Basarbovo ( bg, Басарбово) is a village in Northeast Bulgaria, in the Municipality of Ruse. As of 2018, the population is 1 416.

Geography

Basarbovo is located in close proximity to

Ruse Ruse may refer to: Places *Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria **Ruse Municipality ** Ruse Province ** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency *Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia * Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...

. It is surrounded by hills on all sides, resulting in a softer climate than the nearby city. The river

Rusenski Lom The Rusenski Lom ( ) is a river in northeastern Bulgaria, the last major right tributary of the Danube. It is formed by the rivers Beli Lom and Cherni Lom, the former taking its source south of Razgrad and the latter southeast of Popovo. The so ...

passes through it. As a result, a canyon is formed, similar to the one in the nearby Rusenski Lom Nature Park. This is one of the oldest climbing sites in Bulgaria. In geological history, the territory of Basarbovo was once covered by

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

, resulting in

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

formations.

History

It is believed that the area is inhabited since the antiquity. There are a number of

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...

votive tile discovered, the oldest one dated to III - II century BC depicting a

horse rider Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the disciplines of riding, driving, and vaulting. This broad description includes the ...

. Due to this it is believed that the site has been a place of worship long before the establishment of

Basarbovo Monastery Basarbovo Monastery ( bg, Басарбовски манастир) – the Monastery of Saint Dimitar Basarbowski – is a Bulgarian Orthodox cave monastery near the city of Ruse in north-eastern Bulgaria. It has the same name as the nearby villa ...

. Its earliest mention is from 1431 in an Ottoman tax register. According to it, there were 14 households in the village with predominantly ethnic Bulgarian population. During the Ottoman rule in Bulgaria, the village was located on the hill northwest of its current position. After it was burnt down several times, in 1803 the settlement moved to its current position.

Name

In its earliest mentions, the village is indicated as ''Monastery Basaraba ( bg, Манастир "Басараба")'', evolving later on in ''Basarbovo''. It is hypothesized that it is called after

Basarab I of Wallachia Basarab I (), also known as Basarab the Founder ( ro, Basarab Întemeietorul; c. 1270 – 1351/1352), was a ''voivode'' and later the first independent ruler of Wallachia who lived in the first half of the . Many details of his life are uncerta ...

, as it may have been in his

land Land, also known as dry land, ground, or earth, is the solid terrestrial surface of the planet Earth that is not submerged by the ocean or other bodies of water. It makes up 29% of Earth's surface and includes the continents and various islan ...

. Another theory is that it is founded by settlers from

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

, although this is disputed as there are evidence that the village is founded by settlers from the

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as 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 throughout the who ...

village

Dryanovo Dryanovo ( bg, Дряново, ) is a Bulgarian town situated at the northern foot of the Balkan Mountains in Gabrovo Province; amphitheatrically along the two banks of Dryanovo River, a tributary to the Yantra River. The town is a centre of t ...

. Commonly the village is incorrectly called Besarbovo ''( bg, Бесарбово)'', probably due to confusion with

Main sights

Basarbovo Monastery

is located in walking distance from Basarbovo. It was founded during the

Second Bulgarian Empire The Second Bulgarian Empire (; ) was a medieval Bulgarians, Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1396. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan of Bulgaria, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II ...

(XII-XIV cent.), but the oldest written mention of it dates to 1431 in an Ottoman tax register. It is the only active cave monastery in the modern history of Bulgaria. It was named a historical landmark in 1978.

Others

Basarbovo Ridge 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, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

is named after the village.

References

External links

{{commonscat
Page of the town hall of Basarbovo
Villages in Ruse Province