Online competition 2020 for a literary essay for children under 18 on "Perushtitsa through the centuries"

Participants:

1. Victoria Gesheva VII class.

2. Vasil Dardov VI class.

3. Petar Popov IX class.

4. Maria Damyanova VII class.

5. Gergana Simonova V class.

6. Ivelina Terziyska VII class.

7. Atanas Tabashchki VII class.

8. Eva Bogomilova IV class.

9. Stephanie Vidolova VII class.

10. Marina Vitanova VII class.

Winner of the "Audience Award" - Vasil Dardov, VI grade

Winners of the "Perushtitsa IM Award"

First place - BGN 150 with a diploma - Vasil Dardov, VI grade

Second place - BGN 100 with a diploma - Ivelina Terziyska, VII grade

Third place - BGN 50 with a diploma - Maria Damyanova, VII grade

Third place - BGN 50 with a diploma - Petar Popov, IX grade

The manifestations of talent in the authors resemble the ripening of the fruit - some ripen before summer like cherries, others reach their juiciness and sweetness after months until autumn. And there are talents like quinces and winter pears - they slowly gain strength to be in place when others have passed. Therefore, the ranking of student works cannot be authoritative for the capabilities of their authors, but only to show what their positions are in the current ranking. The jury complied with the following criteria:

- independence

- knowledge of the materials on the website of the Museum museumperushtitsa.com / the latest developments of the historical past of Perushtitsa /

- originality in the stylistic expression and selection of the accompanying photographs

Vasil Stoyanov Dardov, 6th grade at Petar Bonev Primary School, Perushtitsa. The rich factual material is "assimilated" and told really "in his own name" - as a story he knows and lives with. His essay stands out among the others with the retellings of the devotee and the warmth with which he found the place of his family and his ancestral heritage around significant historical sites.

Ivelina A. Terziyska VII grade in the primary school “P. Bonev ”, Perushtitsa. The essay is written with a pronounced journalistic skill of an author who skillfully presents the factual material, bringing it to life with his personal attitude to the narrated events and objects. Ivelina Terziyska seeks to involve the reader in empathy for what excites her and what she is proud of. Her approach to the competition topic is that of a popular writer who is looking for - and will win! - fans of your city!

Maria Gosheva Damyanova - 7th grade, Petar Bonev Primary School, Perushtitsa - very good knowledge of the historical facts from the history of the land, from the earliest periods until now. Her story is fascinating, richly saturated, very well thought out and structured. Maria Damyanova correctly finds and notes those events which, without a doubt, are the most significant in the historical development of the settlement, which have been reflected even today.

Petar Rosenov Popov - IX grade at the National Art Gallery "Tsanko Lavrenov", Plovdiv - skillfully, based on rich and well-thought-out documentary material, the author has chosen to focus on the event, which today is emblematically associated with Perushtitsa. He approached the topic responsibly and managed to bring it out as a natural consequence of the preconditions to which the people of Perushtitsa owed their prosperity and self-confidence. The empathy with which he presents his essay is achieved intelligently, without satiety and pathos.

"Perushtitsa through the centuries"

Vasil Dardov

There is historical evidence that on the place where today's Perushtitsa is located there was a settlement in the Neolithic Age. People have chosen this place because of the good living conditions that nature has provided: springs, fertile soils and a favorable climate. Among the most famous places with water sources is in Pastusha. Near the "Red Church" in the area "Gyakovitsa" there is evidence of an ancient settlement, which dates from 7,000 to 1000 BC. or the territory was inhabited by the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Iron Ages.

Years later, the Thracians settled in these places, creating a unique culture. The settlement they built also existed during the Roman Empire. Traces of them can be found in 29 tombs that we find today: Banova, Duhova, Razsechena, Andreeva, Kaloferova, Karpuz, Kircheva, which was made during the time of Alexander the Great and others. Archaeological excavations in Duhova Mogila have found chariots, a marble head of a man, statues of ancient deities, votive tablets and many coins.

