Karl Novelich (1852 - 1897), also known as Karlo or Dragutin Novelich, was a Bulgarian voivode during the Kresna–Razlog uprising, mayor of Plovdiv and participant in the murder of Anna Simon, one of the most infamous affairs during the late 1890s Bulgaria.
Biography Novelich's early life is enigmatic - he claimed that he born in 1852 in Vicenza, was of Croatian extraction, and that he fought alongside Giuseppe Garibaldi. According to others, he might've originated from Piedmont or Friuli.
When the Kresna–Razlog uprising blew up, under the name of Dragutin Novelich, he led a detachment which, along with those of Georgi Karaiskaki, Pavle Yankov, Grigor Ognenov, Stefo Nikolov, Georgi Pulevski, Kosta Nikolov, Nikolitsa Makedonski, Georgi Oko and Konstantin Plevakov, invaded Macedonia.Dojno Dojnov. The Kresnen-Razlog Uprising, 1878-1879, Sofia, 1979, p. 89. Dragutin Novelich's Detachment No.10, Padesh, March 20, 1879NumberNameAgeDistrictSettlement1.Petar Radovich22Pavlica2.Yordan Dimitriev21Kriva Palanka3.Petar Stoyanov28Gabrovo4.Anto Mitov21Kriva PalankaDuracka Reka5.Stefan Atanasov25Prizren6.Petar Stefanov25Kičevo7.Yanko Tanasov22Debar8.Risto Petrov24Vranje9.Stefan Trifunov24Debar10.Arso Boychinov22Kočani11.Atanas Yachov20Kriva PalankaKonopnica12.Stoyan Stankov20KyustendilLazarevo13.Mihajl Traikov23Thessaloniki14.Stefan Georev25Skopje15.Yovan Stanoev27Kriva PalankaDuracka Reka16.Georghe Penkov25KosturPatriach Kiril Bulgarski. Resistance against the Berlin Agreement. Kresnen Uprising, BAN, Sofia, 1955, p. 299.17.Andon Markov25Prizren18.Kuzman Yanakiev21Kostur19.Hristo Tolev25Thessaloniki20.Ilja Popov39KratovoPatriach Kiril Bulgarski. Resistance against the Berlin Agreement. Kresnen Uprising, BAN, Sofia, 1955, p. 300. After the uprising, Novelich settled in Plovdiv and eventually became its mayor. In 1897, he helped the palatial adjutant Dechko Boychev in the murder of his lover, the Hungarian prostitute Anna Simon. For this crime, he was sentenced to death and executed.Georgi Raichevski. The Plovdiv Encyclopedia, Third rewritten and complete edition, 2004, p. 17.
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