Leskovdol
Leskovdol (Bulgarian: Лесковдол) is a mountainous village in Bulgaria situated in Western Stara planina. It is located 45 kilometers north from Sofia and is part of the Svoge municipality. It is believed that the village was founded after the building of the nearby Seven Altars Monastery. According to the 2011 census 114 people live here, fewer than 10 of which are children below the age of 18.[1] Leskovdol is divided into a number of hamlets, each one consisting of 10 to 20 houses and barns. Near the village are located Trastena hut (Bulgarian:Хижа Тръстена), Izdremets peak, the Kom–Emine long-distance footpath and the Lakatnik rocks.
Etymology
One of the theories is that the name of the village comes from the stones which could be found here - Leska (Bulgarian: Леска). This local stone was used as foundation material for the local adobe made houses. The other theory is that Leskov comes from the Bulgarian word leska (Bulgarian: леска) which means hazel tree. The Bulgarian word dol is translated in English as small valley. There are two ways of writing the village name - Leskov dol or Leskovdol, although nowadays many people have adopted the merged version. Also on most of the maps and in official documents the name is written Leskovdol.[2]
History
It is believed that the village was founded between the years 1000 and 1300. The legend about the founding of the nearby monastery states that 7 brothers from Bessarabia settled in the mountains around the monastery and brought their families with them. One of the brothers settled in the lands of Leskovdol with his family and thus founded the village. This is just a legend [3] but so far no evidence about the village's history have been found.
Vetrilova vodenitsa fortress
Historians confirm [4] that around the time of khan Krum on the northern hills above the village was located a fortress called Vetrilova vodenitsa. It is not known when exactly was the fortress built but it is known that it was repaired during the time of khan Krum for his march to conquer Serdica. Today on the meadows above Leskovdol, near Izdremets peak, numerous scattered stones and rocks can be found. Near the village passed the ancient Roman road from Vratsa to Serdica.
Wars between 1912 - 1918
20 people from Leskovdol perished in the wars that took place between 1912 and 1918. Their names are inscripted into a memorial plaque on one of the walls of the village church.
Nature and landscape
The landscape is steep, typical for the Western Stara planina region. Leskovdol is situated from 700 to 1300 meters above sea level. Forests cover a large percentage of the territory. Wide meadows can be found mainly in the higher parts. No big rivers flow through the village although there are many small streams. All of them merge with the biggest stream - Redinska river which flows into the Iskar.
Area
The village with all of its hamlets lies on a territory of over 26,2 square kilometers.
Flora & fauna
The flora is typical for this part of the region. Oaks, elms, birches and many fruit tree species dominate from the broad-leaved trees. Mainly pines and firs represent the conifers. The fauna in the region is represented by species of birds, bugs, mammals and reptiles typical for Stara planina. There can also be seen, but rarely, wolves, wild rabbits, foxes and hedgehogs. Domestic animals such as sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, cattle, cows and donkeys can be seen in the populated hamlets. A small part of Leskovdol's territory is under the protection of Natura 2000.[5]
Division
The village is divided into a number of hamlets. Some of the hamlets' names are: Klyuch, Selishteto, Kokeleni babki, Startsa, Razmeritsa, Draganov tok, Svinareva, Livada, Ravnishteto, Popov kladenets, Ladomeritsa, Pali graditsa, Padinata, Mogilata. Leskovdol starts after Lozeto (Bulgarian: Лозето) bus stop on the route Svoge - Leskovdol. [6] Houses before the bus stop are part of the nearby Redina village.
Education
There is a single school - "Hristo Botev" but it shut down years ago. The local children go to the nearby town of Svoge to continue their education. The first village school was built on the banks of Redinska river but was destroyed in the 1940s. Soon after the existing school was founded in Selishteto hamlet.
Culture
Nowadays the village has no functioning schools or chitalishta. Years ago Leskovdol had a folklore ensemble which performed national dances & songs from Bulgaria and from the Svoge region. The traditions here are close to the ones typical for the Svoge and Sofia regions.
Demographics
At the beginning of the 20th century the population was at least 800 people and continued to enlarge. The migration towards the cities and the lowering fertility rate are the biggest problems that kept Leskovdol from growing. The unemployment is high due to the location of the village in a mountainous region. In summer a lot of people, mainly from Sofia, come to their villas for the typical summer break.
2011 census
According to the census held on the 01.02.2011 114 people declared to live in the village.[7] Only 36 from them are officially retired.
Houses
Most of the old houses in the village were built using adobe, rocks and wood. In the late 1960s people, mainly from Sofia, bought parcels in the village's hamlets and started building a second type of houses - villas and bungalows - which they used as a residence for their summer vacations. The villas are built with modern building material and thus creating a mixed look of the village with both typical and new houses forming the background. According to the 2001 census there were 128 local houses, 26 of which abandoned, and 619 other buildings, including villas & barns.
Economy
Local people either work in Svoge or Sofia or take care of their own small gardens and animal farms. Woodcutters are also often seen in the higher parts of the mountain. There is a small bar and a shop next to the village hall. They are open every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Religion
The entire population consists of Christians. There are three cemeteries - one nearby the village hall, one in Dabeto hamlet and one in the Selishteto hamlet. The church is also there. It was built during the period between the two world wars. There are no priests since the 1970s. There is also an outdoor semantron.
Transport
The road to Leskovdol diverts from the main road Sofia - Mezdra just before entering Svoge. This is the only asphalt road and is mostly in a good condition but only reaches the center of the village. Apart from that all others roads are dirt roads. There are two charter buses to the village from Svoge every day - one in the morning and another in the afternoon. On Thursday there is an additional bus around noon.[8]
Infrastructure
Almost all of the houses have electricity and water supply although in the summer due to mass usage some of the houses receive lower voltage and not enough water. There are no telephone lines except a telephone post in the village hall. The postal code is 2268 and the post is delivered only to the village hall. The three Bulgarian mobile operators have complete coverage in Leskovdol. The village hall shut down in the summer of 1999 due to the continuing diminution of the population.[9]
Gallery
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An old barn build from wood,leskas & adobe
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Abandoned adobe house
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The memorial plaque to the local victims of the wars
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View over the village from Livada hamlet
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Padinata hamlet
External links
Coordinates: 42°59′N 23°26′E / 42.983°N 23.433°E
References
- Notes
- ↑ http://www.grao.bg/tna/naselenie_21-06-2011.html Leskovdol population data as of 21.06.2011
- ↑ http://www.nsi.bg/nrnm/show2.php?sid=57572&ezik=bul&e=8093
- ↑ http://www.pravoslavieto.com/manastiri/sedemte_prestola/index.htm History of the Seven Altars monastery & of the villages around it
- ↑ http://www.kroraina.com/knigi/giliev/bov/bov_1_2.htm Historical data of the region around Svoge (in Bulgarian)
- ↑ http://www3.moew.government.bg/files/file/Nature/Natura%202000/Registers/SCI_all.pdf Map of the protected territories in Bulgaria under Natura 2000
- ↑ http://wikimapia.org/#lat=42.964229&lon=23.4030649&z=19&l=11&m=b Lozeto bus stop marking the border between Redina & Leskovdol
- ↑ http://www.nsi.bg/otrasal.php?otr=19 Official data from the census
- ↑ http://svoge.eu/viewpage.php?page_id=9 (in Bulgarian)
- ↑ http://www.nsi.bg/nrnm/show2.php?sid=20002473&ezik=bul&e=20011938 (in Bulgarian)