The 1672 image of Jesus in a rocket from the Church of Theodore Tyro and Theodore Stratelates in Dobarsko

Dobarsko (Bulgarian: Добърско ['dɔ.bɤr.sku]) is a village in southwestern Bulgaria, part of Razlog municipality, Blagoevgrad Province. It is set at 1,070 m above sea level on the southern slopes of Rila with the westernmost Rhodope Mountains to the east and Pirin to the south near the valley of the Mesta River. Dobarsko is 80 km from Blagoevgrad and 17 km from the winter resort Bansko. As of September 2005 the village has a population of 672^GRBulgaria and about 200 houses, the mayor being Nikola Naydenov. Jesus (8–2 BC/BCE to 29–36 AD/CE),[1] also known as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity. ... Petrich is a small town in the Blagoevgrad district. ... Blagoevgrad Province (Bulgarian: област Благоевград, oblast Blagoevgrad or Благоевградска област, Blagoevgradska oblast), also known as Pirin Macedonia (Bulgarian: Пиринска Македония, Pirinska Makedoniya), is a province (oblast) of southwestern Bulgaria. ... Rila Mountain, Bulgaria The Rila is a mountain range in western Bulgaria. ... View from the Belintash Rock towards the village of Vrata View from the Southern Rhodopes Dospat Dam in the western parts The river Mesta crossing the mountains The Rhodopes (Bulgarian: Родопи, Rodopi; Greek: Ροδόπη, Rodopi) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, with over 83% of its area in southern Bulgaria and... Vihren from the south The Pirin Mountains (Bulgarian: Пирин) are a mountain range in southwest Bulgaria, with Vihren (2,914 m high) the highest peak, situated at , . The range extends about 40 km northwest-southeast, and about 25 km wide. ... Mesta (Bulgarian: Места) or Nestos (Greek: Νέστος) is a river in Bulgaria and Greece. ... The centre of the town Houses in Varosha, the old quarter of Blagoevgrad Blagoevgrad (Bulgarian: Благоевград, formerly Горна Джумая, Gorna Dzhumaya) is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, situated in Blagoevgrad Province, with a population of about 76,000. ... Bansko (Bulgarian: ) is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, located at the foot of Pirin at an altitude of 936 m above sea level. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

According to the legend, Dobarsko was founded by soldiers from Bulgarian tsar Samuil's blinded army after the Battle of Belasitsa in 1014, who arrived in the area en route to the Rila Monastery and discovered a holy spring that allegedly cured them. Dobarsko is first mentioned in Tsar Ivan Shishman's donor's charter from the Rila Monastery in 1378. // Rulers of Bulgaria Note on titles According to a controversial 17th century Volga Bulgar source, early Bulgar leaders bore the title of baltavar, which might mean ruler of Avars, although this is likely a folk etymology. ... It has been suggested that Samuils Inscription be merged into this article or section. ... Rila Monastery with the medieval tower The Rila Monastery (Bulgarian: Рилски манастир, Rilski manastir) is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. ... Tsar Ivan Shishman of Bulgarian was the son of Tsar Ivan Alexander and his second wife Theodora. ...

During the Ottoman rule of Bulgaria Dobarsko established itself as the most important and richest village in the Razlog Valley. Many of the locals were merchants who bought cotton from Northern Greece and sold it in Central Europe and grazed large herds of cattle in the mountains and the plains around Drama and Serres. However, Dobarsko began to lose its former importance in the late 18th century, as Bansko rose to become the centre of the region. // Early centuries of Ottoman rule Organisation of Ottoman Bulgaria The Ottomans reorganised the Bulgarian territories as the Beyerlik of Rumili, ruled by a Beylerbey at Sofia. ... National motto: Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος (Greek: Liberty or Death) Official language Greek Capital Athens Largest city Athens Government Democratic parliamentary republic President Károlos Papoúlias Prime Minister Kóstas Karamanlís Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 70th 309,050 km² including Aegean, rivers, lakes and islets Population  - Total (2004)  - Density Ranked 74th 11... Central Europe is the region lying between the variously and vaguely defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe. ... Drama (Greek: Δράμα) is a town in northeastern Greece. ... Serres (Σερρες in Greek, Latin Serrae, older form: Serrai, Bulgarian: Сяр/Syar) is a city in Macedonia, Greece. ...

Dobarsko is known for its 25-metre waterfall, Shtrokaloto, its two old Eastern Orthodox churches and the many consecrated grounds and chapels in the area, as well as the view of three of Bulgaria's highest and largest mountains from the village. Hopetoun Falls near Otway National Park, Victoria, Australia A waterfall is usually a geological formation resulting from water, often in the form of a stream, flowing over an erosion-resistant rock formation that forms a sudden break in elevation. ... Eastern Orthodoxy (also called Greek Orthodoxy and Russian Orthodoxy) is a Christian tradition which represents the majority of Eastern Christianity. ...

The Church of Theodore Tyro and Theodore Stratelates, a small three-naved stone basilica half dug into the ground, was constructed no later than 1614 (with some sources claiming as early as 1122) and painted in 1672. The church donors, Bogdan, Hasiya and his son, as well as the builders Spas, Stanko and Smilen, are depicted in a donors' fresco left of the door. The church is noted for its abundance of original frescoes and icons, some of which are interpreted as portraying Jesus in a rocket. The holy spring in the church yard is said to be curative and indeed the one that cured Samuil's soldiers that founded the village, as depicted in one fresco. A small swastika and a cross on the eastern wall are the only objects of the exterior that evidence that the small stone building is a religious temple. The frescoes were cleaned up and partially restored in 1974-1978 and the church is a national monument of culture, as well as one of the 100 national tourist objects. Saint Theodore of Amasea (Amasenus, now Amasya, Turkey) is one of the Greek military saints of the 4th century, the earlier patron saint of Venice, now outshone there by Saint Mark, but still represented atop one of the two Byzantine columns standing in the Piazzetta of the Piazza San Marco... For the town in Ontario, see Swastika, Ontario. ...

The other church, the Church of the Purification of the Virgin, is a richly-decorated Bulgarian National Revival work on the opposite side of the road dating to 1860. Other chapels and consecrated grounds around Dobarsko include the Goatherd's Church, the Dug Church, St Elijah, St Spas, St Athanasius, the Holy Trinity, the Holy Theotokos, St Demetrius and St George. Candlemas (Russian: Sretenie, Spanish: Candelaria) is a Christian feast commemorating the purification of the Virgin Mary and the presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple. ... The Bulgarian national revival (Vazrazdane) was a period of socio-economic development and national integration among Bulgarian people in the Ottoman Empire. ...

According to several travellers' accounts, Dobarsko was the centre of a famous beggars' school of blind singers that spread all over the country and existed until 1939. The beggars also invented a cant for their own use by uniting Bulgarian, Greek, Vlach and Roma vocabulary, and performed heroic epic songs. Cant is an example of a cryptolect, a characteristic or secret language used only by members of a group, often used to conceal the meaning from those outside the group. ...

References

2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (239th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (239th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (239th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... August 26 is the 238th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (239th in leap years). ...

External links

• Official website (in Bulgarian, English and French)