Gabarevo – village of 100 spouts

published on 7/11/11 9:26 AM

Photo: Veneta Nikolova

The village of Gabarevo offers no special architecture, nor tidy family hotels, restaurants and drug stores. However, it does offer the unique combination of plain, mountain, river and a dam that are quite isolated from the world.

You simply can’t miss Gabarevo along the road at the foot of the Balkan Range that links Sofia with the Black Sea. The valley is full with lavender, roses and fruit trees and it spreads between this mountain and the one of Sredna Gora. The village is situated near the Pavel Banya resort and its central buildings are not so typical for a village – the freshly repaired mayoralty with its clock tower, the community center with its spectacular Roman columns, the post that has been recently painted… it simply looks like a town! “The village people have always had great confidence and do not take seriously the citizens of the neighboring Pavel Banya. The reason – back in the dawn of the 20th century the village used to attract many intellectuals and public persons, while at the same time the women of Gabarevo were the most fashionable in the region” – curator of local museum Totka Bicheva explains with passion. Gabarevo was proud of its rich theatre plays and the huge festivals and carnivals that the entire population used to prepare for months. Nowadays the so-called Dzhananova House is the center of the village’s cultural life. It has been turned into a museum of Vassil Levski – Bulgaria’s national hero from the years of Ottoman rule. More from Totka Bineva:

Dzhananova House

“In 1869 Vassil Levski established here, in this house, the secret revolutionary committee of Gabarevo. Some 36 men swore before the dagger, the Bible and the revolver. Then the house has been turned into an ethnographic museum that is opened for visitors all over the year. Poets, writers and artists from the entire region meet here and exhibitions and readings are organized. So, the spirit of the place is still alive! The name of the village, on the other hand, originates from the “gabar” /hornbeam/ tree.”

Saint George stone church

Gabarevo is also known as the village with 100 spouts. One can drink the clear and cold water of the Balkan Range at many places around the village. The Saint George stone church is situated in the center of the place. The Ottomans burned the church in 1877, but it was later re-built again. The local tavern attracts many visitors with its beautiful shady garden, where one can taste lamb soup, chicken livers and other local dishes that are not expensive. There is a hotel at the tavern too.

Tundzha River

You can spend your leisure time in many ways in the area around the village. We decided to go along the Tundzha River that flows across shady forests and meadows, full with flowers. The bridge over the river was destroyed in a flood, but local people turned a tree into some sort of a “bio bridge”.

Gabarevo is situated at the heart of the Rose Valley. The rose that gives oil blossoms end-May and divine odor goes over the fields. Then cherries are picked in June and a so-called Cherry Festival takes place in the village that includes songs, dances, recreations of old customs and flights with hand gliders over the valley. The ghost waters of the Koprinka dam can be seen nearby, with the ruins of the mythical Thracian town of Sevtopolis lying on its bottom. There are many legends, related to this region – such as the one, saying that the last Russian princess Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia lived in anonymity here as Countess Eleonora Gruber. Old people from Gabarevo still remember the mysterious Mrs. Nora, who settled in the village in the 1920s. She used to play the piano, smoked opium and a scar from a bullet could be seen between her neck and the right cheek. The lady died in 1954 and took her secret to the old graveyard of the village. However, the legend remained…

Photos: Veneta Nikolova

English version: Zhivko Stanchev

По публикацията работи: Veneta Nikolova

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