Mirkovo
Encyclopedia
Mirkovo is a village in western Bulgaria
, part of Sofia Province
. It is the administrative centre of Mirkovo municipality, which lies in the central eastern part of Sofia Province. The village is located in the eastern part of the Zlatitsa
–Pirdop
valley, 63 kilometres east of the capital Sofia
, at the southern foot of the 1,787-metre Etropolska Baba Peak in the Etropole
part of the Balkan Mountains
.
The surrounding area has been inhabited since the Neolithic
, with the Thracians
and Romans
populating it in Antiquity and the Slavs and Bulgars
in the Middle Ages
, when it was part of the First Bulgarian Empire
and Second Bulgarian Empire
. The village itself, however, was first mentioned in Ottoman
registers in 1430 and 1751 as Mirkuva; the name is thought to originate from the South Slavic
personal name Mirko with the placename suffix -ovo. A monastical school was established in 1825, during the Bulgarian National Revival
, and the locals took an active part in the Liberation of Bulgaria
, participating in hajduk
bands and assisting the Russian forces as opalchentsi
in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. The village Bulgarian Orthodox church of Saint Greatmartyr Demetrius was built in 1834 by the masters Minko and Delo.
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 Sofia Province
Sofia Province
Sofia Province is a province of Bulgaria. The province does not include Sofia in its territories, but Sofia however remains its administrative center...
. It is the administrative centre of Mirkovo municipality, which lies in the central eastern part of Sofia Province. The village is located in the eastern part of the Zlatitsa
Zlatitsa
Zlatitsa is a town in southern Bulgaria located in the Zlatitsa-Pirdop valley, between Stara Planina to the north and Sredna Gora to the south at 680 meters above the sea level. It is situated immediately south in the lap of the Zlatitsa -Teteven Mountain...
–Pirdop
Pirdop
Pirdop is a town located in South-West Bulgaria of Sofia Province in the southeastern part of the Zlatitsa - Pirdop Valley at 670 m above sea level. It is surrounded by the Balkan Range to the north, Sredna Gora Mountain to the south, and Koznitsa and Galabets saddles to the east and west,...
valley, 63 kilometres east of the capital 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...
, at the southern foot of the 1,787-metre Etropolska Baba Peak in the Etropole
Etropole
Etropole is a town in western Bulgaria, part of Sofia Province. It is located close to the northern slopes of the Balkan Mountains in the valley of the Malki Iskar from Sofia.-History:...
part of the Balkan Mountains
Balkan Mountains
The Balkan mountain range is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The Balkan range runs 560 km from the Vrashka Chuka Peak on the border between Bulgaria and eastern Serbia eastward through central Bulgaria to Cape Emine on the Black Sea...
.
The surrounding area has been inhabited since the Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
, with the Thracians
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...
and Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
populating it in Antiquity and the Slavs and Bulgars
Bulgars
The Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....
in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, when it was part of the First Bulgarian Empire
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in the north-eastern Balkans in c. 680 by the Bulgars, uniting with seven South Slavic tribes...
and Second Bulgarian Empire
Second Bulgarian Empire
The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state which existed between 1185 and 1396 . A successor of the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II before gradually being conquered by the Ottomans in the late 14th-early 15th century...
. The village itself, however, was first mentioned in 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...
registers in 1430 and 1751 as Mirkuva; the name is thought to originate from the South Slavic
South Slavs
The South Slavs are the southern branch of the Slavic peoples and speak South Slavic languages. Geographically, the South Slavs are native to the Balkan peninsula, the southern Pannonian Plain and the eastern Alps...
personal name Mirko with the placename suffix -ovo. A monastical school was established in 1825, during the Bulgarian National Revival
Bulgarian National Revival
The Bulgarian National Revival , sometimes called the Bulgarian Renaissance, was a period of socio-economic development and national integration among Bulgarian people under Ottoman rule...
, and the locals took an active part in the Liberation of Bulgaria
Liberation of Bulgaria
In Bulgarian historiography, the term Liberation of Bulgaria is used to denote the events of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 that led to the re-establishment of Bulgarian state with the Treaty of San Stefano of March 3, 1878, after the complete conquest of the Second Bulgarian Empire, which...
, participating in hajduk
Hajduk
Hajduk is a term most commonly referring to outlaws, highwaymen or freedom fighters in the Balkans, Central- and Eastern Europe....
bands and assisting the Russian forces as opalchentsi
Opalchentsi
Opalchentsi were Bulgarian voluntary army units, who took part in the Serbo-Turkish War of 1876 and the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. The people in these units were called opalchenets-pobornik meaning "volunteer combatant"....
in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. The village Bulgarian Orthodox church of Saint Greatmartyr Demetrius was built in 1834 by the masters Minko and Delo.
Municipality
Mirkovo municipality includes the following 7 places:
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