Katselovo
Encyclopedia
Katselovo is a village in northern Bulgaria
, administered by the municipality of Dve Mogili
and part of Ruse Province. It lies 35 km south of Ruse on the southern edge of the Rusenski Lom Nature Park, and 16 km southeast of Dve Mogili. The village begins on the bank of the Cherni Lom river which joins with the Beli Lom to produce the Rusenski Lom
which flows into the River Danube near Ruse, and rises very steeply to a high limestone plateau. The distance from the Bulgarian capital, Sofia
is 241.144 km.
Katselovo is 18 km south of the UNESCO World Heritage Listed monasteries and churches of Ivanovo
and is located on edge of the same steep limestone escarpment
. The road from the valley floor to the top of the escarpment has many hairpin turns. In former times it was a hive of economic activity but is now mainly a farming community, the textile factory and other industries having closed down due to the economic difficulties during the headlong rush from socialism to a free market economy after the Bulgarian Communist Party
was renamed in 1990.
One of the major employers is the cooperative "Hope - Katselovo" http://myinternet.demon.co.uk/co-op.jpg, who grow large quantities of wheat, maize and sunflowers. The credit cooperative "Oral" continues to play a large part in the village economy as it has done for over 100 years. Most of the residents have large gardens in which they grow vegetables and many keep a cow, goats, sheep or other livestock
along with chickens, geese, ducks and turkeys. The fish ponds near the river are used to rear carp
for the table.
In 1980 there were 550 houses, 26 of which were empty. 49 houses had only one occupant and 76 houses had two elderly people in. 106 houses had two young people and 293 houses had three or more people living in them. However the population has shrunk considerably in recent years.
Due to the declining population, the village school was closed down in 2007 and the children now travel by bus to attend school in Dve Mogili. There are several shops and restaurants in the village, along with a post office and a bakery which produces fresh bread six days a week. There is also a street / livestock market on Sundays which is well attended, Katselovo claims to breed the finest horses in the area and are justly proud of this.
There is a library, cultural center and cinema between the school and the church, opposite the Mayor's office / Town(village) Hall. The village has a twice daily bus service to Ruse via Dve Mogili. Fuel, (petrol, diesel and LPG) is supplied at the filling station at the top of the hill. The nearest railway station is at Dve Mogili and the nearest functioning airports are at Varna
, (150 km) or Bucharest
across the Danube in Romania
, (100 km). There is also a growing British
ex-pat community.
During the Ottoman occupation
, Katselovo was the largest village in the area and the church there was used for marriages and baptisms. The present church was built in 1862. There are three cemeteries, one of which is from the early Ottoman period and hasn't been used for a few hundred years, the present cemetery is not very old and was a replacement for the previous one which is full. The area around Katselovo is rich in history, there are several neolithic
mounds. Roman
remains, Macedonian, Thracian, Byzantine and Roman imperial coins have been found nearby too.
In 2002, Stoyan Vitanov wrote a very interesting book about Katselovo, entitled Village Katselovo , detailing the history of the village. It tells of the village's involvement in the struggle for independence at the end of the 19th century, the forming of the first cooperatives and their subsequent evolution, how the village held several records in former times for its agricultural production and other interesting facts about Katselovo. It also contains some photographs of the village from the recent past but unfortunately for English readers this has only been published in Bulgarian.
On August 24, 1877 near Gorsko Ablanovo
and Katselovo there was a major battle of the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78. The Ottoman forces commanded by Mehmed Ali Pasha and Sabit Pasha, consisted of about 27,000 soldiers, 50 cannons with reserves of 12,500 soldiers and 31 guns and outnumbered the Russian troops commanded by Crown Prince Alexander Alexandrovich
and Major-General Alexei Timofeev who had 10 battalions and 50 guns. The Ottoman army won the battle but not the war. The Russian losses were 1301 killed and wounded, the Ottoman losses are unknown.
Eventually the area was liberated from Ottoman control which led to the Treaty of Berlin
, which in turn was instrumental in creating the Principality of Bulgaria
which, 20 years later officially declared independence and formed the Kingdom of Bulgaria
after 512 years of Ottoman rule.
The climate is temperate, with cold snowy winters and hot dry summers.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, administered by the municipality of Dve Mogili
Dve Mogili
Dve Mogili is a town in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Ruse Province. It is the administrative centre of Dve Mogili Municipality, which lies in the western part of the area. Dve Mogili is located 32 kilometres away from the provincial capital of Ruse...
and part of Ruse Province. It lies 35 km south of Ruse on the southern edge of the Rusenski Lom Nature Park, and 16 km southeast of Dve Mogili. The village begins on the bank of the Cherni Lom river which joins with the Beli Lom to produce the Rusenski Lom
Rusenski Lom
The Rusenski Lom is a river in northeastern Bulgaria, the last major right tributary of the Danube. It is formed by the rivers Beli Lom and Cherni Lom, the former taking its source south of Razgrad and the latter southeast of Popovo....
which flows into the River Danube near Ruse, and rises very steeply to a high limestone plateau. The distance from the Bulgarian capital, Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
is 241.144 km.
Katselovo is 18 km south of the UNESCO World Heritage Listed monasteries and churches of Ivanovo
Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo
The Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo are a group of monolithic churches, chapels and monasteries hewn out of solid rock and completely different from other monastery complexes in Bulgaria, located near the village of Ivanovo, 20 km south of Rousse, on the high rocky banks of the Rusenski Lom, 32 m...
and is located on edge of the same steep limestone escarpment
Escarpment
An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...
