Kran, Bulgaria
Encyclopedia
Kran is a town in central Bulgaria
. It is located just south of the Balkan Mountains
and is administratively part of Kazanlak
Municipality, Stara Zagora Province
. Kran was an important castle of the Second Bulgarian Empire
in the 13th–14th century. Among the local sights are a conserved ancient Thracian
tomb, a much older Thracian sanctuary and the ruins of the medieval fortress.
, a major pass through the Central Balkan Mountains. The mountains stand just to the north of the town. Among the amenities that the town offers are a motel
and a camping site. As of 2010, Kran was the most populous village in Stara Zagora Province. Due to the village's population, the mayor Temenuzhka Lyutskanova formally suggested that it be proclaimed a town. In October 2011, Kran was formally declared a town by a decision of the Council of Ministers.
The industry of the town is represented by the spring
factory Zavod za pruzhini AD, founded in 1974 as part of the Kazanlak-based Arsenal AD
firearms manufacturing company. Since 1999, the factory has been a separate joint-stock company.
unearthed a Thracian tomb under Sarafova Mogila, a mound near the town. The tomb is known as Kran II and was built in the 4th century BC. The tomb is notable for the earliest known example of painted frieze
s in Thracian architecture. It is also among the earliest to make use of bricks and mortar as construction materials. The conservation of the Kran II tomb was completed in 2009 and the site was opened to the public. A Thracian sanctuary was discovered by archaeologists near the town in 2009. The sanctuary dates to 2200–1900 BC and also includes nine burials of infants.
Kran is first mentioned under its modern name during the High Middle Ages
. In 1190, the surviving Byzantine
troops of a failed anti-Bulgarian campaign
retreated to Kran en route to Beroia (today Stara Zagora
). In the late 13th century, the fortress of Kran emerged as the capital of the Kran Despotate, an appanage
of the Second Bulgarian Empire under the rule of despot Aldimir
, younger brother of the Bulgarian Emperor George Terter I
(r. 1280–1292). Aldimir may have already been in charge of the fortress in the 1280s and early 1290s, and he was certainly the lord of Kran from 1298 to 1305, under the regent queen Smiltsena
and his own nephew Theodore Svetoslav
(r. 1300–1322). In that year, the despotate was annexed by Theodore Svetoslav and direct rule from Tarnovo
was restored. At the height of Aldimir's reign as despot of Kran, the fortress was the capital of a domain which extended from Yambol
and Karnobat
in the east to Kazanlak or Karlovo
in the west.
The despotate appears to have been restored at some point thereafter, however, as the father of Bulgarian Emperor Ivan Alexander
(r. 1331–1371), Sratsimir, is mentioned as the despot of Kran before and during the rule of his son.
The ruins of the medieval castle are located on the rocks north of the town. The fortress is a descendant of an earlier Byzantine settlement and a fortification from the 7th–8th century. The castle's natural position atop a cliff facilitated its defence, though it was also supported by thick walls and several defensive towers.
The modern settlement was perhaps founded in the 1370s or 1380s, after the castle was captured and destroyed by the Ottomans
. In Ottoman times, it was known as Hasat (Хасът, "The Has", a kind of Ottoman estate). The name was changed back to the medieval Bulgarian appellation in 1906.
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...
. It is located just south of the Balkan Mountains
Balkan Mountains
The Balkan mountain range is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The Balkan range runs 560 km from the Vrashka Chuka Peak on the border between Bulgaria and eastern Serbia eastward through central Bulgaria to Cape Emine on the Black Sea...
and is administratively part of Kazanlak
Kazanlak
Kazanlak, formerly Kazanlık is a Bulgarian town in Stara Zagora Province, located in the middle of the plain of the same name, at the foot of the Balkan mountain range, at the eastern end of the Rose Valley...
Municipality, Stara Zagora Province
Stara Zagora Province
Stara Zagora is a province of south central Bulgaria. It is named after its administrative and industrial centre—the city of Stara Zagora—the sixth-biggest town in the country...
. Kran was an important castle of the Second Bulgarian Empire
Second Bulgarian Empire
The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state which existed between 1185 and 1396 . A successor of the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II before gradually being conquered by the Ottomans in the late 14th-early 15th century...
in the 13th–14th century. Among the local sights are a conserved ancient Thracian
Thracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
tomb, a much older Thracian sanctuary and the ruins of the medieval fortress.
Geography
Kran lies some 5 km (3.1 mi) north of the city of Kazanlak. It is situated in direct vicinity of the Shipka PassShipka Pass
Shipka Pass is a scenic mountain pass through the Balkan Mountains in Bulgaria. It marks the border between Stara Zagora province and Gabrovo province. The pass connects Gabrovo and Kazanlak. The pass is part of the Bulgarka Nature Park.The pass is 13 km by road north of the small town of...
, a major pass through the Central Balkan Mountains. The mountains stand just to the north of the town. Among the amenities that the town offers are a motel
Motel
A motor hotel, or motel for short, is a hotel designed for motorists, and usually has a parking area for motor vehicles...
and a camping site. As of 2010, Kran was the most populous village in Stara Zagora Province. Due to the village's population, the mayor Temenuzhka Lyutskanova formally suggested that it be proclaimed a town. In October 2011, Kran was formally declared a town by a decision of the Council of Ministers.
