Belogradchik

24.11.2022

Hi. Although it was difficult for me to wake up early, I was still able to wake up. Today we went to Vidin with Bozhidar and his mother. So to their village. I love seeing different places, so who doesn't?😂 They were great places. But it was too cold. I will give some information about Vidin, Belogradchik and Varbovo.

52 km southwest of Vidin. distance, 520 m from the sea. established at height. The town was named Belgrade to distinguish it from Belgrade, the capital city of Yugoslavia today, Istolni Belgrade in Hungary, Albanian Belgrade (Berat) in Albania, and Erdel Belgradi (Alba Julia) in Erdel (Transylvania). has been called. The Slavic real name Belgrade means "white castle". During the Ottoman rule (1396-1878), when it was a small castle connected to the Vidin sanjak, it was built in the XVIII. It developed in the 19th century and gained the character of a town. XIX. It was a township before it became a district center in the century.

Belgradcik was established in a very beautiful and unusual geographical location that resembles the Cappadocia region in Anatolia and is rarely seen in Europe. The castle is thought to be a Roman structure. XIII and XIV. For centuries this castle was a small fortification of the Bulgarian Principality of Vidin. Belgrade was also captured when the principality, which had been a vassal of the Ottomans since the time of Murad I, came under Ottoman rule after the Niğbolu Victory in 1396. During the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror, half of the Ottoman military power in the region was composed of local Christian forces, which were once included in the Ottoman military system. According to the Tahrir Notebook dated 1455, which first mentions Belgrade, there were thirty-six Christian houses and a small Turkish garrison and a mosque in the castle. In 1466, the number of Christian households was shown as forty-four. In 1528, sixteen guards, including an imam and a dizdar, were on duty in the garrison. There were about forty 7 households and 5 isolated Muslim populations.

Belgrade XVII. It developed towards the outside of the castle as a Turkish Muslim settlement center in the XVIII century. century, it became a small town. In 1170 (1756-57), Hacı Hüseyin Ağa had the mosque, which played a role in this settlement, rebuilt. This mosque, which was still standing in 1975, attracted attention with its wood-covered rectangular structure, its wood-carved ceiling, a mixture of local Bulgarian practices and old Turkish tradition. Especially in the town XIX. In the 19th century, the Bulgarian influence began to gain importance. A school was opened here in 1821 and a general reading hall (Uciliste) in 1840. II. During the reign of Mahmud, Serbia gained its independence and the new Ottoman-Serbian border was 15 km from Belgrade. While it was re-determined to pass through its west, the old castle was rebuilt and expanded due to its increasing strategic importance. Two inscriptions praising the responsibilities and efforts of the Sultan and Vidin musei Hüseyin Pasha in this construction show the completion date of this place as 1254 (1838-39). In 1841 and 1850, this new fortress was the scene of a fierce struggle due to the rebellion (Belgradcik Revolt) of 12,000 Bulgarian peasants who opposed the implementation of the Tanzimat; Although they attacked the castle, they were unsuccessful.

After the Crimean War, the Ottoman government settled a large Circassian group in the Belgradecik region both to fill the manpower deficit of the places vacated by the Buigars who immigrated to Serbia, and because of its strategic-military importance. They were settled in three villages that were re-established as Nusretiye, Osmaniye and Tevfikiye; Their total population was about 2000. According to the Danube Province Yearbook, which gives detailed information about the population structure of Belgradcik, which is a border region, there were about thirty-eight villages in the town of Belgradcik, which covered a larger area before it became a border region, but then narrowed its borders. Of these, only three villages where Circassians settled were Muslim villages, and two small groups of immigrants were settled in other villages. The town of Belgradcik, on the other hand, had a population of about 2600, two-thirds of whom were Muslims, and 300 houses. There were 14,400 Christians and 3700 Muslims in the whole district. Relations between the two communities became increasingly tense due to great social turmoil. Although Belgradcik Castle was besieged and bombarded by the Russians during the 1877-1878 Ottoman-Russian War, it was captured immediately after the Treaty of Edirne on 25 February 1878. Almost all of the Turkish population went to Anatolia during the wars or subsequent migrations. Very few Turkish population remained behind. As a matter of fact, it was determined that a small number of Turkish families lived here in 1975. With the migration of Turkish people, the population of the town decreased considerably. According to the Bulgarian census in 1880, only 1100 people lived here.

Today, the population of Belgradcik has reached 7000 and it has been turned into a tourism center and gained the identity of a modern town here. The old Ottoman castle was restored and started to be used as a museum. The castle is the best preserved and maintained one among its counterparts in Bulgaria.

The castle was too cold for me. Then we went to have dinner with Bozhidar. Really the food was great. And the airan was perfect. I forgot. By the way, there was a female waitress working in the restaurant. Her name is Milena. Milena said she will take us to Venetsa Cave for tomorrow morning.

After dinner, we went to Bozhidar's mother's village house. I felt like I was in my grandmother's village and home. All the furniture in Lupka's country house was old. So those items are extremely valuable and important at this time. Many of the items were the same as my grandma. Bozhidar's mother was very friendly. He took care of us like we were his children and was very hospitable.

Lupka didn't like ready-made things, just like my mother. She liked homemade things more.

I fell in love there. It was a quiet place. Just like in my dreams. We ate fish for dinner. Sara made us Albanian pastries. I also made Shepherd's Salad. Everything was legendary.