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ABOUT
Lovech
AREA |
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The town of Lovech (44 262 inhabitants, about 200 metres above sea level) is
picturesquely situated along the two banks of the Osum River, where the last
elevations of the Pre-Balkan Mountain end. It is situated at the distance of
about 170 km to the north-east of Sofia, 90 km and 35 km to the south, of
Nikopol and Pleven, respectively, at the distance of 35 km to the north of
Troyan, 86 km to the west of Veliko Turnovo and 65 km to the north-west of
Gabrovo. One of the oldest and most interesting Bulgarian towns. A regional
administrative centre.
The town is a descendant of the Thracian by-the-road town of Melta (in today’s
area of Hissarluka) which had a strategic location along the Danube-Aegean Sea
main road. During the Medieval times the town remained an important military
strategic centre and it was called Lovuts (a town of hunters) by the 11th
century. During the 12th century it was moved to the right bank of the Osum
River where the quarter of Varosha is situated now. After the Turnovo Uprising
the Lo-vech Fortress firmly defended the approaches to Turnovo and after a
3-month siege the Byzantine Empire was forced to conclude the well-known
Lovech Peace Treaty (1187), stipulating a new beginning for the Bulgarian
state. Since the end of the Byzantine domination the town has been known by
its today’s name - Lovech.
During the 13th and particularly during the 14th century it was one of the
biggest towns and fortresses in Northern Bulgaria and it reached an enviable
economic prosperity. The town fell under Ottoman Rule in 1393. The last
semi-independent ruler of the Lovech Fortress - Stanko Kussam, became a
haidoutin (rebel) after its downfall. In the first centuries of Ottoman Rule
the town declined and it was not until the 18th and particularly during the
19th century that it became well off, thanks to crafts and trade. It was
called Altun Lovech (Golden Lovech). In 1870 the town had 11 thousand
inhabitants. As early as in 1839 the struggle for an independent Bulgarian
church began here. The first schools were opened in 1846-1847 and one of the
first teachers here was the people’s poet and writer Petko R. Slaveikov. In
1870 a chitalishte (community cultural centre and reading-room) was
established here and two years later the first theatrical performance was held
under the guidance of Angel Kunchev.
There was an old covered wooden bridge over the Osum River but the river
carried it away in 1872. Only 2 years after that the self-studied master of
genius craftsman master usta Kolyu Ficheto built up his famous covered bridge
with 24 small workshops in it. Unfortunately it was burned to ashes by a fire
in 1925. The present (unique in the country) covered bridge was built up on
the analogy of it. During the years of the national liberation movement (the
second half of the 19th century) Lovech turned into the revolutionary capital
of Bulgaria. In 1869 Vassil Levski laid the foundations of the local
revolutionary committee and in the following year he pointed Lovech as a
centre of the Internal Revolutionary Organisation. It was from here on that
the fibres entwining all the country started and they rose the Bulgarian
people in battle for national independence. On 17th July 1877 Lo-vech was
liberated by the squadron of Col. Zhe-rebkov and Col. Parensov but 10 days
later the Turks conquered it again and slaughtered over 2500 Bulgarians in the
town and in its surroundings. The town was finally liberated on 3rd September
1877 by the units of Gen. Imeretinski, Gen. Sko-be-lev and Gen. Dobrovolski.
Its freedom was won at the price of 1683 Russian victims.
After the Liberation Lovech loses the markets in the Ottoman Empire. The
construction of the railway line Levski - Lovech (1932) and its extension to
Troyan (1948) gave an impetus in the development of the town. For the last few
years the town has established itself as a big cultural and tourist centre. |
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