One of the most ancient monuments preserved over the years is the Red Church. It bore the name of the Holy Mother of God and gathered believers in the IV century. The Roman baths from the Roman era remain, which is located near today's Vinprom, a Roman road that starts from the Youth Home, follows the riverbed, passes through Demir's house, further through Totova house, Tilev houses, Lachkovo place, Mill, chapel "St. Petka" and continues all the way to the village of Skobelevo.

My elderly grandparents told me that in the southern part of our fields, near the village of Joakim Gruevo, there was another smaller Roman town called Tsintsiparets. It was also called the "Golden City" because it was rumored that most Roman rulers kept their gold and jewels there. During the Middle Ages, an impressive town called Dragovets was built in these places. It has spread to the neighboring villages of Krichim, Ustina, Kurtovo Konare, Perushtitsa and Pastusha…

During the years of Ottoman rule, we Peruvians were very brave and rebellious people. There are many legends about this. One tells of a wonderfully beautiful girl who lived in a natural cave on the site of what is now the chapel of St. Petka. Her name was Petka. One day, when she went out into the fresh air, the shepherd passed by with his guards and saw the girl sitting on a rock reading a book. She was caught and asked to be converted to Islam, but she refused. She was tortured for three days, but she endured everything and hung herself with her long hair to get rid of the pain.

High in the mountains above Perushtitsa rises a rock called "Girl". Legend has it that a girl, also very beautiful, who the Turks wanted to convert to Islam, but she jumped off a cliff and ended her life.

The place we live in is sacred. There were four monasteries "St. Todor", "St. George", "St. Nicholas" and "St. Vlas". The first is the largest and is three times higher than the Turks. It is located on the right side of the river and is a men's monastery. St. George is a nunnery and is also located on the right side of the river, and on the left are St. Nicholas, which is a male monastery, and St. Vlas, which is a nunnery.

There is a legend about the monastery of St. George, which tells of a family that had no children for 10 years and one day the man told his wife to fast for three days and he would go to the desert to ask God to give them a child. Did you do it. They agreed with God that there would be a boy who had to baptize Georgi and when he was 10 years old he would sacrifice him. His father felt sorry for him, but he agreed and returned home. Everything happened as it was called. When the time came for the promised donation, the father began to sharpen his knife with a contrite heart, and suddenly there was a knock on the door. The man opened it and saw an angel. He carried a lamb in his arms and said that the Lord was sending him to slaughter him instead of the child. As a token of gratitude, the father donated money for the construction of the monastery.

In the center of our city there is a school we call Danovo. It has always been a center of education and culture, but also of ideas that became the engine of the April Uprising, in which the ideas of Vasil Levski and the apostles from the Fourth Revolutionary District were discussed.

In the highest part of the city there is a monument erected on an important place for us. There gathered the Turks from the village of Tamrash, who came to kill us to take our property and wealth. With last efforts, my elderly fellow citizens are trying to save the lives of as many people as possible and are sending three parliamentarians to talk about a truce. They were killed. Today there is a monument there.

The most heroic is the self-sacrifice of our people, and not only ours, in the church "St. Archangel Michael", and they are Kocho Chestimenski, Spas Ginov, teacher Bota Boteva and her mother and many other patriotic Bulgarians who take their own lives. . Instead of an altar, the names of our ancestors who died for our freedom are written there today. When we stand there we find our families and involuntarily shudder.

There are many memorial plaques in my city. A walk through it is a walk in time. It is a place of legends, legends and a story of epic self-sacrifice. In the evening, when our elderly grandparents gather, they often open a word about past times. They want us to remember and love our place. To keep our blood like the ruined red wine and love our family. To pass on the memory of the people who lived and died for this city and to go boldly through the centuries.

