Trastenik ( bg, Тръстеник , also transliterated ''Trǎstenik'') is a town in central northern

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

Dolna Mitropoliya Dolna Mitropoliya ( bg, Долна Митрополия , "Lower Bishopric"; also transliterated as Dolna Mitropolia, Dolna Mitropolija) is a town in Pleven Province of northern Bulgaria, the administrative center of Dolna Mitropoliya municipalit ...

municipality,

Pleven Province Pleven Province ( bg, Област Плевен or Плевенска Област) is a province located in central northern Bulgaria, bordering the Danube river, Romania and the Bulgarian provinces of Vratsa, Veliko Tarnovo and Lovech. It is ...

. It lies 18 kilometres northwest of

Pleven Pleven ( bg, Плèвен ) is the seventh most populous city in Bulgaria. Located in the northern part of the country, it is the administrative centre of Pleven Province, as well as of the subordinate Pleven municipality. It is the biggest ...

and 30 kilometres south of the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

, between the Vit and Iskar rivers. Although several ancient mounds and traces of

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

settlement dating to the 1st-2nd century have been discovered by archaeologists, the earliest written data regarding modern Trastenik dates to the 15th century. The town has an

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

church, the Church of the

Dormition of the Theotokos The Dormition of the Mother of God is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches (except the East Syriac churches). It celebrates the "falling asleep" (death) of Mary the ''Theotokos'' ("Mother of G ...

, built between 1880 and 1886, as well as a community centre (''

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 ...

'') named after

Neofit Rilski Neofit Rilski ( bg, Неофит Рилски) or Neophyte of Rila (Bansko, 1793 – January 4, 1881), born Nikola Poppetrov Benin ( bg, Никола Поппетров Бенин) was a 19th-century Bulgarian monk, teacher and artist, and an impor ...

. In Ottoman Turkish, it was known as ''Tirsinik'' under Ottoman rule and was the hometown of Ahi of Niğbolu, who was an Ottoman poet (1473-1517), and Ismail Aga of Tirsinik (?-1806), who was a regional power holder (''Ayan'') in

Rusçuk Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; bg, Русе ) is the fifth largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, approximately south of ...

. During the Ottoman rule, the town was a small village known as Marashka Trastenik, famous for paying its taxes in horses. There is an annual festival held in the town on January 20 to celebrate a legend of the day that the horse population which had been decimated by disease was replenished by an old mare past her breeding prime, allowing the village to pay its tax. There is a historical place called Manafski Grobište.

References

Towns in Bulgaria Populated places in Pleven Province {{Pleven-geo-stub