Poibrene ( bg, Поибрене) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the

Panagyurishte municipality Panagyurishte Municipality is located in the Pazardzhik Province, western Bulgaria. It is one of the 11 municipalities in the province. Its territory is 598,5 km² being fourth in the province after the municipalities of Velingrad, Batak and ...

, western

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 ...

. It is located west of the town and has 850 inhabitants. The large dam Topolnitsa is 1 km west of the village. Several monuments there commemorate participants in the

April Uprising The April Uprising ( bg, Априлско въстание, Aprilsko vastanie) was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876. The regular Ottoman Army and irregular bashi-bazouk units brutally su ...

. Due to the dam, the baths and the clear natural environment, many citizens of

Panagyurishte Panagyurishte ( bg, Панагюрище, also transliterated ''Panagjurište'', ) is a town in Pazardzhik Province, Southern Bulgaria, situated in a small valley in the Sredna Gora mountains. It is 91 km east of Sofia, 43 km north of P ...

have summer houses in or near the village.

Geography

Poibrene is located in the north-western part of the

Pazardzhik Province Pazardzhik Province ( bg, Област Пазарджик ''Oblast Pazardzhik'', former name Pazardzhik okrug) is a province in Southern Bulgaria, named after its administrative and industrial centre - the city of Pazardzhik. The territory is ...

on the left bank of the Topolnitsa river. The land of the village encompasses 108 km² in Sashtinska and Ihtimanska

Sredna Gora Sredna Gora ( bg, Средна гора ) is a mountain range in central Bulgaria, situated south of and parallel to the Balkan Mountains and extending from the Iskar to the west and the elbow of Tundzha north of Yambol to the east. Sredna Gora i ...

separated by the Poibrene Gap. The closest villages are Oborishte at 9 km to the east,

Belitsa BelitsaTown of Belitsa, Municipality Belitsa ...

at 13 km to the west and

Petrich Petrich ( bg, Петрич ) is a town in Blagoevgrad Province in southwestern Bulgaria, located in Sandanski–Petrich Valley at the foot of the Belasica Mountains in the Strumeshnitsa Valley. According to the 2021 census, the town has 26,778 ...

at 14 km to the north. The centre of the municipality Panagyurishte lies at 18 km to the east. There are 3 buses from and to the capital

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 ha ...

and 5 buses from and to Panagyurishte daily. The construction of the Topolnitsa Dam began in 1948 near the village and some of the neighbourhoods remained underwater. In 1972 a

mineral spring Mineral springs are naturally occurring springs that produces hard water, water that contains dissolved minerals. Salts, sulfur compounds, and gases are among the substances that can be dissolved in the spring water during its passage underg ...

was discovered near Poibrene at depth of 610 m and temperature of the water 42 °C. The mineral bath in the village was constructed in 1979. There are three shops, a restaurant, cafes and a small hotel. There is potential in village, spa and eco-tourism as well as hunting and fishing.

History

The lands of the village were inhabited since antiquity. There are remains a

dolmen A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were somet ...

with funeral gifts. Two fortresses were constructed to defend the gorge called ''Asenovo kale'' and ''Shishmanovo kale''. Many of the names of the localities around Poibrene are connected with battles and warfare in the past such as the ''Cry Mound'', ''Grave'', ''Battle Dingle'', ''Vatahs Ditch'', ''Asian Dingle'' and others. During the Ottoman domination the village had a special status - the inhabitants did not pay taxes and were responsible for the security of the gorge. The Turks were not allowed to settle in the village. There were 18 neighbourhoods. The population took active part in the

. During the wars for National Unification, the two

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

and the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Poibrene gave 176 killed and 18 missing soldiers. In 1934 the population reached 4,499. Poibrene-village-Bulgaria-war-monument

Public institutions

* Village Hall * ''

Chitalishte 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 ...

'' "Vancho Pashov". The first ''chitalishte'' in Poibrene was built in 1885 and named "Zdravets". Nowadays the ''chitalishte'' is located in contemporary and functional edifice and named after a hero of the resistance. There is a library, a group for folk dances and songs, cinema and theatre hall and internet club. * The church was built in 1830. With the silver cross from that church the priest Nedelyo Ivanov sanctified the Banner of Rayna Knyaginya. * School with 135 pupils and kindergarten.

Events

* The village holiday is at Holy Trinity -

Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...

Honours

Poibrene Heights 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 ...

are named after the village.

Notes

{{Panagyurishte Villages in Pazardzhik Province