"Perushtitsa through the centuries"

 Ivelina A. Terziyska

I dedicate this essay to my cousins Martin and Emily, who grow up and live in the United States, to Dari and Zaki, who grow up and live in the UK, and to all Bulgarians around the world who are far from the sacred Bulgarian lands to remember to know and pass on the history of our hometown.

Many years ago, even before the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus, people with rich culture lived in our native lands. Even in ancient times Perushtitsa and the region around it occupy a special place in the historical memory of Bulgaria. This area is a rich source of archaeological finds that testify to the course of our history.

On the territory of Perushtitsa are found rich archaeological evidence of prehistoric settlements that existed during the Neolithic, Copper, Bronze and Iron Ages, ie. in the period 7000 - 1 000 BC. The cultural development in the region continued without interruption during Antiquity and the Middle Ages, leaving its mark on the Thracians, Macedonians, Celts, Greeks, Romans, Bulgarians, Byzantines, Latins, Turks. Reading and collecting historical facts about my city, before my eyes revealed pictures of its creation and construction as a cultural and spiritual center, through its repeated devastation and attempts by invaders to be erased and devastated, to this day, when I set foot on this earth. , a land sacred to my ancestors, to people whose destiny is also mine.

If I had a time machine and could take you back in time, I would start our virtual walk from the ancient Dragovets, which in all probability was located 2-3 km. from its present borders - from today's Perushtina district Pastusha to Ustina, Krichim and Kurtovo Konare. The ruins that remain to this day show that the city consisted of five parts. The first part is located on the territory of today's Krichim. The second largest part was located in those places that cover Kurtovo, Selishte and Stara Pastusha. In Stara Pastusha there are also ruins of a church that the old people say was called. Trinity. The third part was located in the vicinity of today's "Pastusha" (a village of 20 Bulgarian houses) and includes the churches "St. Spirit ”,“ St. Georgi ”and the monastery“ St. The Mother of God ”. Only a quarter of its churches, now called the Red Church, have survived to the present day and appear to have been built by the Eastern Romans (Byzantines). Every year on the third day of Easter, a fair was held in the surrounding villages, which can be compared to the Olympic Games. The church is built of red Roman bricks, located on a massive stone base, to which it owes its popular name. Researchers suggest that the original building was a martyrdom (mausoleum), which housed the sarcophagi of seven (unidentified) martyrs who died for the establishment of the Christian faith. The plots and images of this temple excite many researchers who describe Archangel Michael, dressed in an imperial costume, St. George rode a white horse and held a spear and ornate shield, 18 bust medallions depicting winged young women perched on the north arch, believed to be not angels but geniuses, personified human virtues and natural elements. 

Around the church "St. Duh ”people from Perushtitsa excavated and excavated various metal products. Some of them were rotten and not clearly recognizable, except for eight hoops on the wheels of a cart and several human images cast from yellow copper. The fourth part was far south of the third, of which three quarters are now vineyards, fields of Perushtitsa, and a quarter of it covers Perushtitsa - a village of 250 houses. Many houses and ruins can be seen here. From them are large rings of vessels (cups), which can accommodate three people. Church ruins can also be seen, among them are: “St. Trinity ”,“ St. Paul ”,“ St. Dimitar ”and“ St. Sunday ”,

which are outside Perushtitsa and are to the north; "St. Georgi ”and“ St. Nikola ”to the south, and“ St. Spas ”inside the village. And the fifth part was located around Ustinsko marsh and on the site of today's Ustina. The city seems to come alive in front of me with its beautiful temples, with smiling people and chariots racing, people like all of us - shepherds, farmers, boyars, blacksmiths, masters of ancient crafts. But the picture faded before the conquest of Bulgaria by the Turks, when the beautiful city was destroyed by the hordes of the Turkish general Lala Shahin in 1364. Attempts by the Turkish invaders to convert the Bulgarian population to Islam failed. Later the settlement was looted and burned again in 1794 by the Kurdzhali of Mehmed Sinap.

