Petrevene

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Petrevene
native name = Петревене
settlement type = Village
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = BUL
subdivision_type1 = Provinces
(Oblast)

---

timezone=EET
utc_offset=+2
timezone_DST=EEST
utc_offset_DST=+3
map_caption = Location of Petrevene
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position =
pushpin_map_caption =Location of Petrevene
pushpin_mapsize =
leader_title =Mayor
postal_code_type =Postal Code
|subdivision_name1=Lovech Province
image_shield=
population_total=659|population_footnotes=
population_as_of=2006-01-01
population_density_km2 = auto
population_demonym = Petreventzi, (Петревенци)
area_total_km2 = 17.823
elevation_m=135
postal_code=5784
area_code=06981
latd=43|latm=9|lats=32|latNS=N|longd=24|longm=8|longs=53|longEW=E
leader_name=Nikolai Aleksandrov Ivanov
leader_party = Bulgarian Socialist Party
website = http://www.petrevene.com/en/

Petrevene (Bulgarian: Петревене) is a village in northern Bulgaria. Part of the Lukovit municipality it lies within the District of Lovech. Petrevene is situated on the left bank of the river Zlatna Panega, (lit. "Golden Panega"), and is built on terraces facing the river. It is located six kilometers away from the municipal centre Lukovit and lies on the main road E83.cite web|title=Petrevene Map — Satellite Images of Petrevene|url=http://www.maplandia.com/bulgaria/lovec/petrevene/|accessdate=2008-08-20|publisher=maplandia.com|year=2005|work=Maplandia (Google World Maps Gazetteer) website]

Etymology

There are three theories regarding the origin of the village's name "Petrevene". The first is that the village was named after the first settler and head of kin Peter,cite web|title=About—Village of Petrevene|url=http://www.petrevene.com/en/about.php|accessdate=2008-08-20|publisher=Village of Petrevene|year=2008|work=Village of Petrevene website] however there is no historical basis for this theory. The second more probable origin is that the village is named after an Orthodox Christian monk named Peter from the monastery at the bridge of the Belenskata River to the south of the village. However the most likely and most widely accepted theory remains that Petrevene was named after the ancient Greek word for stone petros, (ancient Greek:πέτρoς), in a similar fashion to the Nabataean city of Petra, due to the large amount sandstone quarries surrounding the village.

Geography

On the edge of the Danubian plain and Stara Planina, it lies almost entirely on the left bank of the river Zlatna Panega.

Climate and Drainage

The climate is well-defined temperate continental; precipitation being an average of 450-550 mm a year. This is lower than the standard precipitation for the Danunbian plain as its proximity to Stara Planina means that the annual rainfall is lower. However since Petrevene lies on the river Zlatna Panega it is well irrigated and is home to a large amount natural springs. A lot of these natural springs were then developed and made into public drinking water taps. Among these there are the Rashkovo Kladenche, Blyalata Cheshma and Ubovetz. There is also a tributary which feeds into the river Zlatna Panega locally known as Dulut, (Bul. Дулът). Most of the households which lie on either side of Dulut use as a open sewer for human and household waste. Although the village does have a minor sewage disposal system it does not extend to the entire village lest why this problem has occurred.

Government

The post of mayor is currently being held by Nikolai Aleksandrov Ivanov, from the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP). He has held the post since 2003 and will remain mayor at least until 2011 [http://www.petrevene.com/kmetstvo.php] when the next local elections are planned. [
Incumbent mayor of Petrevene, Nikolai Ivanov]

History

Petrevene was originally a Pomak settlement, with a small minority of Orthodox Christian Bulgarians (mostly tradesmen emigrants from the town of Teteven). However with The Unification of Bulgaria in 1885 bringing a wave of migration among the PomaksA. Popovic, "Pomaks", in "Encyclopaedia of Islam"] the majority of their land and homes were thereby bought or directly moved on to by settlers and emigrants from the towns of Brussen and Vidrade. Within the new population marriages between Brusseners and Vidraders were banned, possibly due to their coming from two different dioceses.

In Petrevene prior to the April Uprising, and for a brief period afterwards, a Mosque existed, built roughly in the centre of the village. However with the strong anti-islamism [cite book | last = Raichevsky | first = Stoyan | authorlink = | coauthors = Maya Pencheva (translator) | title = The Mohammedan Bulgarians (Pomaks) | publisher = Bulgarian Bestseller — National Museum of Bulgarian Books and Polygraphy | date = 2004 | location = Sofia, Bulgaria | pages = | url = | doi = | id = | isbn = 9549308413 ] and nationalism that were present in Bulgaria after the end of Ottoman rule it was destroyed sometime during the end of the 19th or the beginning of the 20th century. An Orthodox Christian church was then built using materials from the Mosque. A school was also established after the April Uprising, and was held within a Pomak house until 1891 when the current schoolhouse (now derelict) was built. In 1918 a library and community centre was built by Joseph Benchev and was named Probuda, (Bulgarian: Пробуда) meaning awakening.

