![Zheravna 2011 04](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Zheravna_2011_04.JPG)
Zheravna ( bg, Жеравна ) is a village in central eastern
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
Kotel municipality,
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 [Balkan Mountains
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 ...]
, is an architectural reserve of national importance consisting of more than 200 wooden houses from 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 ...
period (18th and 19th century), and a quickly developing tourist destination.
The village emerged between the 12th and 14th century and grew to become a cultural and handicraft centre in the 18th century. As the local population came to wealth, the architectural appearance of the village was shaped by one- or two-storey wooden houses surrounded by stone walls and cobblestone alleys.
Popular sights in the village include the museum house of the merchant Rusi Chorbadzhi from the early 18th century, the Church of St Nicholas inaugurated in 1834 and housing icons from the 18th and early 19th century, the museum house of the noted writer
Yordan Yovkov
Yordan Stefanov Yovkov ( bg, Йордан Стефанов Йовков) (November 9, 1880 – October 15, 1937) was a prominent Bulgarian writer from the interwar period.
Biography
Born in the village of Zheravna, Yovkov studied at First Sofia M ...
born in 1880, the art gallery occupying the old class school and the museum house of the educator Sava Filaterov.
the village has a population of 460. Zheravna is at 579 m above sea level.
Geography
![Bulgaria-Zheravna-00](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Bulgaria-Zheravna-00.jpg)
Zheravna is situated in the middle part of
Stara Planina
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 ...
in the Municipality of Kotel. It is situated 12 kilometers away from Kotel, 110 km away from Burgas and 330 km away from
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 ...
, the capital of Bulgaria. The territory of Zheravna covers an area of 5,000 m
2 with an average altitude of 650 meters. The terrain is mountainous, and there is also a valley, crossed by wooded hills. The highest peak, which is located 6 km west of the village, is Razboyna - 1128 meters above sea level. The natural resources of Zheravna consist mostly of strangely shaped rock formations, mysterious cave complexes, diverse
flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
E ...
and
fauna
Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is '' funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as '' biota''. Zoo ...
. Zheravna is rich in water resources. Springs and rivers are supplied by rain and melting snow. Zheravna is rich in forest vegetation. Both deciduous and coniferous trees are common. Animal diversity is great and includes
wild boar
The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...
,
roe deer
The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...
,
red deer
The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...
,
jackal
Jackals are medium-sized canids native to Africa and Eurasia. While the word "jackal" has historically been used for many canines of the subtribe canina, in modern use it most commonly refers to three species: the closely related black-backed ...
,
wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...
,
rabbit
Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...
,
quail
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy.
Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New Wor ...
,
partridge
A partridge is a medium-sized Galliformes, galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide Indigenous (ecology), native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They a ...
and others.
The climate in Zheravna is a typical mountain climate with early autumn, late spring and very cold winter. 57.5% of the days in the year are windless. Winter winds are strongest and reach average maximum speed 3.3 m/s. The air is clean and dry. The Zheravna environment can be defined as an ecologically clean area as there is no industry in the town and is away from big cities.
History
Once this place was an old Thracian village called Potuka (and now there is an area in Zheravna called Potuka). There are several versions for the origin of the name of the village. One is that it comes from the bird
crane (in Bulgarian 'zherav'), which is highly unlikely, because cranes never land in the area. Another, a more plausible, one is that it comes from "zherna", "zherka", "jerkov" - words with old Slavic root meaning 'watermill'. In the area there are many mills.
In the last few centuries Zheravna had been called Zheruna but after the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878, the name gradually changed into Zheravna. There were crafts, livestock and trade developed here. The village prospered in the 17th century because it was on the main road to the old capital of
Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province.
Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...
. The rooms of the houses have carved ceilings and exquisite decoration on the doors, windows and
iconostases
In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed a ...
.
Today, the old school is turned into a gallery, and a lot fountains and old mills are preserved. There were schools of carving in the town.
Tourism and places of interest
Zheravna is an easy location to travel to, situated 32 km from the ''Petolachkata'' junction on the road from Sofia to Burgas. The distances to the cities of
Sliven
Sliven ( bg, Сливен ) is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality in Northern Thrace.
Sliven is famous for its heroic Haiduts who fought against the Ottoman Turk ...
,
Burgas
Burgas ( bg, Бургас, ), sometimes transliterated as ''Bourgas'', is the second largest city on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast in the region of Northern Thrace and the fourth-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia, Plovdiv, and Varna, with a popu ...
,
Varna
Varna may refer to:
Places Europe
*Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria
**Varna Province
**Varna Municipality
** Gulf of Varna
**Lake Varna
**Varna Necropolis
*Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy
*Varniai, a city in Lithuania
* Varna (Šaba ...
and Sofia are respectively 48, 110, 184 and 333 km.
There are many uninhabited houses in Zheravna.
Much of the uninhabited houses were bought and restored, in order to attract tourists and they are categorized as guest houses. Each year, Zeravna is visited by about 20,000 tourists.
Most of the houses in Zheravna were built during the
Bulgarian 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 ...
, but their inner interior has been since renovated.
