Kalofer..., founded by Kalifer the Voivode, whose grave still stands near the village.
From "Brief Geography"
Ivan Andreev (Bogorov)
Bucharest, 1851
Kalifer Voivoda is a haidushki voivode, for whom legends claim that he gave his name and together with his chetniks founded the town of Kalofer. According to legend, the inhabitants of the village put up stubborn resistance during the invasion of the Ottoman Turks, which is why it was wiped out with particular cruelty.
The "Tsarigradski Vestnik" of September 13, 1852 reported about Kalofer:
… according to legend, they say that a certain Kalifer voivode settled it and gave the village his name.
When Bulgaria fell under the Turkish yoke – notes Kanitz, – a certain voivode Kalimfer fled to the densely forested Tundzha Pass and settled with his people. Here they found a large ring. They took this as a good sign and called the settlement Kalosferai. Because they fled from the battlefield without their wives, they attacked the nearby town of Sopot and kidnapped their Sabine women from there. The Turks respected the population as heroes, and the sultan gave great justice to the rapidly flourishing town.
In the collection of the Kalofer Friendship, book one from 1908, Dimo h. Gendov mentions that Kalofer was founded during the time of Sultan Suleiman I (1520 - 1566) by the voivode Kalifer.
The legend, passed down over the years, tells that Kalofer was founded in 1533, during the time of Sultan Suleiman I. At that time, a group of men, led by the voivode Kalifer, ruled this part of the Balkan Mountains and constantly attacked passing Turkish caravans.
A band of brave and freedom-loving men roamed the virgin forests around and constantly attacked Turkish caravans that passed through the pass. Legend connects the emergence of Kalofer with this band and its leader Kalifer.
Folklore tells how for more than ten years the voivode Kalifer was the only hope for the Bulgarian population. He punished the greedy robbers, distributed the stolen property to the poor, repelled every attack, dispersed and killed the pogroms.
Turkey, mired in wars, weakened, needed peace in the interior. And at the will of the sultan, it pacified the paradise: in one place with a scimitar, in another it settled its own people, in a third it gave power to some, which in many places the Orthodox themselves did not have.
Kalifer remained - a forest king, who ruled the present-day Kalofer land, then covered with a centuries-old impenetrable forest, among which there were also struzhni. It stretched from the Stara Planina along the Tundzha River to the Koprinka River, Kazanlak, and from the small Balkan Padaloto to Sredna Gora and Nuvali. Kalifer Voivode had guards at the Old Guard and at the villages of Mitirizovo, Kurtovo, Gorni and Dolni Omarbas… From this forest, as it is today, a path passed through the Stara Planina. There was a tower near the Samodivsko well, where a guard also kept watch. Here in 1912, Grandpa Mlatchko (grandfather of Ivan Dimitrov Yabaneto – Stranski) found a plaque on which it was noted that this tower was built in one night and the bricks were brought, passing them from hand to hand by the outlaws who were lined up all over Zanoga.
The inability to deal with the Kalifer voivode and his men forced the sultan to allow the bandits to settle in these lands on the condition that they stop attacking the caravans.
Sultan Murad III sent a judge to come to an agreement with this brave voivode - according to another version, the vizier himself accidentally found himself in these terrible forests and, in order to get rid of him, accepted all of Kalifer's demands. By order of the Kalifer voivode, the judge first unshod his horses and humbly appeared before this little mountain king. The judge accepted all of Kalifer's demands.
According to legend, the demands of the voivode Kalifer were as follows:
The family was given the right to settle in the region in which it had wandered. The boundaries of the land were determined by the voivode himself, who rode around them on horseback in one day, and today Kalofer is one of the settlements in Bulgaria with the largest land area;
Not to pay any taxes;
Turks were not to settle there and Turkish women were not to spend the night or give birth;
When Turks passed through the city, they were to unshoe their horses and hand over their weapons at one end, and at the other they were to take them and shoe the horses.
For his part, the voivode Kalifer obliged:
To give money for the oil for the lamp of the "Sylmanieh" mosque in Constantinople;
To send 10 of his men every year to graze the Sultan's horses in Constantinople - and with a salary.
