Kosti, Bulgaria
Encyclopedia
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1926 | 1,328 |
| 1934 | 1,295 |
| 1946 | 1,403 |
| 1956 | 1,681 |
| 1965 | 1,310 |
| 1975 | 930 |
| 1985 | 700 |
| 1992 | 644 |
| 2008 | 320 |
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
: Kòste, Κωστη) is a village in southeastern 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...
, part of Tsarevo
Tsarevo
Tsarevo is a town and seaside resort in southeastern Bulgaria, an administrative centre of the homonymous Municipality of Tsarevo in Burgas Province. It lies on a cove 70 km southeast of Burgas, on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast at the eastern foot of Strandzha mountain...
municipality, Burgas Province
Burgas Province
-Municipalities:The Burgas province contains 13 municipalities . The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and Cyrillic, the main town or village , and the population of each as of 2009.-Demography:The Burgas province had a population of 423,608 -Municipalities:The Burgas...
. It is located on the banks of the Veleka
Veleka
The Veleka is a river in the very southeast of Bulgaria , as well as the very northeast of European Turkey. It is 147 km long, of which 123 km in Bulgaria and 25 km in Turkey, and takes it sources from a number of Karst springs in the Turkish part of the Strandzha mountain to flow...
River in the Strandzha
Strandzha
Strandzha is a mountain massif in southeastern Bulgaria and the European part of Turkey, in the southeastern part of the Balkans between the plains of Thrace to the west, the lowlands near Burgas to the north and the Black Sea to the east. Its highest peak is Mahya Dağı in Turkey, while the...
mountains not far from the Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
border, 20-25 kilometres south of Tsarevo and 91 km southeast of Burgas
Burgas
-History:During the rule of the Ancient Romans, near Burgas, Debeltum was established as a military colony for veterans by Vespasian. In the Middle Ages, a small fortress called Pyrgos was erected where Burgas is today and was most probably used as a watchtower...
. As of June 2008, it has a population of 320http://grao.bg/tna/tab02.txt and the mayor is Iliya Yazov.
Traces of ancient metallurgical activity have been discovered in the vicinity of Kosti, as well as a big necropolis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
and several independent mounds of Thracian
Thracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
origin. The modern village was first mentioned in an Ottoman
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...
tax register of 1498, according to which Kosti's population consisted of 22 Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
families. It also featured in a 17th century tax register, and during the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829 it was described as a Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
village (see Greeks in Bulgaria
Greeks in Bulgaria
Greeks in Bulgaria constitute the eighth-largest ethnic minority in Bulgaria . They number 1,356 according to the 2011 census, but are estimated at around 25,000 by Greek organizations and around 28,500, including the Sarakatsani, officially by Greece...
). Statistics of 1898 count 185 Greek and 25 Bulgarian
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
houses, whereas 1897 data only notes 300 Greek houses.
Kosti was one of the Greek villages of inland Strandzha, culturally and linguistically very distant from then-Greek-inhabited nearby coastal towns like Tsarevo (Vassiliko) and Ahtopol
Ahtopol
Ahtopol is a town and seaside resort on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is located on a headland in the southeastern part of Burgas Province and is close to the border with European Turkey...
. The local houses differ significantly from the typical village houses of Strandzha and the town houses of the coast. The houses in Kosti typically have two stories of crude stone, with the top floor cased with thick oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
boards. They feature an unusually large fireplace
Fireplace
A fireplace is an architectural structure to contain a fire for heating and, especially historically, for cooking. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows gas and particulate exhaust to escape...
on the top floor and the reported lack of any windows (which were later added by the Bulgarians who settled), as the only light to enter the room would come from a small opening in the ceiling called okno. The population was mainly engaged in agriculture, cattle breeding and logging (wood was in demand by the Ahtopol shipyard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
).
Kosti is a characteristic nestinari village, with a hundred of the 400 families being hereditary practitioners of this custom. Besides the old village Eastern Orthodox church, the village had another ritual building housing the eight nestinari icon
Icon
An icon is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from Eastern Christianity and in certain Eastern Catholic churches...
s, including the main icon, that of feast and regional patron Saint Constantine
Constantine I
Constantine the Great , also known as Constantine I or Saint Constantine, was Roman Emperor from 306 to 337. Well known for being the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity, Constantine and co-Emperor Licinius issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which proclaimed religious tolerance of all...
.
Following the 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...
, the village was ceded to Bulgaria by the Ottoman Empire, and the local Greeks moved to Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, particularly Greek Macedonia
Macedonia (Greece)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...
and the villages of Meliki
Meliki
Meliki is a village and a former municipality in the Imathia Prefecture of Greece Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Alexandreia, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 7,438 . Meliki is near Vergina, the place where the tomb of Phillip II of Macedon was...
, Verie, Kerkini
Kerkini
Kerkini is a village and a former municipality in the Serres regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Sintiki, of which it is a municipal unit. It is named after ancient Kerkinitis lake . Population of the municipal unit 10,037 . The seat was in...
, Strimoniko, Agia Eleni (Serres Prefecture
Serres Prefecture
Serres is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Region of Central Macedonia. Its capital is the town of Serres. The total population reaches just over 200,000.-Geography:...
), Mavrolevki (Drama Prefecture
Drama Prefecture
Drama is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Region of East Macedonia and Thrace. Its capital is the town of Drama. The regional unit is the northernmost within the geographical region of Macedonia and the westernmost in the administrative region of East Macedonia and Thrace...
), Langada (Thessaloniki Prefecture
Thessaloniki Prefecture
Thessaloniki is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Region of Central Macedonia. Its capital is the city of Thessaloniki. It is the second most populous regional unit in Greece, behind Central Athens.-Geography:...
). After 1914, the deserted village was settled by Bulgarian refugees from Turkish-ruled Eastern Thrace, particularly from Pirgoplo (100 families) and the town of Malak Samokov (Demirköy
Demirköy
Demirköy is a town and district of Kırklareli Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. The inhabitants are mainly descendants of Muslims from the village of Tisovo and other villages from the Greek side of the Chech region who were settled in Demirköy in 1923/1924. The mayor is Muhlis Yavuz . The...
; 60 families). The new settlers were also deeply engaged in logging, wood and charcoal production. A new church (at the place of the old church damaged in the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising
Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising
The Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising or simply the Ilinden Uprising of August 1903 |Macedonia]] affected most of the central and southwestern parts of the Monastir Vilayet receiving the support mainly of the local Bulgarian peasants and to some extent of the Aromanian population of the region...
) of Saints Cyril and Methodius was built in 1909, as were a school and a 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....
) in 1925. The church features an imposing iconostasis
Iconostasis
In Eastern Christianity an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church...
by the woodcarver Pandil, as well as old icons, such as two from 1883 and 1901 by the painter Kosta Polixoido.
In January
January
January is the first month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and one of seven months with the length of 31 days. The first day of the month is known as New Year's Day...
2011 a foot-and-mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease
Foot-and-mouth disease or hoof-and-mouth disease is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids...
outbreak
2011 Bulgaria foot-and-mouth disease outbreak
2011 Bulgaria foot-and-mouth disease outbreak is an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease occurring in Southeastern Bulgaria in 2011.The outbreak was recognised when a wild boar was shot. This animal is believed to have crossed the Bulgarian-Turkish border near the village of Kosti, Burgas Province...
was registered in the village of Kosti..