Kotel ( bg, Котел , ) is a town in central

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, part of

Sliven Province Sliven Province ( bg, Област Сливен, former name Sliven okrug) is a province in southeastern Bulgaria, named after its administrative and industrial centre—the city of Sliven. It embraces a territory of Kotel Municipality Kotel Municipality ( bg, Община Котел) is a municipality in the Sliven Province of Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situate ...

. In 2016, the town had a population of 5,329.Bulgarian National Statistical Institute – towns in 2009
Kotel is known for the numerous personalities of the

Bulgarian National Revival The Bulgarian National Revival ( bg, Българско национално възраждане, ''Balgarsko natsionalno vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and tr, Bulgar ulus canlanması) sometimes called the Bu ...

who are connected to the town in various ways, such as the politicians

Alexander Bogoridi Prince (''Knyaz'') Alexander Stefanov Bogoridi ( bg, княз Александър (Алеко) Стефанов Богориди; tr, Aleko Paşa; el, Αλέξανδρος Βογορίδης) (1822 – July 17, 1910) was an Ottoman statesman of ...

and

Stefan Bogoridi Prince ('' Knyaz'' or ''Bey'') Stefan Bogoridi (born Стойко Цонков Стойков, ''Stoyko Tsonkov Stoykov''; ; ; ; ; 1775 or 1780–August 1, 1859) was a high-ranking Ottoman statesman of Bulgarian origin, grandson of Sophron ...

, the enlighteners

Sophronius of Vratsa Saint Sophronius of Vratsa (or Sofroniy Vrachanski; bg, Софроний Врачански; 1739–1813), born Stoyko Vladislavov ( bg, Стойко Владиславов), was a Bulgarian cleric and one of the leading figures of the early Bul ...

and

Petar Beron Dr. Petar Beron ( bg, Петър Берон) (c. 1799, Kotel – 21 March 1871) was a Bulgarian educator. He created the first modern Bulgarian primer, known as the '' Fish Primer'' (Рибен буквар, ''Riben bukvar'') due to a dolphin ...

, public figure

Gavril Krastevich Gavril Krastevich ( bg, Гаврил Кръстевич; 5 April 1817 – 19 November 1898) was a Bulgarian politician and historian, and the first translator of Benjamin Franklin into Bulgarian. He was born in Kotel in 1817. He was Governor G ...

, revolutionary

Georgi Rakovski Georgi Stoykov Rakovski ( bg, Георги Стойков Раковски) (1821 – 9 October 1867), known also Georgi Sava Rakovski (), born Sabi Stoykov Popovich (), was a 19th-century Bulgarian revolutionary, freemason, writer and an impo ...

, as well as the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

prime minister

Dobri Bozhilov Dobri Bozhilov Khadzhiyanakev () (June 13, 1884 – February 1, 1945) was Prime Minister of Bulgaria during World War II. Biography Born in Kotel, Bulgaria, Bozhilov attended the Higher Commercial School in Svishtov before starting work as ...

. It has a well-known music school and a large

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

population who can be found playing in restaurants and orchestras all over Bulgaria. Because of its location in the mountains, Kotel is also a popular health resort for the cure of diseases such as tuberculosis. Kotel has been a center for carpet making and there is a museum devoted to the craft.

Geography

The town is located in East Stara planina.

Landmarks

*Zlosten protected area *Urushki skali protected area *Eagle Caves protected area

History

BASA-1735K-1-345-6-Kotel, Bulgaria, 1932

Kotel was settled during the beginning of the Ottoman occupation of Bulgaria, when people fled from neighboring cities and towns. The earliest information about the town is found in an Ottoman Turkish register from 1486. In 1894, much of Kotel was destroyed in a fire.

Honour

Kotel Gap Kotel Gap (Kotelska Sedlovina \'ko-tel-ska se-dlo-vi-'na\) is a saddle of elevation 660 m extending 1 km between Serdica Peak and Silistra Knoll in Levski Ridge, Tangra Mountains on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica ...

Livingston Island Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of Antarctic islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was the first land discovered south of 60 ...

in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 195 ...

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 Kotel.

Culture

Education

Kotel Literary School was established in the 16th century.

is a prominent representative of this school. *

Filip Kutev's National School for Folk Arts National School for Folklore Arts "Filip Kutev" is a Bulgarian school for folklore located in Kotel, Bulgaria. History National School for Folklore Arts "Filip Kutev", named after famous Bulgarian composer Filip Kutev, was founded on 2 October 19 ...

*Georgi Rakovski high school

Saglasie-Napredak 1870 cultural center

The Saglasie-Napredak 1870 cultural center was founded in 1870. BASA-1735K-1-353-1-Kotel, 1932

Agriculture

There is a strong sheep farming tradition in the region, which includes the practice of

transhumance Transhumance is a type of pastoralism or nomadism, a seasonal movement of livestock between fixed summer and winter pastures. In montane regions (''vertical transhumance''), it implies movement between higher pastures in summer and lower vall ...

, migrating the sheep from lowland winter pastures to mountain summer pastures. This was profiled in a

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

documentary.BBC Radio 4, Tuesday 14 October 2008, World on the Move, Great Animal Migrations
/ref>

Notable residents

Georgi Sava Rakovski Georgi Stoykov Rakovski ( bg, Георги Стойков Раковски) (1821 – 9 October 1867), known also Georgi Sava Rakovski (), born Sabi Stoykov Popovich (), was a 19th-century Bulgarian revolutionary, freemason, writer and an impo ...

, revolutionary *

, scientist, philosopher and educator *

, governor General of

Eastern Rumelia Eastern Rumelia ( bg, Източна Румелия, Iztochna Rumeliya; ota, , Rumeli-i Şarkî; el, Ανατολική Ρωμυλία, Anatoliki Romylia) was an autonomous province (''oblast'' in Bulgarian, ''vilayet'' in Turkish) in the Otto ...

, prince of

Samos Samos (, also ; el, Σάμος ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the -wide Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...

, theologian, Bulgarian nationalist

Gallery

File:Bulgaria-Kotel-01.jpg File:Bulgaria-Kotel-02.jpg File:Bulgaria-Kotel-03.jpg File:Котел, градския стадион.jpg File:Парк "Изворите".jpg,

References

External links

Kotel History
Towns in Bulgaria Populated places in Sliven Province {{Sliven-geo-stub