Koprivlen - life in a Bulgarian village at the foot of Pirin Mountain

The proximity to the town of Gotse Delchev and the border crossing with Greece keeps some of the young people there

published on 11/22/23 5:30 AM

Photo: Archive

After the Balkan War and the Inter-Allied War, many refugees from Aegean Macedonia left their native places and headed for free Bulgaria. A large part settled in the region of Gotse Delchev, as one of the villages with such settlers is Koprivlen, nestled at the foot of the eastern slopes of Pirin Mountain, at an altitude of 500 m above sea level. In the second decade of the last century, people from about 20 settlements located on the territory of today's Greece lived in it. They chose it because the surrounding land is fertile, and it is located on the main road connecting Gotse Delchev (7 kilometers from the village) with the Greek town of Drama. ‎

One of the first tasks of the people here was to build a school and a church. For this purpose, in 1921, they used the building of a former Turkish café - one of its rooms was turned into a school, and the other into a prayer house. It continued to work until 1996, when the Saint George Monastery opened its doors, located two kilometers from the village. ‎

The Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos

‎"The tradition has continued since then and worshipers still come to the temple ‎because they need spiritual support. Times change, however, ‎the faith remains the same," Priest Atanas Zlatev explained some time ago in a documentary about the village aired on the Bulgarian National Television. ‎

Today, more than 1,200 people live in Koprivlen, and although it is among the most populous villages in the area, it also suffers from the main problem of similar settlements in Bulgaria - the small number of people of working age. The birth rate is too low - this year only one child was born in the village:

"Due to the lack of jobs, young people up to the age of 30 moved away and live in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, and many of our children went to work abroad as well", the secretary of the Vazrazhdane 1927 community center in the village Maria Choleva shared in an interview with BNR but she does not hide the good news either - the fact that 2-3 families with their children returned to the village last year. If until recently there were 20-30 houses for sale in Koprivlen, there are no such houses any more because of the proximity to the town of Gotse Delchev."‎

Apart from the town, work can also be found in the neighboring village of Novo Leski, where a paper packaging enterprise has opened its doors. Maria hopes that this will motivate more young people to see a perspective in the region and to stay in the village of Koprivlen.

"In Bulgaria, the pay is the best in the big cities and in Sofia, but from the life I've lived so far, I still think that the money there is not particularly much, because if you have to pay BGN 1,000 for rent, it's better to live in your parents' house in the smaller town or village. Not to mention that also it's very difficult to find a kindergarten and school there."‎

Maria Choleva - secretary of the community center (in the middle)

The Bulgaria-Greece border crossing "Ilinden-Exohi" is only 12 kilometers from Koprivlen. Since it was officially opened in 2005, the region got revived, people often cross the border - for work, to shopping or for vacation on the Aegean, and drawing a comparison between the settlements in the two neighboring countries is inevitable. "The Greek villages also lack jobs and many of the young people in them are also looking for work in Drama, Thessaloniki, Kavala," Maria shares her observations. According to her, the centralization of most services and job opportunities in big cities is an incorrect state policy that is dooming the villages.‎

‎"Our villages are sad because there are many deserted houses. The people are old and they pass away and their heirs are not here. The properties are overgrown with weeds and there is no one to maintain them, and this is the reason for their inhospitable appearance. Even if I want to do something, I can't do it myself. In addition to the young, we also have people who are in pre-retirement age, who also don't want to come back so they can accumulate years and get a better pension." ‎

The secretary of the community center draws attention to one more feature in the village:

"In Koprivlen, there are many people aged 45-50 who have not started families. The reasons are probably different for everyone, but if these people have families with two children each, it will be different. Alas, not everyone can find their companion in life."‎

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Koprivlen, a special corner has been created in the local community center where old photos, objects and clothes tell about the life and customs of the people of Koprivlen.‎

Photos: Valeri Lekov, Vazrazhdane 1927 Community Center, archive

Compiled by Joan Kolev (based on an interview of Valeri Vekov on BNR's Hristo Botev channel)

English publication by Rositsa Petkova

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