. The road from the valley floor to the top of the escarpment has many hairpin turns. In former times it was a hive of economic activity but is now mainly a farming community, the textile factory and other industries having closed down due to the economic difficulties during the headlong rush from socialism to a free market economy after the Bulgarian Communist Party
Bulgarian Communist Party
The Bulgarian Communist Party was the communist and Marxist-Leninist ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 1990 when the country ceased to be a communist state...
was renamed in 1990.
One of the major employers is the cooperative "Hope - Katselovo" http://myinternet.demon.co.uk/co-op.jpg, who grow large quantities of wheat, maize and sunflowers. The credit cooperative "Oral" continues to play a large part in the village economy as it has done for over 100 years. Most of the residents have large gardens in which they grow vegetables and many keep a cow, goats, sheep or other livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
along with chickens, geese, ducks and turkeys. The fish ponds near the river are used to rear carp
Carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...
for the table.
In 1980 there were 550 houses, 26 of which were empty. 49 houses had only one occupant and 76 houses had two elderly people in. 106 houses had two young people and 293 houses had three or more people living in them. However the population has shrunk considerably in recent years.
| Year | 1910 | 1920 | 1925 | 1934 | 1946 | 1956 | 1965 | 1975 | 1985 | 1992 | 2001 | 2007 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 1808 | 1991 | 2260 | 2592 | 2753 | 2554 | 2278 | 2020 | 1677 | 1563 | 1132 | 943 | 863 | 818 | 802 |
Due to the declining population, the village school was closed down in 2007 and the children now travel by bus to attend school in Dve Mogili. There are several shops and restaurants in the village, along with a post office and a bakery which produces fresh bread six days a week. There is also a street / livestock market on Sundays which is well attended, Katselovo claims to breed the finest horses in the area and are justly proud of this.
There is a library, cultural center and cinema between the school and the church, opposite the Mayor's office / Town(village) Hall. The village has a twice daily bus service to Ruse via Dve Mogili. Fuel, (petrol, diesel and LPG) is supplied at the filling station at the top of the hill. The nearest railway station is at Dve Mogili and the nearest functioning airports are at Varna
Varna Airport
-Seasonal Charter flights:-Passenger statistic:-See also:* List of airports in Bulgaria* List of airlines of Bulgaria* List of the busiest airports in Europe by passenger traffic-External links:* *...
, (150 km) or Bucharest
Bucharest Airport
Bucharest Airport may refer to:* Henri Coandă International Airport serving Bucharest, Romania - located in the neighbouring town of Otopeni, Ilfov County* Aurel Vlaicu International Airport serving Bucharest, Romania - located in the district of Băneasa...
across the Danube in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, (100 km). There is also a growing British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
ex-pat community.
During the Ottoman occupation
History of early Ottoman Bulgaria
The history of Ottoman Bulgaria spans nearly 500 years, from the conquest of the Second Bulgarian Empire by the Ottoman Empire in 1396, to its liberation in 1878. Bulgarian territories were administrated as the Rumelia Eyalet. The Ottoman rule was a period marked by oppression and misgovernment and...
, Katselovo was the largest village in the area and the church there was used for marriages and baptisms. The present church was built in 1862. There are three cemeteries, one of which is from the early Ottoman period and hasn't been used for a few hundred years, the present cemetery is not very old and was a replacement for the previous one which is full. The area around Katselovo is rich in history, there are several neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
mounds. Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
remains, Macedonian, Thracian, Byzantine and Roman imperial coins have been found nearby too.
In 2002, Stoyan Vitanov wrote a very interesting book about Katselovo, entitled Village Katselovo , detailing the history of the village. It tells of the village's involvement in the struggle for independence at the end of the 19th century, the forming of the first cooperatives and their subsequent evolution, how the village held several records in former times for its agricultural production and other interesting facts about Katselovo. It also contains some photographs of the village from the recent past but unfortunately for English readers this has only been published in Bulgarian.
On August 24, 1877 near Gorsko Ablanovo
Gorsko Ablanovo
Gorsko Ablanovo is a village in northern Bulgaria. It is located in Opaka municipality in Targovishte Province. As of 15th March 2010, the village has a population of 498....
and Katselovo there was a major battle of the Russo-Turkish war of 1877-78. The Ottoman forces commanded by Mehmed Ali Pasha and Sabit Pasha, consisted of about 27,000 soldiers, 50 cannons with reserves of 12,500 soldiers and 31 guns and outnumbered the Russian troops commanded by Crown Prince Alexander Alexandrovich
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov , historically remembered as Alexander III or Alexander the Peacemaker reigned as Emperor of Russia from until his death on .-Disposition:...
and Major-General Alexei Timofeev who had 10 battalions and 50 guns. The Ottoman army won the battle but not the war. The Russian losses were 1301 killed and wounded, the Ottoman losses are unknown.
Eventually the area was liberated from Ottoman control which led to the Treaty of Berlin
Treaty of Berlin, 1878
The Treaty of Berlin was the final act of the Congress of Berlin , by which the United Kingdom, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and the Ottoman Empire under Sultan Abdul Hamid II revised the Treaty of San Stefano signed on March 3 of the same year...
, which in turn was instrumental in creating the Principality of Bulgaria
Principality of Bulgaria
The Principality of Bulgaria was a self-governing entity created as a vassal of the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. The preliminary treaty of San Stefano between the Russian Empire and the Porte , on March 3, had originally proposed a significantly larger Bulgarian territory: its...
which, 20 years later officially declared independence and formed the Kingdom of Bulgaria
Kingdom of Bulgaria
The Kingdom of Bulgaria was established as an independent state when the Principality of Bulgaria, an Ottoman vassal, officially proclaimed itself independent on October 5, 1908 . This move also formalised the annexation of the Ottoman province of Eastern Rumelia, which had been under the control...
after 512 years of Ottoman rule.
The climate is temperate, with cold snowy winters and hot dry summers.