An echo of this "golden age" of Perushtitsa remain the wonderful architraves, which are today in the Historical Museum. The scale and type of the settlement, of course, explain part of the content of the name Dragovets - a city of goods and jewels.

For archaeologists, treasure hunters and other adventurers, Perushtitsa has long been synonymous with a priceless, to this day undiscovered fairytale treasure. According to the Shkorpil brothers, as early as 1850 Nikola Maraji came to Perushtitsa from Constantinople with a sultan's decree to look for a "great fortune". It goes directly to Duhova Mogila. What Maraji is looking for are "buried wagons", which in the local tradition exist as "golden chariots". It is said that the sultan's "archaeologist" was disappointed with the excavations he made.

After finding nothing, you left and never returned. It is also alleged that after an accidental find of a chariot in the area, the Austrian Vice Consul Berti and the Russian Consul in Plovdiv Naiden Gerov excavated ten years later at Duhova Mogila. Artifacts from Duhova Mogila are kept in museums in Paris, St. Petersburg, Athens and Sofia. We can only guess how many and which of them are hidden in private collections. Today, alas, Duhova Mogila is a weedy, about ten-meter hill, hidden from the eyes of the uninitiated next to the Perushtina wine cellar "Puldin".We continue our journey in antiquity and come to a fortress that stretched "Like a diamond in a rock ring" - the fortress Peristitsa, founded by the Thracians less than 3 km south in a straight line from the city center on a high rocky hill with vertical slopes to the east, west and south. The main part of the fortification is located on the flat ridge of the hill. The rest of the fortress is nestled between inaccessible rocks, where there are separate fortress walls blocking the few places through which you can reach the top. The fortress was founded by the Thracians, and all the rocks bear marks of cult activity. There are many carvings and rock sharps. The fortress wall is built of local, processed stone, arranged on faces and welded with strong white mortar, as the fortress wall is about 2 m thick. with anthracite system. Remains of two towers can be seen in the northwest corner and on the west wall. In all probability, there is at least one more tower on the north wall, but the terrain is densely overgrown with lilacs and cannot be established with certainty. The terrain is strewn with fragments of household ceramics. The fortress is difficult to access and difficult to conquer. At its eastern end rises a high, sharp rock, obtained by weathering, which is why the hill is often called the "Sharp Stone". Perustitsa Fortress was an important part of the Northern Rhodope Defensive Ring, part of which were the Krichim Fortress and the Ustina Fortress. It played a major role during the periods when the clashes between the Eastern Roman Empire and Bulgaria were most fierce.

