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Leskovdol ( bg, Лесковдол) is a mountainous village in Bulgaria situated in Golema mountain, part of the Balkan mountain range. It is located 45 kilometers north from Sofia and is part of the
Svoge municipality Svoge Municipality is located in western Bulgaria and is a part of Sofia Province. It covers a territory of 868,6 km2 and has a population of around 21,000 people, more than 1/3 of which lives in the town of Svoge itself. The municipality also ...
. According to the 2011 census 114 people live in the settlement. Several places of interest are located nearby including the
Seven Altars monastery The Seven Altars (, ''Sedemte prestola''), officially the Monastery of the Most Holy Mother of God (, ''Manastir „Sveta Bogoroditsa“'') is a Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Bulgarian Orthodox monastery of the Eparchy of Sofia, situated in the we ...
, Izdremets peak and a section of the
Kom–Emine Kom–Emine ( bg, „Ком – Емине“) is a high-mountain long-distance trail in Bulgaria. The route follows the main ridge of the Balkan Mountains, which bisect the country and give the Balkan Peninsula its name. Beginning at Kom P ...
long-distance footpath.


Etymology

One of the theories is that the name of the village comes from the specific
stones In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...
- liska ( bg, лиска) - which could only be found in this area. This local stone was used as a foundation material for the local houses. The other theory is that Leskov comes from the Bulgarian word leska ( bg, леска) which means '' hazel tree''. The Bulgarian word dol is translated in English as ''small valley''. There are two ways of writing the village's name - ''Leskov dol'' or ''Leskovdol'', although nowadays many people have adopted the merged version. Also on most of the maps and in official documents the name is written Leskovdol.


History

It is believed that the village was founded somewhere between the years 1000 and 1300. The legend about the founding of the nearby monastery states that 7 brothers 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 ...
settled in the mountains around the monastery and brought their families with them. One of the brothers settled in the lands of Leskovdol with his family and thus founded the village. This is just a legend but so far no evidence about the village's history have been found.


Berilova vodenitsa fortress

Historians confirm that around the time of khan Krum on the northern hills above the village was located a
fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
called Berilova vodenitsa. It is not known when exactly the
fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...
was built but it is known that it was renovated during the time of khan Krum for his march to conquer Serdica. Today on the meadows above Leskovdol, near Izdremets peak, one can see numerous scattered
stones In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's o ...
and rocks. An ancient
Roman road Roman roads ( la, viae Romanae ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, and were built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Re ...
from Vratsa to Serdica also passed nearby.


Ottoman Era

The settlement was recorded as a village and as "Leskovdol" in the Ottoman Tahrir
Defter A ''defter'' (plural: ''defterler'') was a type of tax register and land cadastre in the Ottoman Empire. Description The information collected could vary, but ''tahrir defterleri'' typically included details of villages, dwellings, household ...
number 370 from 1530. Moreover, in the Tahrir Defter number 151 from 1528 the village had
Voynuk Voynuks (sometimes called ''voynugans'' or ''voynegans'') were members of the privileged Ottoman military social class established in the 1370s or the 1380s. Voynuks were tax-exempt non-Muslim, usually Slavic, and also non-Slavic Vlach Ottoman ...
households under the Voynugan-ı Istabl-ı Amire military branch, which were Ottoman Christian Soldiers and were tax-exempt.


Wars between 1912 - 1918

20 people from Leskovdol perished in the wars that took place between 1912 and 1918. Their
name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal ...
s are inscribed into a memorial plaque on one of the walls of the village church.


Area

The entire territory of Leskovdol - with all of its hamlets, forests and meadows - is a little over 26,2 square kilometers.


Nature and landscape

The
landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...
is steep, typical for the Western
Balkan mountain The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border betw ...
region. Leskovdol is situated from 700 to 1300 meters above sea level with Vratnitsa being the highest located hamlet at around 1300 meters. Dirt roads link Leskovdol with its neighbouring villages of Bukovets, Brezovdol, Redina (to the south), Želen (to the west) & Bov (to the north). Wide mountain meadows make up to 39,8% of Leskovdol's territory and are mainly located in the higher parts of the village. Redinska is the main river which flows through the territory of the Leskovdol.


Flora & fauna

Forests cover a large percentage of the territory - around 55%. The
conifer Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
s are mainly pines,
spruce A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' (), a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the Earth. ''Picea'' is the sole genus in the subfami ...
s and
fir Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...
s, while the broad-leaved trees are well represented by multiple species including birches,
fraxinus ''Fraxinus'' (), common name, commonly called ash, is a genus of flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45–65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous, though a number of Subtropics, subtropic ...
, tilias, fruit trees, hornbeams, walnut trees and
beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...
es. The fauna in this region is typical for the Western
Balkan mountain The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border betw ...
area. Wolves, wild rabbits, wild boars and hedgehogs inhabit the higher territories and the abandoned hamlets of the village which are not influenced by human activity. Domestic animals such as sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, cattle, cows and
donkey The domestic donkey is a hoofed mammal in the family Equidae, the same family as the horse. It derives from the African wild ass, ''Equus africanus'', and may be classified either as a subspecies thereof, ''Equus africanus asinus'', or as a ...
s can be seen in the populated hamlets. A small part of Leskovdol's territory is under the protection of
Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...
.


