
Lyaskovets Peak is the easternmost peak of Friesland Ridge in the Tangra Mountains, eastern Livingston Island and has an elevation 1,473 m...
, in the sub-Antarctic, is named after the town.
History
The area around the town has been inhabited since the 4th millennium BC, but grew as an important Bulgarian settlement in the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, during the Second Bulgarian Empire
Second Bulgarian Empire
The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state which existed between 1185 and 1396 . A successor of the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II before gradually being conquered by the Ottomans in the late 14th-early 15th century...
, because of its proximity to the capital fortress of Veliko Tarnovo. The SS Peter and Paul Monastery helped its development as a religious centre, and Lyaskovets took the form of five neighbourhoods named after their respective churches (for which the town is still famous): St Athanasius, St Basil, St George, St Demetrius and St Nicholas. These neighbourhoods were established at different time by settlers, and grew to merge as one.
After the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
conquest of Bulgaria in the 14th century, Lyaskovets, together with the neighbouring villages of Gorna Oryahovitsa, Dolna Oryahovitsa
Dolna Oryahovitsa
Dolna Oryahovitsa is a town in northern Bulgaria, part of Gorna Oryahovitsa municipality, Veliko Tarnovo Province....
and Arbanasi, was formally regarded as autonomous (i.e. not part of the rayah
Rayah
A rayah or reaya was a member of the tax-paying lower class of Ottoman society, in contrast to the askeri and kul...
) according to a 1538 decree of Selim II
Selim II
Selim II Sarkhosh Hashoink , also known as "Selim the Sot " or "Selim the Drunkard"; and as "Sarı Selim" or "Selim the Blond", was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1566 until his death in 1574.-Early years:He was born in Constantinople a son of Suleiman the...
. Though this was confirmed by later decrees, such as one by Mahmud II
Mahmud II
Mahmud II was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. He was born in the Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, the son of Sultan Abdulhamid I...
in 1810, Lyaskovets developed as a centre of revolutionary activity, and three armed uprisings set off from the monastery in the 18th and 19th century.
Lyaskovets was bloodlessly liberated by the Imperial Russian Army
Imperial Russian Army
The Imperial Russian Army was the land armed force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian army consisted of around 938,731 regular soldiers and 245,850 irregulars . Until the time of military reform of Dmitry Milyutin in...
in June 1877 due to the flight of the Ottoman garrison in the town after having heard that Veliko Tarnovo was captured, and became part of the Principality of Bulgaria
Principality of Bulgaria
The Principality of Bulgaria was a self-governing entity created as a vassal of the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. The preliminary treaty of San Stefano between the Russian Empire and the Porte , on March 3, had originally proposed a significantly larger Bulgarian territory: its...
. The former village was proclaimed a town on 15 March 1880.
An earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
in 1913 with a Richter magnitude of 7.0 destroyed many of the brick buildings in the town, including all five churches, which were later reconstructed. The earthquake claimed seven victims and injured over 30.
Municipality
Lyaskovets is also the seat of Lyaskovets municipality (part of Veliko Tarnovo Province), which includes the following 5 villages:- Dobri Dyal (Добри дял)
- Dragizhevo (Драгижево)
- Dzhulyunitsa (Джулюница)
- Kozarevets (Козаревец)
- Merdanya (Мерданя)