There have been a number of migrations of Bulgarians to regions north of the Danube during the 17th to 18th centuries. Many later returned to Bulgaria or were assimilated into Romania. A few villages in Banat maintained their Bulgarian identity and some having returned to Bulgaria have also maintained their Banat-Bulgarian identity.
Chiprovtsi Bulgarian Catholics
- 13th century - Chiprovtsi has been an ore mining settlement since Thracian times, later populated by Slavs, then in the 13th century was settled by Saxon miners and the town received special privileges. The miners adopted the Bulgarian language, but preserved their Catholic religion.
- 1688 - Following the unsuccessful Chiprovtsi uprising in Bulgaria against the Turks, many Bulgarian Catholics moved across the Danube into southern Romania. They initially settled in Oltenia around Craiova, Râmnicu Vâlcea and other cities with their rights confirmed by Constantin Brâncoveanu.
- 1700 to 1714 - Some moved to south-western Transylvania (Vinţu de Jos & Deva) receiving privileges such as civil rights and tax exemption from the Hapsburg authorities.
- 1718 - The treaty of Passarowitz gave Oltenia and Banat to the Hapsburg empire, and later the Bulgarians were allowed the same privileges as their colonies in Transylvania.
- 1726 to 1730 - A further migration of around 300 families Bulgarian Paulicans from central north Bulgaria settled in Craiova between.
Migration of Bulgarians to Banat
- 1737 - Following the Hapsburgs withdrew from Oltenia the Bulgarians moved westwards into in villages on the Banat Plain within the Habsburg empire (Stár Bišnov in 1738 and Vinga in 1741).
- 1753 to 1777 - A further migration of 100 Bulgarian Paulicans from the regions of Svistov and Nikopol in central north Bulgaria.
- 18th to 19th centuries - Expanded into further villages and towns: Modoš (1779), Kanak and Stari Lec (1820), Belo Blato (1825), Bréšća, Dénta and Banatski Dvor (1842), Telepa (1846), Gjurgevo (1866) and Ivanovo (1867).
- Mid-19th century - a small group of the Banat Bulgarians moved south of the Danube into Vojvodina, in Serbia.
Banat Bulgarians return to Bulgaria
- 1878 - After Bulgaria was liberated from the Turks many of the Bulgarians living in the Banat decided to return to north west Bulgaria. They settled in the area around Pleven and Vratsa.
Main villages in Câmpia Banatului inhabited by Bulgarians
|
Vinga |
1741 | The village of Vinga was first recorded in 1231. It was destroyed by the Turks around 1737 and was subsequently resettled by around 125 families of Bulgarians from Chiprovitsi in 1741. Vinga was given the status of town on 1st August 1744 . After the 1st World War many of the Bulgarian families moved to the towns of Arad or Timişoara, and since the 2nd world war there were more migration to the nearby towns, while others emigrated to the US, and Vinga lost its town status. |
| Dudeşti Veche (formerly Beşenova Veche) - Stár Bišnov | 1738 |
The comuna of Dudeştii Vechi comprises three villages: Dudeştii-Vechi, Cheglevici şi Colonia Bulgară. The village of Cheglevic was first mentioned in documents dating from around 1000, and by 1238 this area belonged to the citadel of Cenad. Dudeştii-Vechi (Stár Bišnov) was founded in 1738 and was inhabited by 3,200 Bulgarians. Dudeştii Vechi, is the modern cultural centre of Banat Bulgarians. |
| Colonia Bulgară (formaly Telepa) | 1845 | Colonia Bulgară was first settled in 1845. |
| Sânnicolau Mare - Smikluš |
The village of Sânnicolau Mare has been inhabited since the Bronze age. Sânnicolau Mare was part of the feudal area of Cenad. It is mentiond in documents dating from 1217 and 1256 by the name Sân-Nicolau, from the name of the local monastery. It became part of the catholic episcopi of Cenad in 1334. An Ottoman fortress was built there around the 16th century, which was destroyed in 1701 by the Hapsburgs. It became an administrative area in 1724, and was settled by Germans (Swabians), Banat Bulgarians, and Hungarians. Bela Bartok was born in Sânnicolau Mare in 1881. |
|
| Breştea - Bréšca | 1842 |
The village of Brestea was founded in 1842, It was inhabited by around 110 families of Bulgarians, who moved from the village of Dudeşti Veche. Many returned to Bulgaria in the 1880s to found the village of Bardanski Geren in northern Bulgaria. |
|
Denta - Denta |
1842 |
The village of Denta was fist mentioned in documents dating from 1322. In 16th century the Ottomans built a citadel. The Ottomans withdrew from Denta in 1716, and the village came under the Austro-Hungarians. The first German (Swabian) colonists arrived in 1720, and the Banat Bulgarians in 1842. |
Villages in Serbia inhabited by Banat Bulgarians
|
Ivanovo |
1867 |
|
Konak (Kanak) |
1820 |
|
Jaša Tomić - Modoš |
1779 |
|
Skorenovac (Gjurgevo) |
|
|
Blato - Belo Blato |
1825 |
|
Stari Lec |
1820 |
|
Banatski Dvor |
1842 |
| Gjurgevo | 1866 |
Villages in Bulgaria occupied by Banat Bulgarians
Pleven region |
||
|
Asenovo, Nikopol district
|
1892 |
The village of Asenovo, Nikopol district, Pleven region was founded in 1892. It was settled by 203 households of Bulgarians who moved back to Bulgaria from the Romanian villages of Vinga, Dudeşti Vechi, Konak and Brestea. The houses they built were in the style found on the Banat Plain. |
|
Dragomirovo, Svistov Municipality
|
1878 |
The village of Dragomirovo, Svistov Municipality, was founded in 1878. It was settled by 141 households of Catholoic Bulgarians from the village of Stár Bišnov and one from Brešćа. They were joined by a further group of Catholic Bulgarians known as "Bucharesters" who moved from the villages of Cioplea and Popeşti-Leordeni close to Bucharest. The village was divided into three sectors called the "Banatian", the "Bucharestian" (both Catholic) and the "Vlach" (Orthodox). |
|
Gostilya Dolna Mitropolia Municipality
|
Gostilya Dolna Mitropolia Municipality, Pleven district, (133 families) - also joined by several families of Banat Swabians
|
|
|
Bregare Dolna, Mitropolia Municipality
|
Bregare Dolna Mitropolia Municipality, Pleven district, (83 families).
|
|
Vratsa |
||
|
Bardarski Geran, Byala Slatina muncipality
|
1887 |
The village of Bardarski Geran, in the municipality of Byala Slatina, Vratsa region was founded in 1887. It was settled by 185 families who moved from the Romanian village of Dudeşti Veche. They were joined in 1893 by 7 families of Banat Swabians, then later by 83 more Swabian families.
|
|
Voyvodovo, Mizia district
|
1900 |
The village of Voyvodovo, Mizia district, Vratsa region, was founded in 1900. It was settled by a mix of Banat Bulgarians, Banat Swabians, Slovaks and Evangelical Czechs. Following the 1st world war, conditions in Bulgaria led to some of these people returning to live in Banat.
|
References
Koinova, M. (1999) Minorities in Southeast Europe - Catholics of Bulgaria www.greekhelsinki.gr/pdf/cedime-se-bulgaria-catholics.doc
Lunchev D.M. (2005) To the Problem of the Ethnographic Investigations of
the Internet Communities (Bulgarians from Banat_Worldwide Case Study)
http://www.ecsocman.edu.ru/db/msg/184746/print.html
Telbizov, M. T. K. (1958), Narodnata Nosiya na Banatskite Bulgari, Akademiya