In the immediate vicinity of the remains of the Peristitsa fortress is the Perushtitsa monastery “St. St. Theodore Tyrone and Theodore Stratilat ”, also called“ St. Teodorovtsi ”or“ St. Todor ”, it is located 6-7 km south of Perushtitsa, in the direction further inland and higher in the slopes of the Rhodopes. The place is picturesque, surrounded in a semicircle with steep cliffs, there is a stream and a spring nearby. The local historical memory links the creation of both the monastery and the fortress with the famous Red Church (IV - VII century). From the oral tradition that has reached us through the Revival historiography, It is known that as a hermitage of this monastery, or as a summer building for the monks, was created the monastery "St. Todor ”above in the slopes of the Rhodopes. The Greek researcher of local history Mirtilos Apostolidis, born in Plovdiv, believes that the founding of the monastery "St. Todor ”should be dated between the VIII and XII century. The upper limit comes from a report in the "Alexiada" of Anna Komnina about the large construction of monasteries at the foot of the Rhodopes, carried out by Emperor Alexius Comnenus (1081-1118) "St. Todor ”was destroyed during the Ottoman invasion and was in desolation for some time. It is known that in the XVI-XVII century the holy monastery was restored and is again a center of spiritual life. In the second half of the 17th century and especially in the next 18th century the Perushtani “St. Theodore Tyrone and Theodore Stratilat ”was formed as one of the revered spiritual centers in the diocese, entering the number of the so-called Eight Plovdiv monasteries of special importance for the believers in the diocese are: Bachkovski "St. Bogoroditsa", Kuklenski "St. St. Bezsrebrenitsi ”, Vodenski“ St.St. Kirik and Yulita ”, Moldavski“ St. Petka ”, Belashtichki“ St. George ”, Perushtenski“ St. St. Teodorovtsi ”, and two Krichim -“ St. Bogoroditsa ”and“ St. St. Silversmiths ”. The area in which the monastery "St. Todor ”- the northern slopes of the Rhodopes, and especially the interior of the mountain, became a zone of intense Islamization. The hostility of fanatical Muslims against the Christian shrine led to several attacks and arson of the monastery. The first was in 1657, but soon after the fraternity recovered from the ruin. Between 1778 and 1795 the monastery was devastated by the Kurdzhali of Mehmed Sinap. Perushtitsa, also ruined by the Kardzhali hordes, recovered with grief from the destruction until the beginning of the next XIX century, for the restoration of "St. Teodorovtsi ”has not had the strength and resources for a long time. In the work of the priest-butler Constantine from 1819 "Description of the Diocese of Philippopolis", published in Greek in Vienna, the Perushten Monastery is mentioned as a monastery that once existed, but for several decades scattered and turned into ashes by robbers. in 1821-1822. The new monastery church was ready in early 1876. But when on April 27, 1876 Perushtans revolted, the horde of bashibozuk from the Muslim villages in the Rhodopes robbed, destroyed and burned the Christian shrine on April 28 / May 10. The black smoke from the fire can be seen in the distance - "a terrible and at the same time majestic view, as if a volcano had erupted in the mountains." they become a gloomy omen for the impending fate of Perushitsa. The monastery "St. St. Theodore Tyrone and Theodore Stratilat ”is no longer recovering. The last monk of the monastery, Father Leontius, remained to serve as a parish priest after the Liberation in the only surviving church in Perushtitsa "St. Athanasius ”, which still exists today.

I travel through time and move in those years from 1847 to 1850. I see people from Perushtitsa who build entirely with their own funds and donations the church "St. Archangel Michael ”- a massive, three-nave church with stone pavement and beautiful icons painted by the painter Stanislav Dospevski, crossed the threshold of the church on November 8, 1849, when it was consecrated. Everyone humbly holds a lighted candle in their hands and secretly prays for the liberation of Bulgaria.

It is 1850 - people from Perushtitsa build a representative building for their children's school "St. St. Cyril and Methodius ”or the so-called later Danovo to the first teacher Hr. G. Danov. The school was completed by masters from Pazardzhik, the voluntary work of the people of Perushtitsa and materials left over from the previously built church. Hristo Gruev Danov, who is considered the patriarch of Bulgarian book publishing and book distribution, taught in Perushtitsa for three years - from 1850 to 1853. He introduced secular blended learning based on the mutual learning "Lancaster method." All classes were conducted in Bulgarian.

The subjects studied coincided with most of those in Western European schools, but there was also a lack of basic religious training. Girls were also admitted to education, something unusual for the middle of the 19th century in enslaved Bulgaria. After 1853, the Dan school also taught: Dragan Manchov - Grandfather (later also a publisher of fiction), Peter Bonev (student of Hristo G. Danov and then leader of the uprising in Perushtitsa), Dimitar Lachkov (the first ethnographer and publicist of Perushtitsa), Father Stoimen Atanasov, teacher Bota Boteva and many others. Since 1862 the building of Dan's school has functioned as a community center "Peter Bonev".

