Petrevene (, or ) is a village in north-central Bulgaria. It is situated on the left bank of Panega river (, also: Zlatna Panega, , 'Golden Panega', old: , ). It is in the Municipality of Lukovit, part of the District of Lovech, and is away from the municipality center of Lukovit. The main road E-83 and the railroad Cherven Bryag—Zlatna Panega pass through it.
Historical records of the settlement date back to the early 15th century, during the Ottoman Empire, although evidence from the surrounding areas indicates the area was likely settled much earlier. Historically, it has been an important part of the marble trade, and is notable for its long history of shifting Pomak Muslim and Christian village populations and tensions.
It known for its local festival, Watermelon Day – a longstanding and popular local tradition dating back to 1936. The local economy is based around small farming, particularly cattle, and services to traffic from the local high road.
Etymology
The etymology of Petrevene's name likely stems from the ancient Greek word for stone, (), as the Nabataean city of Petra, now in Jordan. Indeed, there are numerous sandstone quarries nearby, used since ancient times. High quality stones (though not real marble) from them have been extracted and exported even to Romania. Petrevene's medieval name, Mramor or Mramornitza, i.e. 'marble', seems to support this hypothesis. In fact, under the name of 'Miramor, Mromor', i.e. 'Mramor', soon after the Ottoman invasion Petrevene was listed in Tahrir Defter, the first Ottoman tax registry of 1430. Probably, even before that, during the Second Bulgarian State, its name was still Mramor or Mramornitza. It is quite possible also that Petrevene is named after some individual called Petǎr (indeed, in its vicinity there are ruins known as , i.e. 'Peter's construction')—a village elder, or an Eastern Orthodox monk (of the nearby Middle Age monastery of St. Peter and St. Paul, the ruins of which can be found near the bridge of the Belenska River south of the village). The alternative name under which Petrevene is listed in Tahrir Defter, "Petreve sele", i.e. "Petrevo selo", seems to support this hypothesis. It is quite possible that the name came from both of the above hypotheses.
Geography
On the edge of the Danubian Plain and Stara Planina, Petrevene lies almost entirely on the left bank of Panega river. The village is bordered by the hill Belopole to its west and by Panega river to its east. It is built primarily on terraces which face towards the river and are built into the hillside.
Climate and drainage
The climate is well-defined temperate continental, precipitation being an average of to a year. This is lower than the standard precipitation for the Danubian plain as its proximity to Stara Planina means that the annual rainfall is lower. However, since Petrevene lies on Panega river, it is well irrigated and is home to a large amount of natural springs. A lot of these natural springs were then developed and made into public drinking water taps. Among these there are the Rashkovo Kladenche, Blyalata Cheshma and Ibovetz. There is also a tributary which feeds into Panega river, locally known as Dulǎt (). Most of the households which lie on either side of the Dulǎt use it as an open sewer for human and household waste. Although the village does have a minor sewage disposal system it does not extend to the entire village.
Nature
Petrevene is located away from Geopark Iskǎr-Panega, (a UNESCO-run nature reserve which is managed by Lukovit County). Much of the flora and fauna present there can also be found in Petrevene. As the agricultural industry in Petrevene diminished, many of the surrounding fields were left unfarmed and were consequently overrun by wilderness and weeds. This meant that many of the original animals and plants that were driven out in order to make the land fully arable could now begin to restore their presence. On the other hand, many plants common to the sphere of agriculture have been naturalized and have become commonplace due to the extensive farming. For example, wheat can be commonly found around the area.
Fauna
The surrounding countryside is home to many types of wildlife; however, most of the animals present in the region can also be observed in other areas of Bulgaria. The variety of mammals in the region, for example, is quite rich. Species that are widely spread throughout Bulgaria are predominant here: these include hedgehogs (Erinaceus concolor), moles (Talpa europaea), blind mole-rats (Nannospalax leucodon), Eurasian red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris), striped field mice (Apodemus agrarius), common voles (Microtus arvalis), wild rabbits (Lepus capensis), hamsters (Spermophilus citellus), wildcats (Felis sylvestris), foxes (Vulpes vulpes), beech martens (Martes foina), badgers (Meles meles), weasels (Mustela nivalis), otters (Lutra lutra), polecats (Mustela putorius), jackals (Canis aureus), wild boar (Sus scrofa) and roe deer (Capreolus capreolus).
The bird life of the region is quite rich. Most of these bird species are widely spread in the country. Some of these typically inhabit the fields – partridge (Perdix perdix), quail (Coturnix coturnix), field-lark (Alauda arvensis), yellow wagtail (Motacilla flava), grey rook (Corvus corone), blue crow (Coracias garrulus), bee-eater (Merops apiaster), others inhabitants of the forests – nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos), wood-lark (Lullula arborea), garden warbler (Sylvia atricapilla), long-eared owl (Asio otus), tawny owl (Strix aluco). There are also several birds which inhabit the area that are listed in the Bulgaria section of the IUCN Red List. These include, but are not limited to, black stork (Ciconia nigra), pygmy cormorant (Microcarbo pygmeus), peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus), Levant sparrowhawk (Accipiter brevipes) and the lesser spotted eagle (Aquila pomarina). The area is home to many reptiles, among which features the great crested newt (Triturus cristatus). A common occurrence is for these animals to come into contact with the local people, either directly or indirectly. For example, badgers, weasels, and beech martens are regularly blamed for attacking local livestock, (mostly chickens and small fowl). Indeed, this is a major problem in some instances as jackals, for example, may wander into the village and attack sheep, livestock, and sometimes even guard dogs. For this reason most livestock owners tend to lock up their animals at night.
