Devin is a town in Smolyan Province

Smolyan Province

-Religion:The Smolyan province along with the Kardzhali Province is a province where the predominant religion is not Orthodox Christianity but Islam. However, unlike Kardzhali where the majority of the population is Turkish, the Muslim population of the Smolyan province is made up almost entirely...

 in the far south of Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Devin Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 7,054 inhabitants.

Location and geography

Devin is located in the central part of the Rhodope Mountains

Rhodope Mountains

The Rhodopes are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, with over 83% of its area in southern Bulgaria and the remainder in Greece. Its highest peak, Golyam Perelik , is the seventh highest Bulgarian mountain...

 in the valley of the Vacha River

Vacha River

The Vacha is a river in south Bulgaria, one of the main right tributaries of the Maritsa. It is 105 km long and is formed by the confluence of the Shirokolashka reka and the Byunovska reka. The river passes through Krichim Dam and Vacha Dam that secure drinking water for Plovdiv and its plains...

, 45 km from the city of Smolyan

Smolyan

Smolyan is a town and ski resort in the very south of Bulgaria not far from the border with Greece. It is the administrative and industrial centre of the homonymous Smolyan Province...

. Devin is also at a distance of 220 km from Sofia

Sofia

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...

 and 70 km from Plovdiv

Plovdiv

Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...

. The town itself is located in the vicinity of the popular ski resort of Pamporovo

Pamporovo

Pamporovo is a popular ski resort in Smolyan Province, southern Bulgaria, one of the best-known in Southeastern Europe. It is set amongst magnificent pine forests and is primarily visited during the winter for skiing and snowboarding. It is also a popular tourist place in summer. The hub of...

 which is 35 km east of Devin.

The Devinska river runs through it and numerous other brooks and rivers (namely Krichim, Muglenska and Trigradska) are found nearby, all tributaries of the Vacha river. The altitude is uneven owing to the mountainous location, ranging from 684 m to around 800 m above sea level.

Devin's climate is described as having mild winters, cool summers with prolonged spells of sunny days. The air is pleasantly cool and crisp and humidity is normal. The mean annual temperature is 4 to 10 °C, depending on altitude. The lowest winter temperature is around -10 °C while the maximum summer temperature is in the region of 30 to 33°C. Devin is protected from cold and violent westerly and north westerly winds due to the ridges that surround the town.

Attractions

Devin is a popular tourist attraction. There is an abundance of hot spring

Hot spring

A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...

s and hence spa resorts in the area. The region was known in antiquity for the healing properties of its mineral springs. The waters have been claimed to treat and heal a variety of maladies: conditions of the skeletal, peripheral nervous, cardiovascular and pulmonary systems, skin disorders and others. In addition to these, the water is drunk or inhaled in the treatment of respiratory diseases, allergies and infections. The conditions available in Devin make it a centre for recovery and stabilising health.

A popular brand of mineral water

Mineral water

Mineral water is water containing minerals or other dissolved substances that alter its taste or give it therapeutic value, generally obtained from a naturally occurring mineral spring or source. Dissolved substances in the water may include various salts and sulfur compounds...

 being sold under the name Devin is bottled there.

The situation of Devin offers access to nearby gorges, rock formations, caves, forests, natural reserves with protected and endemic species, and most of all, clean air. Namely Trigrad gorge

Trigrad Gorge

The Trigrad Gorge is a canyon of vertical marble rocks in the Rhodope Mountains of Bulgaria's very southern parts....