The end of April 1876 - I do not want to look into the past of Perushtitsa this year and in these moments - there are thunders, screams, sobs, prayers to God. 600 people are in the church "St. Archangel Michael ”, the church they built with joy and trembling, has now embraced them in its stone embrace to protect them from the madness of the dark-skinned, trapped and Rashid Pasha's army. Perushtitsa rebelled against five centuries of slavery !!! The shells shattered the roof of the temple, and the temple was like a furnace - suffocated, narrow and hot with air ....The last feat of 23 devoted men, women and children to Christ, who free the spirit from their bodies so that they will not be defiled by the unbelievers. The hardest days of Perushtitsa and the most glorious .... I always cry when I come back at this moment .... Part of the roof of the Dan school is also collapsing due to the detonations from the artillery shelling of the neighboring temple.

The articles in the Western press continue to show shocking pictures of atrocities: "Around Perushtitsa the ground is covered with corpses and the air is poisoned with stinking fumes" - writes "Courier D'Orion" (World 1978: 97). "Their churches were bombed and about 1,000 people, most of them women and children, were killed. Their village was plundered and burned perfectly. Many women have been dishonored ”(World 1978: 109). Of the two thousand inhabitants of Perushtitsa, 150 old people and children are still alive, wandering through the ruins, where all their relatives have disappeared. All the men were killed, and the women who escaped were taken into slavery. "

The English journalist Lady Strangford (a convinced Bulgarophile) visited our country in August 1876 as a member of the European Commission of diplomats and representatives of the Turkish government. Such a picture was found by Lady Strangford on her arrival in Perushtitsa. The survivors had to be gathered immediately, fed and clothed, and given medical assistance. Infectious diseases, especially typhus, did not have to wait a day. With £ 30,000 raised from donors in England, she rebuilt Dan's school and turned it into a hospital. From November 1876 to April 1977, about 150 people who survived the 

I walk down the street and go home. Our street is called Eugene Skyler, named after a famous American scientist, researcher, journalist and diplomat who covered the April Uprising. Thanks to his work and a famous report, the truth about the atrocities committed by the Turks came to light, although European diplomacy tried by all means to cover up the suffering of the Bulgarians.uprising were treated for typhus and dysentery ...

From the street we reach the square and stop in front of the Historical Museum - called to collect and organize not only the history of the city, but to make sense and promote legends, documents from the millennial past of the region, to forget the old settlements, Thracian mounds and monuments.

I hear children's laughter, the children are playing in the "April 27" square and I am sure that there is nothing better than freedom! I am proud to be a descendant of this small but important city!

"Perushtitsa through the centuries"

Maria Damyanova

Although small, the town of Perushtitsa has a thousand-year and rich history. Thracians, Romans, Byzantines, Slavs, Bulgarians and others have left their mark here. The many discovered archeological monuments in the area show a rich cultural diversity, accumulated as a result of stagnant over the centuries representatives of different peoples and ethnic groups.

The earliest human presence is attested by the remains of a prehistoric settlement located about 1.5 km northeast of the city (at the Pastusha karst spring next to the Red Church), which existed during the Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages or in the period of 7 - 6,000 BC to about 1,000 BC The good conditions for spiritual and material development around Pastusha spring led to the expansion of the settlement and increase in its population, and subsequently to resettlement and establishment of other prehistoric settlements in the vicinity - the region of Pastusha, Perushtitsa and Brestovitsa. The sacred spring

and a rock sanctuary became the center around which a Thracian settlement was formed, which existed during the Roman era (I-IV century AD) and during the subsequent historical periods. The presence of a significant number of burial mounds (29) testifies to the significant Thracian presence in the region, among which the most famous are Duhova, Banova, Gorkata, Andreeva Mogila. Remains of other Thracian and Roman settlements have been discovered in the vicinity of Perushtitsa, as well as of a small fortress - "Kaleto" (northwest of the city).

In late antiquity (IV-VI c.), An impressive early Christian church, known as the "Red Church", was built above the rock sanctuary at the Pastusha spring. Impressive is its original architectural plan with a unique quadrangular nucleus, dating from the late IV century. The presence of such a spectacular cult building suggests that even at the dawn of Christianity, the village near the church played a significant role in the spiritual life of the area. .

