686:("Rhodopean spark") and it was located in the building of the old school. The chitalishte was a community centre where people gathered for different cultural and educational activities. It included a library with a relatively large collection of books many of which were destroyed during the socialist time. It also included a theater with a stage and approximately 250 seats. Different artists have entertained the local public in the village since 1905. The chitalishte attracted even more people as the Bulgarian National Radio began broadcasting in 1935 and the first radio receiver was brought to Lilkovo. Later, there were also movie screenings in the chitalishte. In 1950 the chitalishte was renamed after the partisan Boris Koilov. In 2002 the building of the old chitalishte burned down. The causes of the accident have not been completely clarified. A newer, renovated building had been in use since 1987, but all activities have ceased there and the building is now closed for the public.
210:. Lilkovo is among the highest villages in Bulgaria. The elevation at the main square (Bordtse) is 1400 m, but the village extends to an altitude of more than 1450 m. The highest point within the territory of Lilkovo is Mount Modar with an elevation of 1992 m. Near Modar rises Lilkovska river (also called Elshitsa), which flows by the village and later joins Sitovska and Tamrashka river. Nearby villages are Brezovitsa (distance: 2.5 km) and Sitovo (distance: 9.7 km). Not far away from Lilkovo was also the former village of Tamrash (also called Tomrash), which used to be a large administrative centre in the region before the
675:
students in 1940. Initially teachers came mostly from other places but after 1944 there were more local teachers. The first school building located in the centre of
Lilkovo was later transformed into a village hall. The school was then relocated to the building in front of the church. A large school was built in 1961 but it was closed in 1973 due to the lack of students. The building was later used for school camps, and most recently it was transformed into a modern hotel. Today, there is no school in Lilkovo due to the depopulation and the lack of children in the village.
655:
695:
663:
40:
392:
737:
people in
Lilkovo began growing potatoes for the first time in 1878 when Russian soldiers brought the first potatoes to the village. Soon thereafter the villagers discovered that the lands of Lilkovo are very suitable for potato production and began planting different varieties of potatoes. At the beginning of the 1940s the village produced over 1200 tonnes of potatoes per year (i.e., more than 1200 kg of potatoes per capita).
729:
647:
47:
716:
came to
Lilkovo and saw some Christian women lighting candles and placing ritual breads near the mosque. He asked why they were doing this, and the people in the village told him that there was once a Bulgarian church there and the Turks demolished it to build a mosque in its place. Then Ahmed Agha
383:
As of 15 June 2020, there are only 21 people with a permanent address in
Lilkovo. One of the possible events that triggered the process of depopulation in the mid 1940s was the collectivization in the agricultural sector, which left many people without lands and in a state of insecurity. During the
736:
Agriculture has been and continues to be one of the main livelihoods of the people in
Lilkovo. The most important agricultural branch in Lilkovo after the Liberation of Bulgaria has been potato production. Although potatoes were already introduced to Bulgaria in the first half of the 19th century,
717:
ordered a church to be built for the
Bulgarians so that they would have a place where to pray. Although the church was finished in 1865, the bell-tower was built only after the Liberation of Bulgaria, as there was a limit of how tall a Bulgarian church could be during the Ottoman rule in Bulgaria.
674:
with students in the school in 1854. Students received education in
Bulgarian and the school was attended by Christian students only. Girls did not attend school until the beginning of the 20th century when education became mandatory for all children. The Hristo Botev school had approximately 230
441:, which in the local dialect means "lilac" - a plant which grows in abundance in and around the village. This hypothesis is supported linguistically, as deletion of unstressed vowel sounds (e.g., /e/ in /'lilek/) is common for the regional language variety and can provide further evidence for the
231:
The territory of
Lilkovo covers vast meadows and forests. The forests start from 1000 –1100 m and reach over 1900 m. The lowest regions include mostly beech and black pine forests. Single trees of birch and wild willow can also be spotted there. White pine and spruce grow higher, and the highest
740:
Another traditional branch in the past was sheep-breeding. In the 1940s, there were 12,000 – 13,000 sheep in the village (i.e., over 10 times the number of people). Cattle-breeding and dairy production also used to be very popular. The timber industry has always been of secondary importance to
269:
population left the region by freeing up lands that the people of
Lilkovo could cultivate. This increase in resources lead to a significant demographic growth in Lilkovo in the first half of the 20th century with a population exceeding 1000 people in the 1940s. However, a steady decline in the
222:
Lilkovo has a temperate mountain climate. The average temperature in
January is between -7 °C and -1.5 °C, and the average temperature in July is between 11 °C and 20 °C. The average humidity level is 80% in January and 60% in July. There is a relatively high level of
387:
Despite the low number of permanent residents, the village comes to life during the summer months when the hundreds of homes - both old stone houses and modern summer homes - get filled with people looking to escape from the heat and to enjoy the beautiful mountain landscapes.
708:
tax) were offered to those people in the village who agreed to convert to Islam. Nevertheless, the majority of the population in Lilkovo remained Christian. At that time there were only 10-15 Pomak families who left the village after the Liberation of Bulgaria.
