Bata () is a village in

Pazardzhik Province Pazardzhik Province ( ''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 that is divided into 12 municipaliti ...

of western

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

with 943 inhabitants as of 2024.

Geography

The village is situated in a mountainous region, lying in the small Bata–Banya valley in the central part of the

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

mountain range. The river Banska Luda Yana runs through the northern outskirts of the settlement and flows into the main stem of the river Luda Yana less that a kilometer southeast of Bata. There are two micro reservoirs nearby offering opportunities for angling, as well as a mineral spring in the ''Toplika'' locality. The village falls within the temperate continental climatic zone. The soils are mainly cinnamon forest. Administratively, Bata is part of

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, Bu ...

, located in the northwestern part of

. It has a territory of 47.704 km². It is situated just west of the second class II-37 road some 8 km south of the municipal center

Panagyurishte Panagyurishte (, 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 Pazardzhik. The town is ...

and 37 km north of the city of

Pazardzhik Pazardzhik ( ) is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, southern Bulgaria. It is the centre of Pazardzhik Province and Pazardzhik Municipality. It is located in the Upper Thracian Plain and in the Pazardzhik-Plovdiv Field, a ...

. Another road lead to the spa village of Banya about two kilometers to the northwest. To the southeast along the II-37 road is the village of Popintsi.

History and culture

The area of Bata has been inhabited since antiquity. There several

Thracian The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared between north-eastern Greece, ...

mounds in its surroundings. The ruins of the medieval Bulgarian fortress Krasen, also called ''Kaleto'' or ''Krasen Kale'', lie a few kilometers northeast of the village. Golden and silver jewels and coins dating from different periods have been found during excavations in the area. The village was mentioned in Ottoman registers of 1586 and participated in the anti-Ottoman

April Uprising of 1876 The April Uprising () was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876. The rebellion was suppressed by irregular military, irregular Ottoman bashi-bazouk units that engaged in indiscriminate slaught ...

. The village has a school since 1930, a kindergarten, a medical center and a church. The local cultural center, known in Bulgarian as a ''

chitalishte A ''chitalishte'' (, ) is a traditional Bulgarian public institution and building that fulfills several functions at once, such as a community centre, public library, and a theatre. It is also used as an educational institution, where people o ...

'', was established in 1927 and in 1953 was named after the Bulgarian poet

Nikola Vaptsarov Nikola Yonkov Vaptsarov (; ; 7 December 1909 – 23 July 1942) was a Bulgarian poet and Bulgarian Communist Party activist. Working most of his life as a machinist, he only wrote in his spare time. Despite the fact that he only ever published o ...

. The ''chitalishte'' has a library of over 13 thousand books and is also the hub of the local amateur folklore group called ''Iglika'' (cowslip) famous for the presentation of typical traditions, songs and dances with many awards from different fairs. Regular events in Bata include the ''

Kukeri Kukeri (; singular: kuker, кукер) are elaborately costumed Bulgarian men, who perform traditional rituals intended to scare away evil spirits. Closely related traditions are found throughout the Balkans and Greece (including Romania and t ...

'' festival at '' Zagovezni'', as well as a fair at

St George's Day Saint George's Day is the Calendar of saints, feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, regions, and cities of which he is the Patronages of Saint George, patron saint, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bu ...

Economy

The village economy is mainly based in agriculture. Crops include cereals, grapes, vegetables, orchards. Livestock breeding is also developed, mainly sheep, pigs and cattle. Part of the population works in major copper extraction and processing company Asarel Medet in Panagyurishte.

People

Anelia Ralenkova Anelia Ralenkova (; born 25 December 1963) is a Bulgarian former individual rhythmic gymnast. She is one of the "Golden Girls" of Bulgaria that dominated rhythmic gymnastics in the 1980s. She now works as a coach. Biography She won gold meda ...

rhythmic gymnast Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform individually or in groups on a floor with an apparatus: hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon and rope. The sport combines elements of gymnastics, dance and calisthenics; gymnasts must be strong, fle ...

with 4 gold medals from world and European championships * Georgi Stoykovski,

triple jump The triple jump, sometimes referred to as the hop, step and jump or the hop, skip and jump, is a track and field event, similar to long jump. As a group, the two events are referred to as the "horizontal jumps". The competitor runs down the tr ...

er with one gold medal from European championships * Mariya Oryashkova, sambist, judoka, sumo wrestler and freestyle wrestler

Gallery

File:Bata, Bulgaria2.jpg , A view from II-37 road File:Culture-club-in-Bata.jpg , ''Chitalishte'' Nikola Vaptsarov File:Nencho-Varbanov-Monument.jpg , A monument in Bata File:Bata-memorial.jpg , A memorial in Bata

Citations

References

* * {{Panagyurishte Villages in Pazardzhik Province