Petrevene's population remained almost unaffected by the two world wars, with only a small amount of villagers going off to participate and less fifty actually lost their lives [From "Monument to Those Who Lost Their Lives Protecting the Motherland", Petrevene's main square] . They are all commemorated on a limestone monument in the village's main square.

With the introduction of compulsory collectivization in 1956 and the establishment of a Working Peasant Cooperatives' Federation, (ТКДЗ), [http://files.osa.ceu.hu/holdings/300/8/3/text/72-1-2.shtml] , Petrevene's fields became collectively farmed and managed, and its agricultural capacity grew and became modernized [http://www.osa.ceu.hu/files/holdings/300/8/3/text/4-7-169.shtml] . Twenty percent of the fields were alloted to the villagers for the their own personal cultivation, but they were still required to work with the WPCF [Jordan Nikolov, now pensioned, ex-worker] on the main fields. A system was set where every farmer was entitled to four tons of wheat for personal consumption per year. Four tons being to much to consume or use, the farmers were then encouraged to return two tons to the newly-built WPCF bakery in exchange for coupons entitling them to two loafs of black, and one of white, bread a day [Jordan Nikolov, now pensioned, ex-worker] .

With the fall of communism in 1989 the WPCF was shut down, (although other villages retained theirs and privatized them), and became derelict. Petrevene's agricultural output and capacity were reduced severely. The collectivized fields were then divided as they were prior to the collectivization and returned to the owners. However, many of agricultural workers had chosen to go into retirement and became state pensioned. Many of the younger families took the opportunity that democracy had offered them and emigrated to the larger cities in search of better working conditions and payment. As a result a large amount of the fields and vineyards that had previously dominated the landscape became abandoned and uncultivated, and the village's population shrank rapidly. Additionally due the economic crisis that followed [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Bulgaria] , and very low state pensions many owners were unable to afford the upkeep of their home meaning that a large amount of the houses fell into disrepair. [http://www.sedembg.com/128/page10.htm] .

Recently Petrevene has enjoyed a revival with Bulgaria's overall economic growth, as well as the re-cultivation of many of the fields. Additionally increased incomes mean that many people can now afford to improve their homes. There have also been several commercial developments spurred by a competent administration, including the establishment of a new bakery, "Lazarov Komers" [http://goldenpages.bg/en/directory/businesses/Bread_and_Baked_Goods_Shops/%CF%C5%D2%D0%C5%C2%C5%CD%C5] , and a motorbike rally.

Culture and Traditions

There is very little that is of any cultural significance beyond the Church and Library in Petrevene, however the village does harbor many historic buildings mostly built in the early 20th and late 19th centuries, with some buildings dating as far back as the 18th century. However many of these buildings are now decrepit and derelict as the village population shrunk heavily during the post-communist era, with many owners either emigrating to larger cities and leaving their land behind, or simply dying out due to old age and leaving their property to descendants who were unwilling or unable to maintain it.

With the massive collectivization of the 1956, the village became an agricultural community.

Watermelon Day

Watermelon Day is a popular annual celebration within Petrevene celebrated every year on the penultimate Saturday of August. It was first held in 1936 and it is a popular belief within the village that it started of as a regional land dispute between Petrevene and the nearby village of Todorichene.cite web|title=Село Петревене|url=http://www.petrevene.com/den-na-dinite.php|accessdate=2008-08-20|publisher=Village of Petrevene|language=Bulgarian|year=2008|work=Village of Petrevene website] The legend, according to the local people, is that several bad harvests had made the Petrevenians try to put claim the land of Todorichene. To settle the dispute that followed a regional judge was brought in from Pleven to settle the matter. He declared that everyone should be assigned 1.5 km² of land. With the lack of wheat the Petrevenians then decide to plant watermelon instead, however with no market for them the younger men of the village decide to collect all the watermelons and store them in the schoolhouse and let anyone eat as much as they want for free, but on the condition that they would first see the caricaturist Nicola Velev's exposition in the library. Although popular, the story has little historical basis. Although there have been records of Watermelon Day going as far back as 1936, no existing records tell of bad harvests in the years prior to that date or of such land divisions. [Nikolai Aleksandrov Ivanov]

culptures

A recent National Academy of Arts incentive [Rector of the Academy] has seen the introduction of two new sculptures to the village, one at the beginning of the village and one near the end, (going along the E83).

ee also

*Lukovit
*Lovech
*Teteven
*Pleven
*Pomaks

References

External links

#http://www.petrevene.com/en/index.php
#http://www.guide-bulgaria.com/NC/Lovech/Lukovit/Petrevene
#http://www.fallingrain.com/world/BU/32/Petrevene.html