It is assumed that today's Perushtitsa is the heir of the ancient settlement, which after the settlement of the Slavs in these lands took the name Dragovets.

It was established that within a radius of about 5 km from Dragovets were located 10 fortresses that guarded the approach to the city from all sides. Three of these fortresses are located south of Perushtitsa: "Gradishteto", "Momino Kale" and "Perestitsa". The settlement and its adjoining fortifications continued their life in the Middle Ages. At that time, the fortifications in the mountains, such as the fortress "Perestitsa", were an important part of the northern Rhodope defensive shield.

During the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (XII-XIV centuries) these fortresses played an important role in the clashes between Byzantium and Bulgaria and passed into one hand or the other. Historical sources indicate that during this period Dragovets was a large Bulgarian city. According to the Byzantine chronicler George the Acropolis: "the people living there were Bulgarians and rejected the yoke of foreign tribes (ie the Byzantines)."

THE MIDDLE AGES

Probably during the Second Bulgarian Kingdom was founded the famous in the past Perushtenski Monastery "St. Todor", the remains of which are located 1.5 - 2 km south of the city, near the fortress "Perestitsa".

Dragovets and the fortresses were destroyed by the Ottoman conquerors in the second half of the 14th century, by the hordes of General Lala Shahin. It can be assumed that the successor of the ruined Bulgarian settlement is the village of Perushtitsa, which arose in a later period. We find the first written information about the latter in the Ottoman tax registers. It is mentioned in the inventory of the soldiers for the Plovdiv Sandzak from the 16th century: "Peyo, son of Trendafil, instead of him, from the village of Perushtiche".This document testifies that at that time Perushtitsa already existed and it was inhabited by Bulgarian soldiers serving in the Ottoman army, who enjoyed certain privileges (tax relief). It is interesting that in the same list of soldiers the village of Pastusha (now Perushtitsa district) is recorded, but with 5 soldiers (Manol, Hristan, Apostol, Bogdan and Nasko), which gives reason to assume that it arose earlier from the village of Perushtitsa (what was in its present place).

It is characteristic of the village that during all the centuries of Ottoman slavery its population preserved Bulgarian-Christian self-consciousness.

Even during the great oppression in the middle of the 17th century, when almost the entire population of the Western Rhodopes (the Chepino riverbed) was forced to convert to Islam, attempts by the Turks to convert the Perushtians to Islam. The price paid by the proud Bulgarians here was expressed in many cremated houses and evictions from their homes. Later, in 1794, the village was again looted and set on fire by Mehmed Sinap's Kardzhali gangs. In the 18th century, Bulgarian refugees from the westernmost parts of the Balkan Peninsula (modern-day Albania and Epirus) settled in Perushtitsa.

REVIVAL

During the Revival, the vigilant national self-consciousness and the zealous spirit of the people of Perushtina achieved the greatest achievements as never before. At that time, prominent educators and activists of the national liberation movement lived and worked in the village, such as: Petar Bonev, Spas Ginov, Kocho Chestimenski, Vasil Sokolski - The Doctor.

The economic prosperity and spiritual progress of Perushtitsa in the 19th century gave expression to the creation of a number of cultural institutions. In the first half of the century the Revival church “St. Archangels Gabriel and Michael ”(1847) and the first primary school in which the first teacher was the priest P. Ripchev, initially teaching children in his home. His successors were St. B. Nikolov from the village of Tsalapitsa, Kr. Nenchev from Etropole, P. and St. Ripchevi, T. Mihailov, who brought a transcript of Paisii's history to the settlement and others. The successor of this school is the secular "Dan's school", in which the first teacher was the famous Bulgarian educator Hristo G. Danov, who introduced in 1850 the mutual teaching method. In 1853 he opened a girls' school, which formed one of the first mixed schools in enslaved Bulgaria. Chitalishte "Prosveta" was founded in 1862.