The industry of the town is represented by the spring
Spring (device)
A spring is an elastic object used to store mechanical energy. Springs are usually made out of spring steel. Small springs can be wound from pre-hardened stock, while larger ones are made from annealed steel and hardened after fabrication...
factory Zavod za pruzhini AD, founded in 1974 as part of the Kazanlak-based Arsenal AD
Arsenal AD
Arsenal AD is a Bulgarian joint-stock company based in Kazanlak, engaged primarily in the manufacture of firearms and military equipment. It is Bulgaria's oldest arms supplier.- History :...
firearms manufacturing company. Since 1999, the factory has been a separate joint-stock company.
History
Kran is located in the so-called Valley of the Thracian Kings, a region of Bulgaria known for the abundance of Thracian sites and artifacts. In 1995, a team of archaeologists headed by Georgi KitovGeorgi Kitov
Georgi Kitov was a Bulgarian archaeologist and thracologist with controversial methods. He specialized in Thracian archaeology.-Finding the Thracian tomb:...
unearthed a Thracian tomb under Sarafova Mogila, a mound near the town. The tomb is known as Kran II and was built in the 4th century BC. The tomb is notable for the earliest known example of painted frieze
Frieze
thumb|267px|Frieze of the [[Tower of the Winds]], AthensIn architecture the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Even when neither columns nor pilasters are expressed, on an astylar wall it lies upon...
s in Thracian architecture. It is also among the earliest to make use of bricks and mortar as construction materials. The conservation of the Kran II tomb was completed in 2009 and the site was opened to the public. A Thracian sanctuary was discovered by archaeologists near the town in 2009. The sanctuary dates to 2200–1900 BC and also includes nine burials of infants.
Kran is first mentioned under its modern name during the High Middle Ages
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries . The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500....
. In 1190, the surviving Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
troops of a failed anti-Bulgarian campaign
Battle of Tryavna
The battle of Tryavna occurred in 1190 in the mountains around the contemporary town of Tryavna, central Bulgaria. The result was a Bulgarian victory over the Byzantine Empire, which secured the successes achieved since the beginning of the Rebellion of Asen and Peter in 1185.- Origins of the...
retreated to Kran en route to Beroia (today Stara Zagora
Stara Zagora
Stara Zagora is the sixth largest city in Bulgaria, and a nationally important economic center. Located in Southern Bulgaria, it is the administrative capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province...
). In the late 13th century, the fortress of Kran emerged as the capital of the Kran Despotate, an appanage
Appanage
An apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...
of the Second Bulgarian Empire under the rule of despot Aldimir
Aldimir
Aldimir or EltimirWhile Aldimir is mentioned in Medieval Greek sources solely as Ἐλτιμηρῆς, Eltimiris, his original name Aldimir has been established thanks to the discovery of his son Ivan Dragushin's epitaph. was a Bulgarian noble of the 13th–14th century...
, younger brother of the Bulgarian Emperor George Terter I
George I of Bulgaria
George Terter I ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1280-1292. The date of his birth is unknown, and he died in 1308/1309.The reign of George Terter I represents a continuation of Bulgaria's precipitous decline during the second half of the 13th century...
(r. 1280–1292). Aldimir may have already been in charge of the fortress in the 1280s and early 1290s, and he was certainly the lord of Kran from 1298 to 1305, under the regent queen Smiltsena
Smiltsena Palaiologina
Smiltsena was а Byzantine princess, niece of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, and empress-consort of Tsar Smilets of Bulgaria.-Family:...
and his own nephew Theodore Svetoslav
Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria
Theodore Svetoslav ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from 1300 to 1322. The date of his birth is unknown. He was a wise and capable ruler who brought stability and relative prosperity to the Bulgarian Empire after two decades of constant Mongol intervention in the internal issues of the Empire...
(r. 1300–1322). In that year, the despotate was annexed by Theodore Svetoslav and direct rule from Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred to as the "City of the Tsars", Veliko Tarnovo is located on the Yantra River and is famous as the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists...
was restored. At the height of Aldimir's reign as despot of Kran, the fortress was the capital of a domain which extended from Yambol
Yambol
Yambol is a city in southeastern Bulgaria, an administrative centre of Yambol Province. It lies on both banks of the Tundzha river in the historical region of Thrace. As of February 2011, the town has a population of 72,843 inhabitants. It is occasionally spelt 'Jambol'.The administrative centres...
and Karnobat
Karnobat
Karnobat is a town in the Burgas Province, Southeastern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Karnobat Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 18,480 inhabitants.-Geography:...
in the east to Kazanlak or Karlovo
Karlovo
Karlovo is a picturesque and a historically important town in central Bulgaria located in a fertile valley along the river Stryama at the southern foot of the Balkan Mountains...
in the west.
The despotate appears to have been restored at some point thereafter, however, as the father of Bulgarian Emperor Ivan Alexander
Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria
Ivan Alexander , also known as John Alexander, ruled as Emperor of Bulgaria from 1331 to 1371, during the Second Bulgarian Empire. The date of his birth is unknown. He died on February 17, 1371. The long reign of Ivan Alexander is considered a transitional period in Bulgarian medieval history...
(r. 1331–1371), Sratsimir, is mentioned as the despot of Kran before and during the rule of his son.
The ruins of the medieval castle are located on the rocks north of the town. The fortress is a descendant of an earlier Byzantine settlement and a fortification from the 7th–8th century. The castle's natural position atop a cliff facilitated its defence, though it was also supported by thick walls and several defensive towers.
The modern settlement was perhaps founded in the 1370s or 1380s, after the castle was captured and destroyed by the Ottomans
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. In Ottoman times, it was known as Hasat (Хасът, "The Has", a kind of Ottoman estate). The name was changed back to the medieval Bulgarian appellation in 1906.