The Saint Nicholas Church was built in 1834. It was originally painted by master painters Jordan Mihajlovic from
Elena
Elena may refer to:
People
* Elena (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name
* Joan Ignasi Elena (born 1968), Catalan politician
* Francine Elena (born 1986), British poet
Geography
* Elena (town), a town in Veliko ...
and Georgi and Gencho from
Tryavna
Tryavna ( bg, Трявна ) is a town in central Bulgaria, situated in the northern slopes of the Balkan range, on the Tryavna river valley, near Gabrovo. It is famous for its textile industry and typical National Revival architecture, featuring ...
.
Today the church is adorned with a rich collection of icons, stone sculptures and church plates. The icons are dated from the second half of the 18th and the early 19th century.
Zheravna is a heritage site. Today, there are nearly 200 houses registered as monuments of culture, each of them built some 150 to 300 years ago. During the Revival, Zheravna became a major cultural center.
The village took an active part in the resistance against Ottoman rule and participated 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 ...
.
The times of the village Revival period is preserved in the local museums: the House of Sava Filaretov; the Home of Yordan Yovkov, the St. Nicholas Church, the Old school - now an art gallery; the House of Rusi Chorbadzhi. Close to Zheravna is the town of Kotel with its Natural History Museum; Galatan school; Kyorpev house; Museum of the Revival; and the village of Medven where House of Zahari Stoyanov is. Other interesting thing is the Zheravna National costume festival in the same village.
Other interesting sight seeings are the Chorbadzhi Rusi's house and the native house of the famous
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
writer
Yordan Yovkov
Yordan Stefanov Yovkov ( bg, Йордан Стефанов Йовков) (November 9, 1880 – October 15, 1937) was a prominent Bulgarian writer from the interwar period.
Biography
Born in the village of Zheravna, Yovkov studied at First Sofia M ...
, as well as the house of Sava Filaretov. Moreover, there is a traditional festival of national costumes held every summer, which is relatively popular with tourists. The popular Festival of Folklore Costume lasts up to 3 days and people wear traditional old folklore costumes, masks or uniforms and sleep under the stars near an open fire.
People born in Zheravna
Rusi Chorbadzi was a wealthy landowner and master in Zheravna and later a mayor. He was one of the richest men in the village, had some 30,000 sheep and was trading with the Turks and the Greeks. When the
kurdzhalii came to the village, he devised a plan to hide all the village girls in the woods, for which he and he two sons were murdered by the vagabonds. The house of Chorbadzi is a museum now and it narrates the life of Rusi – a wealthy man involved in the governance of the village. The original openwork carvings above the doors in the framework of the cupboards are Impressive.
* Georgi Bonchev (1866-1955), geologist
* Boncho Georgiev (1849-1899), merchant and owner of the animal shop for meat. He was mayor after the Liberation
* Petar Dimitrov (1848-1919), diplomat
*
Todor Ikonomov (1835-1892), politician
*
Yordan Yovkov
Yordan Stefanov Yovkov ( bg, Йордан Стефанов Йовков) (November 9, 1880 – October 15, 1937) was a prominent Bulgarian writer from the interwar period.
Biography
Born in the village of Zheravna, Yovkov studied at First Sofia M ...
(1880-1937), writer
* Rhino Popovic (1773-1858), teacher and writer
* Sergei Todorov (1896-1974), a former mayor of Varna
* Russi Chorbadji gaffer and mayor at the end of the 18th century
* Vasil Stoyanov (1839-1910), philologist
*
Sava Filaretov
The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...
(1825-1863), educator
* Nikolay Dimitrov (1919-1993), a mayor and politician contributed to preserving the look of the village Zheravna
* Rayu Topalov (1908-1990) founder of museums in Zheravna
* Ivan Raev (1935-1978) actor, director, writer
* Eng. Vasil Rankov (1874-1950), founder of the pioneer (engineer) troops in Bulgaria.
* Ivan Tsankov (1840-1925), Bulgarian revolutionary.
Honours
Zheravna Glacier
Zheravna Glacier ( bg, ледник Жеравна, lednik Zheravna, ) is a glacier on Greenwich Island, Antarctica situated east of Wulfila Glacier and west of Targovishte Glacier. It is bounded by Razgrad Peak to the west, Ilinden Peak and M ...
on
Greenwich Island
Greenwich Island (variant historical names ''Sartorius Island'', ''Berezina Island'') is an island long and from (average ) wide, lying between Robert Island and Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands. Surface area . The name Greenwic ...
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 the village.
References and notes
Gallery
File:Bulgaria-Zheravna-01.jpg
File:Bulgaria-Zheravna-02.jpg
File:Bulgaria-Zheravna-03.jpg
File:Bulgaria-Zheravna-04.jpg
File:Bulgaria-Zheravna-05.jpg
File:Carpets-from-Zheravna.jpg, Hand made rugs
Rug or RUG may refer to:
* Rug, or carpet, a textile floor covering
* Rug, slang for a toupée
* Ghent University (''Rijksunversiteit Gent'', or RUG)
* Really Useful Group, or RUG, a company set up by Andrew Lloyd Webber
* Rugby railway station, N ...
from Zheravna
File:Zheravna - Yovkov.JPG
External links
Jeravna.comZheravna at BGGlobe.netZheravna at Visit.bg
{{Authority control
Villages in Sliven Province