Radilovo village
- Stefan Ivanov
- Mar 23, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 20
Radilovo is a village in southern Bulgaria. It is located in Peshtera municipality, Pazardzhik district.
The name of the village is pronounced with an accent on the first syllable.
Radilovo is located at the 14th kilometer on the road between Pazardjik and Peshtera. It rises on a ridge of the majestic Rhodopes.
The Jurkovitsa River, called by some Pishmanka, divides the village into two parts - the Old Village in the north and the New Village in the south.
The altitude of the village is 405.6 meters at the school.
The land of the village borders with the villages of Kapitan Dimitrievo to the north, Byaga to the east, Peshtera to the southwest and Debrashtitsa to the west.
There are about 200 localities in the land of the village of Radilovo - Perperyak, Klapatanitsa, Arabska skala, Vijovitsa, Durodanitsa (or Durdanitsa), Kumanitsa, Ursolovo, Kandrata, Potom, Shlyamnika, Vabela, Yurta, Kapil, Upata, Sora Niva, Chilinski Vrah, Sakaritsa and others.
The names are related to some traditional understanding of the population about the places surrounding them, such as Sora Niva and Kapil were most likely places for village-wide rituals such as the beginning of the harvest, orotniki and others. In such places there were shrines where the Bulgarians made sacrifices on their holidays. The name Ursolovo is derived from the Latin word ursul (bear), which is probably where the name came from the Vlachs who lived in the region.
The village previously had a different name.
Even before Turkish it was called Voynovo. It is possible that this name comes from the soldiers who once guarded the old Roman road at the pass in the direction of the White Sea. It is believed to have been in the early years of Ottoman rule. It is also assumed that the current name of the village derives from the name of grandfather Radi, who in his attempt to escape from the Turks fled to this area and called it Zemya Rai. Later, the name of the village - Radilovo (with stress on the first syllable) was named after him.
The population of the village during the April Uprising was 1,000 people according to Yereliev and Petleshkov's "Anniversary Book" - 1926.
After liberation in 1887 it was 1435 people, in 1890 it increased to 1514, in 1920 - 1914 people, in 1926 - 2212 people, in 1940 - 2536 people, in 1950 - 2802 people, in 1955 - 2716 people . Until then, despite wars, emigrations, etc., the population grew. From then on it starts to decrease.
The proximity of the village to Batak, Bratsigovo, on the road to Panagyurishte and Koprivshtitsa, naturally connects it with the April Uprising. All organizational and revolutionary activities took place with the active participation of the people of Radilovo, which is mentioned in the books of Zahari Stoyanov, Georgi Bozhinov and others.
Aleko Konstantinov lost his life in the area of the village.
On the evening of May 11, 1897, on the way back from Peshtera to Pazardzhik, he and MP Mihail Takev stopped for a short rest in the village of Radilovo. Minutes after leaving the village, they are fatally ambushed and the conspirators kill Aleko instead of Mikhail.
The instigator of the attack turns out to be the mayor of the village of Radilovo, Petar Minkov.
Religion in Radilovo has always been Christian.
The church "Saint Theodore Tiron" in the village has been restored, new premises have been built next to it for librarian activities.
The choir of lay people from the village is also active.
In Radilovo, I recommend you to visit the village museum, which is located opposite the church "St. Theodore Tiron", and which preserves its rich history.
The people of Radilov carefully guard the memory of Lady Emily Strangford - a symbol of humanity, charity, kindness, generosity and love for the Bulgarians. A rich exposition dedicated to the life and work of Lady Emily Strangford is arranged in the museum of Radilovo.
How do you get to the village of Radilovo?
Radilovo is a village in southern Bulgaria. It is located in Peshtera municipality, Pazardzhik district.
Radilovo stands at:
133 kilometers (about 1 hour and 42 minutes by car) from the capital 45 kilometers (about 55 minutes by car) from the city of Plovdiv 410 kilometers (about 4 hours and 40 minutes by car) from the city of Varna 302 kilometers (about 2 hours and 50 minutes by car) from the city of Burgas
How do you get to the museum in the village of Radilovo?
Opposite the building of the museum in the village of Radilovo is the church "St. Theodore Tiron".
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