Arbanasi (Bulgarian: Арбанаси, also transliterated as Arbanassi) is a village in Veliko Tarnovo Province of Northern Bulgaria, set on a high plateau between the larger towns of Veliko Tarnovo (4 km away) and Gorna Oryahovitsa. It is known for the rich history and large number of historical monuments, such as medieval churches and examples Bulgarian National Revival architecture, which have turned it into a popular tourist destination. Veliko Turnovo province shown within Bulgaria Veliko Tarnovo is a province in the middle of the northern part of Bulgaria. ... Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgarian: Велико Търново; also transliterated as Veliko Turnovo) is a city in central northern Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. ... Gorna Oryahovitsa is a town in northern Bulgaria. ... The Bulgarian national revival (Vazrazdane) was a period of socio-economic development and national integration among Bulgarian people in the Ottoman Empire. ...

The village's name comes from the Greek word Αλβανικος or Αλβανος, which, like Turkish arnavut, was used to denote Albanians and other people that came from parts of Macedonia and Albania that had a large Albanian population, regardless of nationality.

History

Early history

The earliest written document that marks the beginning of Arbanasi's history is a royal decree by the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent from 1538, according to which the sultan offered the lands of the modern settlements of Arbanasi, Lyaskovets, Gorna Oryahovitsa and Dolna Oryahovitsa to his son-in-law Grand Vizier Rustem Pasha as a gift. The four villages are united under the name arnabud karielari in the document. Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Söğüt (1299-1326), Bursa (1326-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), Ä°stanbul (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanl... A sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings. ... Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (Modern Turkish: Süleyman; Arabic: Sulaymān) (November 6, 1494 – September 5/6, 1566), was the tenth Osmanli Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and its longest-serving, reigning from 1520 to 1566. ... Events Treaty of Nagyvarad. ... In law and in cultural anthropology, affinity, as distinguished from consanguinity, is kinship by marriage. ... A Vizier (وزير, sometimes also spelled Wazir) is an Arabic term for a high-ranking religious and political advisor, often to a king or sultan. ...

Other sources that mention Arbanasi are the notes of Pavel Đorđić from 10 January 1595 addressed to the Transylvanian Prince Sigismund Báthory. The village is also mentioned by the Roman Catholic bishop of Sofia Petar Bogdan Bakshev, who visited Tarnovo in 1640. He remarked there was a town up in the mountains, where the whole of Tarnovo could be seen, that had about 1,000 houses. January 10 is the 10th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events January 30 - William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet is performed for the first time. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... Sigismund Bathory (1572-1613) (Báthory Zsigmond in Hungarian), Prince of Transylvania and of the Holy Roman Empire, was the son of Christopher, prince of Transylvania, and nephew of the Stefan Batory, elected king of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Official website: sofia. ... Events December 1 - Portugal regains its independence from Spain and João IV of Portugal becomes king. ...

The lack of other documentary material leaves different opinions and speculations about the settlement's origin, name and population. It is accepted by some scholars that the village was populated by Bulgarian boyars that came from the westernmost parts of the Second Bulgarian Empire after Ivan Asen II's important victory over the Byzantines near Klokotnitsa on 9 March 1230, when the tsar conquered Arbanashkata zemya, "the land of the Albanians". This assumption is supported by 19th-century notes from Georgi Rakovski and other scholars. A boyar (also spelled bojar; Romanian: boier) was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Russian and Romanian aristocracy, second only to the ruling princes, from the 10th through the 17th century. ... The history of Bulgaria began in the 7th century AD with the arrival of the Bulgars in the Balkans. ... Ivan Asen II (Ioan Asen II) (1218–1241), tsar of Bulgaria, was the son of Kaloyan, founder of the Second Bulgarian Empire. ... Byzantine Empire (Greek: ), is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... Klokotnica (Bulgarian: Клокотница) is a village in southern Bulgaria near Haskovo. ... March 9 is the 68th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (69th in Leap years). ... Events Kingdom of Leon unites with the Kingdom of Castile. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Portrait of Georgi Sava Rakovski Georgi Sava Rakovski (Георги Сава Раковски, born Sava Stoykov Popovich, Сава Стойков Попович, 1821 – 1867) was a 19th-century Bulgarian revolutionary and writer and an important figure of the Bulgarian National Revival and the resistance against Ottoman rule. ...

Heyday

There is considerably richer documentary material, such as correspondence and chronicler's notes on religious books, preserved from the 17th and 18th century, that evidences that Arbanasi reached its economic blossoming between the second half of the 17th and the end of the 18th century. The settlement had over 1,000 houses at the time, its population consisting mostly of eminent merchant families. Handicrafts were well-developed, with copper- and goldsmithing, vine-growing and silk production playing an important part. The homes of the rich merchants, as well as the five churches built in the years of progress, bear record of the economic upsurge and prosperity. (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... General Name, Symbol, Number copper, Cu, 29 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 11, 4, d Appearance metallic brown Atomic mass 63. ... A goldsmith creating a new ring A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with precious metals, usually to make jewelry. ... The term vine was originally a term for the plant on which grapes grew, from the word for wine (Greek oinos), for which grapes were grown. ... Silk weaver Silk is a natural protein fiber that can be woven into textiles. ...

Decline

As a result of well-organized brigand raids in 1792, 1798 ad 1810, the settlement was pillaged and burnt down. The plague and cholera epidemics further damaged the town's well-being. The richest merchants fled to Wallachia and Russia. A new settlement of Bulgarians began after 1810, when people came down from the Elena and Teteven parts of the Balkan Mountains, but Arbanasi could never again reach its former heyday. An Ottoman royal decree of 1839 deprived the town of its former privileges and the development of handicraftsmanship after the Crimean War almost ceased. 1792 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1798 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1810 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Look up plague in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Cholera (also called Asiatic cholera) is a water-borne disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, which are typically ingested by drinking contaminated water, or by eating improperly cooked fish, especially shellfish. ... Map of Romania with Wallachia in yellow. ... Elena is a Bulgarian town in the Middle Balkan Range, 42 km south-east of Veliko Turnovo; a mountain resort at an altitude of 280 m. ... Stara Planina, Rhodope, Rila and Pirin Mountains The Balkan mountain range (Bulgarian: Stara Planina, Old Mountain) is an extension of the Carpathian mountain range, separated from it by the Danube River. ... 1839 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Combatants United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Second French Empire, Ottoman Empire, Kingdom of Sardinia Imperial Russia Strength 250,000 British 400,000 French 10,000 Sardinian 1,200,000 Russian Casualties 17,500 British 90,000 French 35,000 Turkish 2,050 Sardinian killed, wounded and died of...

Arbanasi was a stronghold of Greek cultural affiliation for centuries. Greek language was official in the town, there was a Greek school and divine services were in Greek. This, however, did not reflect the local population's national self-consciousness, as Arbanasi residents took part in the organized armed struggle of Bulgarians that ultimately led to the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule as a consequence of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 had its origins in the Russian goal of gaining access to the Mediterranean Sea and dominating Constantinople (Istanbul) and the adjacent Turkish Straits. ...

Sources

• "Arbanassi History". ArbanassiBG.com. Retrieved 11 March 2006.

External links

• ((Bulgarian)) ((English)) ArbanassiBG.com, offering information about the history, sights, hotels and attractions in the village
• ((Bulgarian)) ((English)) ((German)) Arbanassi resort — accommodation
• ((English)) Journey.bg article on Arbanasi