In 1869, Vasil Levski himself laid the foundations of a secret revolutionary committee, whose activities were resumed later (in 1876) by Georgi Benkovski. Perushtitsa was one of the first settlements to begin preparations for an uprising.

After the outbreak of the April Uprising in Perushtitsa on April 23, 1876, the people of Perushtitsa held back for seven days the incessant attacks of the enemy, who were many times superior in number and armament. They were forced to fight against the ferocious crowds of 5,000 to 6,000 bashibozouks, led by the local Adil aga, and on April 29 a Turkish regular army led by Rashid Pasha arrived. Only when the cannons destroyed the roof of the rebel fortress - the church "St. Archangels Gabriel and Michael ”, in which about 600 old men, women and children were gathered, the rebels stopped the resistance. The Turks looted the village and set fire to 350 houses. 347 people died in the church, led by Petar Bonev - a comrade and ally of Rakovski and Levski in the Belgrade Legion and leader of the uprising in the city. His colleague Kocho Chestemenski showed unparalleled heroism and self-sacrifice. Seeing that there was no escape from the invading bashibozouks in the already defenseless church, he killed his wife and children and ended his own life. He was followed by others. The other leaders of the uprising also died heroically - Spas Ginev, Father Tilev, Dr. Vasil Sokolski. Subsequently, the bones of these martyrs were collected and buried in the same church for people to remember.

In July 1876, Perushtitsa was visited by the French journalist Ivan de Westin, who reported that after the brutal suppression of the uprising, 150 "old men and children from the original population of over 2,000 people" remained in the city. Perushtitsa was liberated from the Ottoman yoke on January 3, 1878, but after the Treaty of Berlin of July 13, 1878, the village became part of the autonomous and vassal region of Eastern Rumelia of the Ottoman Empire. According to the first official census from 1884, its population was 2,053. The citizens of Perushtitsa were among the first to declare the Union of the Principality of Bulgaria with Eastern Rumelia in 1885.

"Perushtitsa through the centuries"

"Freedom born of the blood of heroes"

Peter Popov

„… Perushtitsa pale, nest of heroes, glory! Eternal glory to your children, on your ashes and on your grave, where the rebellious slave bravely fell! ... " (from the poem "Kocho" from The Epic of the Forgotten of Ivan Vazov)

The Bulgarian land is imbued with the blood of our ancestors, who gave their lives for the freedom, unification and independence of the Motherland. There is no place on the territory of our country that does not keep a fond memory of its heroes. The division into "more" or "less" worthy is inappropriate, because every historical time gives birth to its own heroes. In different epochs of our development, society is at a different level of its cultural, spiritual, political development. This determines the nature of wars, the goals of individual peoples and nations. One thing always remains the same - Freedom, this highest human value!

The freedom of a nation is measured by the sacrifices it has made, by the weeping mother's tears over lost children, by the earth soaked in the blood of brothers, fathers and grandfathers. But Freedom is measured above all by the heroism of those brave women and men, young and old, who dare to raise their heads and embark with fiery zeal in the struggle for their independence.

The Bulgarian Renaissance - the Revival, gave birth to that galaxy of vigilant Bulgarians who were preparing the people for an uprising against foreign oppression to win national freedom. The Bulgarian Revival was a period of radical changes in all spheres of socio-economic, political and cultural life. There are two main directions of changes in the cultural and spiritual field - the new Bulgarian educational movement for the liberation of education and culture from Hellenic influence and the struggle against the Greek church authorities for church separation and independence. Historical time marks the beginning of both economic prosperity and spiritual progress in a number of larger settlements in Bulgaria, including Perushtitsa. Prominent educators and activists of the national liberation movement Petar Bonev, Spas Ginov, Kocho Chestimenski, Vasil Sokolski-The Doctor live and work in Perushtitsa. Under the sign of the general changes and here begins the gradual construction of churches and the establishment of Bulgarian educational (schools) and cultural (community centers) established?