Sredets ( ) is a town in

Burgas Province Burgas (, formerly the Burgas okrug) is a province in southeastern Bulgaria on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. The province is named after its administrative and industrial centre, the city of Burgas, the fourth biggest town in the countr ...

in southeastern

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 ...

. It is located near Lake Mandrensko and the northern slopes of

Strandzha Strandzha (, also transliterated as ''Strandja'', ; , or ) is a mountain massif in southeastern Bulgaria and East Thrace, the European part of Turkey. It is in the southeastern part of the Balkans between the plains of Thrace to the west, th ...

. Sredets is the administrative centre of

Sredets Municipality Sredets Municipality ( Bulgarian: Община Средец, ''Obshtina Sredets'') is a municipality in Burgas Province, Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the east ...

Sredets Point Sredets Point (, ‘Nos Sredets’ \'nos sre-'dets\) is the ice-covered point on the southeast coast of Smith Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, projecting 400 m into Osmar Strait and separating the glacier termini of Krivodol ...

on Smith Island,

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

is named after the town.

History

The

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 Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

fortress of Kaleto, located 2 km southwest of Sredets, was constructed at the end of the fifth and beginning of sixth century AD. Under the

First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire (; was a medieval state that existed in Southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded in 680–681 after part of the Bulgars, led by Asparuh of Bulgaria, Asparuh, moved south to the northe ...

, the fortress became known as Potamukastel (). Potamukastel was destroyed in the 11th century, but later rebuilt in the 12th century AD. The fortress was abandoned during Ottoman rule of Bulgaria, and the population of Potamukastel resettled at the location of the modern town and founded the village of Karabunar () ("black well" in Turkish). Karabunar is first mentioned in 1595, and is later found in Ottoman tax registers from 1676–1731. King

Charles XII of Sweden Charles XII, sometimes Carl XII () or Carolus Rex (17 June 1682 – 30 November 1718 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.), was King of Sweden from 1697 to 1718. He belonged to the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch line of the House of ...

is known to have stayed overnight in the village in 1713 en route to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, and St.

Sophronius of Vratsa Saint Sophronius of Vratsa (or Sofroniy Vrachanski; ; 1739–1813), born Stoyko Vladislavov (), was a Bulgarian cleric and one of the leading figures of the early Bulgarian National Revival. Biography Vladislavov was born in the town of Kotel i ...

worked as a teacher in Karabunar in 1792–1793.

Russian Army The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

data from 1827 mentions it as a purely Bulgarian village and it was visited by

Vasil Levski Vasil Levski (, spelled in Reforms of Bulgarian orthography, old Bulgarian orthography as , ), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (; 18 July 1837 – 18 February 1873), was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a Folk hero, national ...

in 1868. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, the area was occupied by the Russian 93rd Irkutsk Infantry Regiment on 16 February 1878. Karabunar became part of the autonomous province of

Eastern Rumelia Eastern Rumelia (; ; ) was an autonomous province (''oblast'' in Bulgarian, ''vilayet'' in Turkish) of the Ottoman Empire with a total area of , which was created in 1878 by virtue of the Treaty of Berlin (1878), Treaty of Berlin and ''de facto'' ...

after the war and was annexed by the

Principality of Bulgaria The Principality of Bulgaria () was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. After the Russo-Turkish War ended with a Russian victory, the Treaty of San Stefano was signed ...

in 1885. The village was renamed ''Sredets'' on 14 August 1934. Under

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

rule, the village was renamed ''Grudovo'' on 1 June 1950 in honour of Todor Grudov, a leader of the

September Uprising The September Uprising (, ''Septemvriysko vastanie''), also called the September Riots (Септемврийски бунтове),Голяма енциклопедия България, том 10, Главен редактор акад. Вас ...

of 1923 and former mayor of the village. Grudovo was granted the status of town on 6 February 1960 and, following the fall of Communism in Bulgaria, on 23 January 1993, the town was renamed Sredets.

Municipality

Sredets is also the seat of Sredets municipality (part of Burgas Province), which in addition to the town also includes the following 31 villages:

References

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