Flora
According to the botanical–geographic partition of Bulgaria, Petrevene falls in the Euro-Asian steppe and forest steppe areas, specifically the Illyrian province, part of the Pre-Balkan Range, Troyan-Tǎrnovo area. As with much of the fauna, many of the plants present can be found in the Geopark Iskǎr-Panega. The area is home to a rich variety of flora, as many plant species are distributed on the limestone terrain of Petrevene's region within Bulgaria. Among them there are some rare and endemic plants, which are decreasing throughout Bulgaria. These include endemic species like urum, (Seseli degenii), a plant endemic to the area, (found primarily within the central section of the Pre-Balkan area), which is listed in the Bulgaria section of the IUCN Red List as well as the European register for rare, threatened and endemic plant species.
Government
As part of the village's public services and institutions, there exist a post office, an Orthodox Christian church and a public library, which covers a total of , contains 4786 volumes and hosts the Ivan Stefanov-1918 Cultural Community Center. There are a total of 40 registered members of the library.
History
In antiquity
The earliest evidence of settlements in the area is an Iron-Age grave, discovered in the Cherkovishteto region. Several Thracian burial mounds surround the village, left by the Thracian tribe of Tribals.
During the Middle Ages
It is likely Petrevene has existed since the First and the Second Bulgarian State. Its medieval name was Mramornitza or Mramor and it has been the center of the surrounding district of Mramornitza. The ruins of the St. Peter and St. Paul monastery in the Ragachevoto region are from the Middle Ages. In the 13th century, when Bulgaria was under the direct rule of the Byzantine Empire, Bulgarian-Paulicians moved into the region from Thrace. They adhered to non-canonical heretical Christian beliefs. Together with the Bogomils and other heretics, they were antagonistic to the official Eastern Orthodox Church, with which they were fierce adversaries and rivals. During the early Ottoman period, and probably even before that, during the Second Bulgarian State, the village of Rumyancevo used to be called Golam Pavlikan. A hamlet of the village of Zlatna Panega is still called Pavlikeni, and the monastery near Petrevene is devoted to St. Peter and St. Paul. It is believed that Bulgarian-Paulicians have Armenian-Paulician ancestry. The non-canonical religious beliefs were prosecuted as heretical by the dominant Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as by the pre-Ottoman authorities. However, they were tolerated later by the Ottoman authorities.
The center of Mramornitza District (Turkish: ) (14th–16th centuries)
According to the Tahrir Defter tax registry, Petrevene was the center of Mromornicha (Bulgarian: , ) District (Turkish: kazá) of the Nikbolu (Bulgarian: Nikopol) region (Turkish: ) during the early Ottoman Empire. The Mramornitza District included the present day localities: Bărkach, Karlukovo, Krushovitza, Lepitza, Lukovit, Petrevene, Petarnitza, Oreshene, Reseletz, Ruptzi, Sadovetz, Suhache, Todorichene, Cherven Bryag, Chomakovtzi, etc. It bordered the s of Nikopol from the north (including Glava and Koynare), Lovech from the east (including Toros, Dermantzi, and Gradeshnitza), Kievo from the south (in the Glozhene region, including Belentzi and Hubavene), Nedelino and Vratza from the west (including Roman, and Byala Slatina). Until 1585, and even probably during the Second Bulgarian State, Petrevene carried two names – Mramor and Petreven, or their variations, and used to be the center of the District of Mramornitza. Soon after the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans, in 1430, it is included in the Ottoman tax registry, Tahrir Defter, where it is listed as Mramor (Turkish: , ), as a first name, and as Petrevo selo (Turkish: ) as a second. Since for the time being the Ottoman administration have preserved the existing economy structures of the previous governments together with their tax systems from the pre-Ottoman period, it is quite likely that under the name Mramornitza or Mramor, Petrevene was the center of the district, probably called also Mramornitza, even during the Second Bulgarian State.
In 1479 Petrevene is listed under the first name Petrevo selo and by the second, Mromor. At the same year it had 26 married Christian houses (one house consisted of five people) and one Christian widow, while in 1516 it had 14 married Christian houses and 13 Christian widows. During the early Ottoman period, only heretical Christian groups (such as the Paulicians and Bogomils) were listed as Christians (or Kristians), while the Eastern Orthodox Christians, subject to the Greek Patriarch of Constantinople, were listed as Rum mileti.
During the late Ottoman period (16th–19th centuries)