Division

The village is divided into a number of hamlets, although the largest portion of the population is concentrated in the hamlets Selishte, Popov kladenets, Vratnitsa, Kokeleni babki, Svinove and Dobrolevo bardo. ''Lozeto'' ( bg, Лозето) bus stop on the bus route Svoge - Leskovdol marks the border between the territory of Leskovdol village and that of its neighbouring Redina village.


Education

There is a single school named after Hristo Botev which shut down years ago. The local children go to the nearby town of
Svoge Svoge ( bg, Своге, ) is a town in western Bulgaria, part of Sofia Province. It is located in the gorge of the Iskar River, at the place where the mountains Mala planina, Golema planina and Ponor meet, 40 km north of the capital Sofia. Svoge is ...
to continue their education. The first village school was built on the banks of Redinska river but nowadays it doesn't exist.


Culture

Nowadays the village has no functioning schools or
chitalishta A ''chitalishte'' (, . Derives from the verb "чета" - "to read" or "читател" - "reader") is a typical Bulgarian public institution and building that fulfills several functions at once, such as a community centre, library, and a theat ...
. Years ago Leskovdol had a folklore ensemble which performed national dances & songs from Bulgaria and from the
Svoge Svoge ( bg, Своге, ) is a town in western Bulgaria, part of Sofia Province. It is located in the gorge of the Iskar River, at the place where the mountains Mala planina, Golema planina and Ponor meet, 40 km north of the capital Sofia. Svoge is ...
region. The traditions in the village are close to the ones typical for the Svoge and Sofia regions.


Demographics

At the beginning of the 20th century the population was at least 800 people and continued to enlarge. The migration towards the cities and the lowering fertility rate are the biggest problems that kept Leskovdol from growing. The unemployment is high due to the location of the village in a mountainous region. In
summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...
a lot of people, mainly from Sofia, come to their villas for the typical summer break.


2011 census

According to the census held on the 01.02.2011 ''114'' people declared to live in the village. Only 36 from them are officially retired.


Buildings

Houses, residential and non-residential buildings cover only around 5% of the entire village territory. Most of the old houses in the village were built using
adobe Adobe ( ; ) is a building material made from earth and organic materials. is Spanish for ''mudbrick''. In some English-speaking regions of Spanish heritage, such as the Southwestern United States, the term is used to refer to any kind of e ...
, rocks and wood. In the late 1960s people, mainly from Sofia, bought parcels in the village's hamlets and started building a second type of houses - villas and
bungalow A bungalow is a small house or cottage that is either single-story or has a second story built into a sloping roof (usually with dormer windows), and may be surrounded by wide verandas. The first house in England that was classified as a b ...
s - which they used as a residence for their
summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, wit ...
vacations. The villas are built with modern building materials and thus create a mixed look of the village with both typical and new houses forming the background. According to the 2001 census there were 128 local houses, 26 of which
abandoned Abandon, abandoned, or abandonment may refer to: Common uses * Abandonment (emotional), a subjective emotional state in which people feel undesired, left behind, insecure, or discarded * Abandonment (legal), a legal term regarding property ** Chi ...
, and 619 other buildings, including villas & barns.


Economy

Woodcutters can sometimes be seen in this area, especially during late summer. Agriculture and animal breeding are developed in the populated areas. There is a small
bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...
and a shop next to the village hall. They are open every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.


Religion

The entire population consists of Christians. There are three
cemeteries A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...
- one nearby the village hall, one in Dabeto hamlet and another one in Selishte hamlet, where the village's church is also located. It has an outdoor semantron and was built during the period between the two world wars. It bears the name of Saint Elias. There are no serving priests since the 1970s.


Transport

The road to Leskovdol diverts from the main road Sofia - Mezdra just before entering Svoge. It is 8 kilometers long and is mostly in good condition but only reaches the center of Kokeleni babki hamlet. Apart from that all others roads in the village are dirt roads. There are two
charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
buses to the village from
Svoge Svoge ( bg, Своге, ) is a town in western Bulgaria, part of Sofia Province. It is located in the gorge of the Iskar River, at the place where the mountains Mala planina, Golema planina and Ponor meet, 40 km north of the capital Sofia. Svoge is ...
every day - one in the morning and another in the afternoon. On Thursday there is an additional
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
around noon.


Infrastructure

Almost all of the
house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
s have electricity and water supply. There are no telephone lines except a telephone post in the village hall. The postal code is 2268 although the post is delivered only to the village hall. The TV and radio tower is located in Popov kladenets hamlet. All three Bulgarian
mobile operators A mobile network operator (MNO), also known as a wireless service provider, wireless carrier, cellular company, or mobile network carrier, is a provider of wireless communications services that owns or controls all the elements necessary to sell ...
have complete coverage in Leskovdol. The village hall shut down in the summer of 1999 due to the continuing diminution of the population.http://www.nsi.bg/nrnm/show2.php?sid=20002473&ezik=bul&e=20011938 (in Bulgarian)


Gallery

File:Leskovdol-view.jpg, Leskovdol viewed from Visokata chukla peak File:Old-barn-leskovdol.jpg, An old barn build from timber, ''leska' stones' & adobe File:Leskovdol-bus.jpg, Buses to Leskovdol at the Svoge bus station File:White-adobe-house.jpg, Abandoned adobe house File:Leskovdol-sunset-view.jpg, View of the village from Leške hamlet


External links


References

;Notes {{Reflist} Villages in Sofia Province