Bratsigovo ( bg, Брацигово ) is a

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

in Southern

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 ...

. It is located in the foothills of the Rhodope Mountains, on the banks of the Umishka River in

Pazardzhik Pazardzhik ( bg, Пазарджик ) is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, southern Bulgaria. It is the capital of Pazardzhik Province and centre for the homonymous Pazardzhik Municipality. The Tatars founded Pazardzhik i ...

oblast An oblast (; ; Cyrillic (in most languages, including Russian and Ukrainian): , Bulgarian: ) is a type of administrative division of Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as the Soviet Union and the Kingdo ...

, and is close to the towns of Peshtera and

Krichim Krichim ( bg, Кричим ) is a town in Bulgaria, located in the southwestern part of Plovdiv Province close to Perushtitsa. It lies at the foot of the Rhodopes' northern slopes in the plains of Thrace, 20 km southwest of Plovdiv. The rive ...

. Bratsigovo Hills on

Trinity Peninsula Trinity Peninsula is the northernmost part of the Antarctic Peninsula. It extends northeastward for about 130 km (80 mi) to Cape Dubouzet from an imaginary line connecting Cape Kater on the north-west coast and Cape Longing on the ...

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 cont ...

are named after the town. Some

Aromanians The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgaria, northern and ...

live in Bratsigovo.

History

Bratsigovo-church-St-John-Precursor-belfry

Archeological evidence has shown that the area was inhabited by

Thracians The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...

and later Slavs. Historical records show the township was established at some point in the 16th-17th century, built over the ruins of an earlier settlement. The founders of the new town were Bulgarian emigrants from the western part of

Aegean Macedonia Aegean Macedonia ( mk, Егејска Македонија, translit=Egejska Makedonija'';'' bg, Егейска Македония, translit=Egeyska Makedonia) is a term describing the modern Greek region of Macedonia in Northern Greece. It is ...

, from the vicinity of Kostur.Митев, Йоно. История на Априлското въстание, София 1988, т. ІІ, с. 171. The population of Bratsigovo took an active part 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 ...

of 1876. In 1950 Bratsigovo had a population of 3,364. (Source=Columbia-Lippincott Gazetteer) Web page: http://www.bratsigovo.bg/

Balneology

The town is developing as a balneological center, too. There is a cold mineral water spring (18-26 C) with the flow rate of 120 liters per minute at the distance of 500 metres west of it. There is a balneo-sanatorium built up here. The mineral water treats some skin diseases, the nervous system, kidney related diseases and others. There is a nice park and a country-houses zone around it.

Sources

Bulgarian Coastal Properties: Bratsigovo

References

Towns in Bulgaria Cities and towns in the Rhodopes Populated places in Pazardzhik Province Spa towns in Bulgaria Aromanian settlements in Bulgaria {{Pazardzhik-geo-stub