Like many cities of our old peninsula, Pleven has a millennial history. The first settlers who used the large cave in Kailaka to remain were traces of a primitive culture - stone tools and earthenware. There was plenty of water around the cave, and the surrounding forests were rich in game. During the summer days, these first settlers of the city lived on the high meadow opposite the cave. On this meadow, enclosed on three sides by steep and easily accessible cliffs, the Thracians later established their Storgozia fortress. As the Roman legions head for the ancient land of Moesia, Storgozia becomes a Roman fortified roadside station on the important Roman road from Ulpia Escu (the ancient city near the present-day village of Gigen on the Danube) to Trimontium (Plovdiv). This important road passed through Pleven, Lovech, Troyan and through the Troyan Pass descended to Thrace. The veterans from the garrison of the fortress and the inhabitants of the surrounding villages are likely to settle near the fortress. Thus, Storgozia becomes an important and flourishing city. During the 4th and 5th centuries, when barbarian tribes invaded the Roman Empire, the walls of Storgozia repeatedly encountered waves of invasions. In the 5th century, the Huns seized the fortress and destroyed it. It was rebuilt by Emperor Justinian, who rebuilds the fortresses in Moesia to stop the Slavic invasion of the Balkan Peninsula. Recent excavations indicate that in the 8th century Storgozia was already a Slavic fortress and probably then got the Slavic name Pleven. It was first mentioned in a written document dated 1266. During the Second Bulgarian State Pleven was also a significant economic center. Found coins from Michael Shishman and Ivan Alexander and the settlement of a large group of Jews in Pleven speak of a lively economic life in the city.
It is not known exactly when the Turks conquered Pleven. They demolish the fortress to the foundations and build a new town two kilometers north of the old fortress. Turkish rulers of the city are building their ruler's castle around a large karst spring called the "Sarai Spring". From it is now preserved the east wall. Turkish population settled near the castle. The Bulgarians later settled some distance from the Turkish city. The Bulgarian part of Pleven was where the Drama Theater and the Agricultural Bank are now located. The Bulgarians called their neighborhood "Varosha". By the end of the seventeenth century, when internal Turkish colonization stopped, the influx of Bulgarians from the surrounding villages into the city increased. The new inhabitants are engaged in crafts and trade and are gradually displacing the Turks in this kind of business. By the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th centuries, there were already ten craft associations (Plevna) in Pleven, mostly of Bulgarians. A trade fair was built between Varosha and the Turkish part of the city. Thus the Bulgarians gradually occupy the central part of the city. According to Sofronii Vrachanski, in the beginning of the 19th century Pleven stretched from the fountain "Balakliya" to the church "St. Paraskeva", which is outside the protective trench of the city. After the end of the fighting with the rebellious Vidin Pasha, Osman Pazvantoglu, whose arena was fought by Pleven, and after the Russo-Turkish War of 1806 - 1812, a relative peace began in the Turkish Empire. This contributes to the economic development of the city. Pleven citizens establish trade relations with Romania and Austria-Hungary. The first trade associations for livestock and cereals were established. On the eve of the Liberation in Pleven there are several joint stock companies, the first bank was founded, the first industrial enterprises were established. The number of Bulgarians living in Pleven already exceeds that of Turks. The demographic appearance of the city is changing. In place of the old wooden houses, described by Sofronii Vrachanski, there are bricks, some of which are on two floors. During the reign of Midhat Pasha, the city is connected by road with Rousse, Sofia and Lovech. A hospital has also been opened.
©2020 Plamen Kolev. All rights reserved.
