Novo Leski is a village in

Hadzhidimovo Municipality Hadzhidimovo Municipality ( bg, Община Хаджидимово, ) is situated in the southeastern part of Blagoevgrad Province in southwestern Bulgaria. The administrative center is the town of Hadzhidimovo, located in the northern part of th ...

, in Blagoevgrad Province,

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 Macedo ...

Geography

The village is situated in the foothills of the

Pirin Mountain The Pirin Mountains ( bg, Пирин ) are a mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria, with Vihren at an altitude of 2,914 m being the highest peak. The range extends about 80 km from the north-west to the south-east and is about 40 ...

in the valley of the

Mesta River Nestos ( ), Mesta ( ), or formerly the Mesta Karasu in Turkish (Karasu meaning "black river"), is a river in Bulgaria and Greece. It rises in the Rila Mountains and flows into the Aegean Sea near the island of Thasos. It plunges down towering c ...

on the secondary international road between

Gotse Delchev Georgi Nikolov Delchev ( Bulgarian/ Macedonian: Георги/Ѓорѓи Николов Делчев; 4 February 1872 – 4 May 1903), known as Gotse Delchev or Goce Delčev (''Гоце Делчев'', originally spelled in older Bulgar ...

and

Drama, Greece Drama ( el, Δράμα ) is a city and municipality in Macedonia, northeastern Greece. Drama is the capital of the regional unit of Drama which is part of the East Macedonia and Thrace region. The city (pop. 55.593 2021 censuis the economic ce ...

, 6 km west north-west of the town of

Hadzhidimovo Hadzhidimovo ( bg, Хаджидимово ) is a small town and the centre of Hadzhidimovo Municipality in Blagoevgrad Province, south-western Bulgaria. It is located in the southernmost part of Bulgaria, bordering on Greece in the Chech (region) ...

History

The old village named ''Lyaski'' was located in the folds of Pirin, but in search of more fertile land, the village moved 2 kilometres to the east, in the valley of the Mesta river in 1927. Its current name means New Leski. In the "Ethnography of the Provinces of Adrianople, Monastir and Thessaloniki", published in Istanbul in 1878 and reflecting the statistics of the male population from 1873, ''Lyaski'' is listed as a village with 75 households and 260 Bulgarian inhabitants. In 1889, Stefan Verkovic ("Topographical and Ethnographic Essay of Macedonia") noted ''Lyaski'' as a village with 72 Bulgarian houses. The Church of St. George in the village dates back to the beginning of the 19th century. In 1891 Georgi Strezov wrote about the village: "Lyaski, a village on the left bank of Toplitsa. It is 1 1/4 hours from

Nevrokop Gotse Delchev ( bg, Гоце Делчев ), is a town in Gotse Delchev Municipality in Blagoevgrad Province of Bulgaria. In 1951, the town was renamed after the Bulgarian revolutionary hero Gotse Delchev. It had hitherto been called Nevrok ...

. Fertile land in everything. Butchers in Nevrokop. Church "St. Georgi ”; Mass is said in Bulgarian and in Greek. Houses 195 Bulgarians. “ According to the statistics of Vasil Kanchov ("Macedonia. Ethnography and Statistics") at the end of the 19th century Lyaski had a population of 695, all Bulgarian Christians. In a report to Ilarion Nevrokopski from 1909 he wrote about the village: "Lyaski ... The old village is located in an ancient place in a ravine. Near the village there is an oak forest. The village has 186 Bulgarian houses. The population is engaged in agriculture and livestock breeding. Farmers work in the fields almost all summer. The fields are more Turkish. Some of the villagers work in

Serres Sérres ( el, Σέρρες ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki. Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northe ...

Kavala Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia and the capital of Kavala (regional unit), Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across ...

. About 20 carpenters go to Bulgaria every year. People are poor, but hardworking and capable. The church "St. Georgi ”was built in 1844. The school is next to the church. At the outbreak of the Balkan War in 1912, thirteen people from Lyaski volunteered for the Macedonian-Edirne voluntary militia .''Македоно-одринското опълчение 1912–1913 г. Личен състав'', Главно управление на архивите, 2006, p. 859.

Economy and transportation

Agriculture and livestock breeding are the main sources of income in the village. Its situation on an international road is favourable for roadside businesses like stores and cafes. Novo Leski is connected by secondary road № 19 with

Razlog Razlog ( bg, Разлог ) is a town and ski resort in Razlog Municipality, Blagoevgrad Province in southwestern Bulgaria. It is situated in the Razlog Valley and was first mentioned during the reign of Byzantine emperor Basil II. The municipali ...

and

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...

as well with the Greek towns

Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

and

and busses to Sofia and

Blagoevgrad Blagoevgrad ( bg, Благоевград ) is а town in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province. With a population of almost inhabitants, it is the economic and cultural centre ...

during all the day. There are no educational institutions in the village. An elementary school named "Hristo Botev" was closed in 2009 year.

Relligion

The inhabitants are Orthodox Christians. The old church "St. George" is built in 1844 in the old village and is the only remaining building there. The church is restored and functional. In 1994 a church "St. Demetrius" has been built in the new village. There are also two chapels west of Novo Leski - "St. Marina" and "St. Elijah"

References

Villages in Hadzhidimovo Municipality {{Blagoevgrad-geo-stub