, the Devil's Throat cave

Devil's Throat Cave

Devil's Throat Cave, or Dyavolsko Garlo, is located in the western Rhodopes in Bulgaria, near its border to Greece. A popular tourist attraction, Devil's Throat branches from Trigrad Gorge.- Mythology :...

  and Yagodinska cave. The Trigrad-Yagodina region has a karst

KARST

Kilometer-square Area Radio Synthesis Telescope is a Chinese telescope project to which FAST is a forerunner. KARST is a set of large spherical reflectors on karst landforms, which are bowlshaped limestone sinkholes named after the Kras region in Slovenia and Northern Italy. It will consist of...

 scenery and has tens of other, albeit inhospitable, caves and rock formations. The protected region "Chairité" attracts visitors with an abundance of lakes, meadows and spruce and beech forests, one of which is called "the Drunken Forest" (Bulgarian: Пияната гора.) "Kastraklii", "Kazanite" and "Shabanitza" are natural reserves in the region around Devin with centuries-old pine and spruce forests and protected plant and animal communities.

Economy

There is a great deal of hydroelectric construction in the area. Agriculture is highly developed. Dairy cattle rearing, fish farming, mushroom picking and cultivation, potato growing and others are of significance to the local economy.

History

Between 1878 and 1886, Devin formed a part of the short-lived and unrecognised Republic of Tamrash

Republic of Tamrash

The Republic of Tamrash was a short-lived self-governing administrative structure of the Pomaks, living in the Tamrash region of the Rhodope Mountains. It existed from 1878 to 1886.- Geography :...

, an entity created by the local Pomaks

Pomaks

Pomaks is a term used for a Slavic Muslim population native to some parts of Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo. The Pomaks speak Bulgarian as their native language, also referred to in Greece and Turkey as Pomak language, and some are fluent in Turkish,...

 who rejected the creation of Eastern Rumelia

Eastern Rumelia

Eastern Rumelia or Eastern Roumelia was an administratively autonomous province in the Ottoman Empire and Principality of Bulgaria from 1878 to 1908. It was under full Bulgarian control from 1885 on, when it willingly united with the tributary Principality of Bulgaria after a bloodless revolution...

 (to which it would have belonged). Although all within the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

, the regions were largely self-governing and Tamrash would maintain warm relations with the Ottoman authorities. Following the Bulgarian unification

Bulgarian unification

The Unification of Bulgaria was the act of unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and the then-Ottoman province of Eastern Rumelia in the autumn of 1885. It was co-ordinated by the Bulgarian Secret Central Revolutionary Committee...

 with Eastern Rumelia, Bulgaria occupied Tamrash with the intent of reintegrating the territories, but the Ottoman recognition of Bulgaria's new borders (de facto independent though nominally within the Ottoman Empire) meant that Devin - with the rest of the Tamrash region plus other rebelling Turkish villages - would be reincorporated into Ottoman society.

It was a kaza centre in Drama

Drama

Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...

 Sanjak of Selanik Vilayeti

Salonika Province, Ottoman Empire

The Vilayet of Salonica was an Ottoman province from 1867 to 1912. In the late 19th century it reportedly had an area of .The vilayet was bounded by the Principality , of Bulgaria on the north; Eastern Rumelia on the northeast ; Edirne Vilayet on the east; the Aegean Sea on the south; Monastir...

 before Balkan Wars

Balkan Wars

The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...

 as "Ropçoz". The first Bulgarian school in Devin was founded in 1914 and the Rodopska Prosveta Community Centre (chitalishte

Chitalishte

A chitalishte is a typical Bulgarian public institution and building which fulfils several functions at once, such as a community centre, library and a theatre. It is also used as an educational institution, where people of all ages can enroll in foreign language, dance, music and other courses....

) followed in 1923.

Honour

Devin Saddle

Devin Saddle

Devin Saddle is a saddle of 500 m in the Tangra Mountains, Livingston Island located between Levski Ridge to the west and Delchev Ridge to the east. It is part of the divide between the glacial catchments of Iskar Glacier to the north and Magura Glacier to the south...

 on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands

South Shetland Islands

The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...

, Antarctica is named after Devin.

External links

• Snimki ot Devin - A video slideshow of photographs from Devin.
• User-submitted photographs from Devin.

Sources

This page contains translations and data from:
Devin's websiteBulgarian Wikipedia.