Based on the stories of grandfather Hadji Dimitar Panichkov
From "Kalofer in the past"
Acad. Nikola Nachov
After that, the voivode Kalifer and his companions built huts from oak and beech trees, cut down on the spot. Then the voivode led his company to Sopot. The standard-bearer Radan himself was from Sopot.
This happened on Mount Velikden.
Buyana, Radan's sister, was picking herbs in the forest, and left her grandmother's ring in the naming box. She saw a man, big, strong, with frowning eyebrows, bowed head, and his eyes - black as coals.
Stop!, he said - What are you looking for in this wilderness?, and she backed away and threatened to look for voivode Kalifer himself. With his laughter, the voivode charmed the girl, then led her out on the road to return to the other girls. He put a gold ring in her hand, and she wondered - was it a pledge or a target.
A little later, Buyana's ring, dropped into the jar, showed that she would marry a robber.
The privileges of a Dervent village (its residents guard the Derventa - the pass), which the city received from its very beginning, help to preserve its purely Bulgarian character.
Kalifer Voivode lived for another 50 years. His grave was, according to the testimonies of old Kalofer residents, at the Mlatchkova (Yabanova) fountain, near the center of the city, where there is a modest monument with the inscription:
Kalofer Voivode, founder of the city, 16th century.
And on the inaccessible Strazha, for several years now, a magnificent monument to the famous forest lord has been erected, which I am pleased to introduce to you.
And a folk song, passed down from generation to generation, tells the story of the founding of the city:
It is no coincidence that the history of the town during the long foreign rule is full of names of famous bandits, outlaws and rebels, starting with Kalifer Voivode and going through Grandpa Mlatchko, Chono Chorbadzhi, Dobri Voivode, Galab Voivode and others.
How to get to the town of Kalofer?
Kalofer is a town in Karlovo Municipality, Plovdiv District.
It is located in South Central Bulgaria near the Sub-Balkan Road*.
*The Republican Road I-6, also known as the Sub-Balkan Road, is a first-class road of the Republican Road Network of Bulgaria with a west-east direction, passing through the territory of nine districts: Kyustendil, Pernik, Sofia Region, Sofia, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora, Sliven, Yambol and Burgas.
Its total length is 508.5 km, making it the longest republican road in Bulgaria.
Kalofer is located at the foot of the southern slopes of the Stara Planina Mountain.
Kalofer is located:
156 kilometers (about 2 hours and 16 minutes by car) from the capital
66 kilometers (about 1 hour by car) from the city of Plovdiv
330 kilometers (about 4 hours and 17 minutes by car) from the city of Varna
230 kilometers (about 2 hours and 30 minutes by car) from the city of Burgas
17 kilometers (about 17 minutes by car) from the city of Karlovo
How do you get to the monument to Kalifer Voivode?
The monument to Kalifer Voivode is located at the entrance to the city.
What to visit in Kalofer?
Near the monument to Kalifer Voivode is the starting point for the "Byala Reka" eco-trail.
In the center of the city there is a Bulgarian Renaissance temple "Holy Assumption of the Virgin Mary", which I recommend you to visit.
The temple is located to the right of the Hristo Botev Memorial Complex, at the foot of a hill on which the majestic monument rises. Take the stairs to the monument and enjoy the exceptional panorama opening from the place.
Located on the left bank of the Tundzha River, on the spacious and sunny central city square, at the base of the Hristo Botev Memorial Complex and next to the "200 Rifles" composition, rises the graceful white stature of the Daskal Botev School, today transformed into the Museum of Educational Work in Kalofer.
Opposite the museum is the Kalofer Lace Creative Center, which I advise you to check out.
Let your sunny walk in this unique Bulgarian city take you to the Hristo Botev National Museum.
The Church of St. Athanasius the Great is located near the center of Kalofer. It is the only church in Kalofer, located on the right bank (south) of the Tundzha River.
And finally, my dear friends,
you shouldn't miss checking out
the special photo album with moments –
discovered, experienced, filmed and shared with you!
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