456:
an obsolete word in the local dialect meaning "a thin, peeled wood of young pine or fir". Considering the coniferous vegetation in the region, this hypothesis may appear plausible, but it cannot explain the presence of the sound /k/ in the name.
232:
terrains are occupied by spruce and juniper. The fir tree also occupies an important place among the coniferous species. There are a lot of wild berries (e.g., strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries), rose hips and wild plums.
404:
Although it is known that Lilkovo has a long history, it is difficult to determine how old exactly the village is. The first written evidence of the existence of Lilkovo dates from 1083 when the Byzantine emperor
479:. Due to the limited contact with other villages in the past, the dialect spoken in Lilkovo has preserved many of the characteristics of Old Bulgarian (also called
893:
808:
499:). There are also lexical differences, and many words in the local dialect are unintelligible in standard Bulgarian. A few examples are shown in the table below:
460:
There is also a legend, according to which the name of the first settler in the village was Lilo (diminutive: Lilko) and the village was named after its founder.
712:
The church in Lilkovo was built before the Liberation of Bulgaria. The construction began in 1858 when according to the legend, the Ottoman governor Ahmed
670:
A primary school existed in Lilkovo before the Liberation of Bulgaria. One of the first teachers was Georgi Stoyanov, who used for the first time the
720:
Besides the church located in the centre of Lilkovo, there are also numerous smaller chapels scattered throughout the territory of the village.
972:
487:
of consonants before a stressed , lack of the sound (usually replaced with ), and different stress assignment (often similar to Russian:
68:
922:"The Bulgarian Electronic Information System for Civil Registration and Administrative Services (CRAS): Population Table from 15.06.2020"
741:
farming. Because of the widespread stock-breeding in the village, forage production also developed as a traditional agricultural branch.
253:
common European viper, horned viper, grass snake, slow-worm, green lizard, wall lizard, green toad, yellow-bellied toad, and tree frog.
702:
The population of Lilkovo is Orthodox Christian. During the Ottoman rule, certain privileges (e.g., free fields, exemption from the
671:
39:
241:
roe deer, fallow deer, wild boar, rabbit, hedgehog, wolf, brown bear, lynx, fox, badger, beaver, squirrel, and marten.
967:
484:
654:
247:
wild pigeon, nightingale, cuckoo, great spotted and black woodpecker, crow, golden eagle, dove, and heather cock.
467:, which in Turkish means "iron village". After the Liberation of Bulgaria, Lilkovo regained its original name.
186:. It is one of the highest settlements in Bulgaria. It is also one of the largest villages by land area in the
168:
211:
384:
industrialization in Bulgaria (1944 - 1989) many of them migrated to the cities in search of employment.
475:
People born in Lilkovo speak a Rhodopean dialect of Bulgarian, which is similar to the one spoken in
694:
483:). Some of the most typical pronunciation features that are different from standard Bulgarian are:
480:
199:
887:
802:
410:
406:
908:"NSI: National Register of Populated Places (Information for the population of Lilkovo village)"
662:
187:
262:
203:
728:
391:
907:
463:
While Bulgaria was under Ottoman rule (14th - 19th century), the village was renamed to
961:
713:
646:
235:
The most typical wild animals found on the territory of Lilkovo are the following:
198:
Lilkovo is located in the central part of the Rhodope Mountains. It is part of the
921:
679:
270:
population of the village can be observed since the middle of the 20th century:
437:). According to the most plausible assumption, the name derives from the word
417:
appears in that list. There is also evidence that a religious community named
83:
70:
704:
442:
421:
existed already in the same place at the beginning of the 1st century AD.
183:
476:
207:
266:
727:
693:
661:
653:
645:
390:
287:
409:
issues a decree including a list of all villages bound to the
206:, and it is situated approximately 36 km southwest from
682:
in Lilkovo began activity in 1905. Initially, it was called
658:
The first school building in Lilkovo (now the Village Hall).
282:
429:
There are several hypotheses about the origin of the name
698:
The Orthodox church St. Michael the Archangel in Lilkovo
261:
After the village of Tamrash was burned down during the
167:
157:
149:
144:
136:
128:
123:
115:
107:
99:
21:
452:Another hypothesis is that the name derives from
445:of the word's stem (lilk-). The remaining suffix
650:Students in the Hristo Botev School in the 1960s
826:. Sofia: Izdatelstvo na Otechestveniya Front.
8:
273:
892:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
807:: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
272:
18:
503:Examples of words from the local dialect
501:
750:
732:Farmers gathering hay in Lilkovo (1997)
156:
143:
135:
122:
98:
63:
32:
27:
885:
800:
788:
786:
784:
782:
780:
778:
776:
774:
166:
148:
127:
114:
106:
7:
941:
939:
937:
935:
933:
931:
873:
871:
869:
867:
865:
863:
861:
845:
843:
841:
839:
837:
835:
833:
772:
770:
768:
766:
764:
762:
760:
758:
756:
754:
223:precipitations throughout the year.
132:62.4 km (24.1 sq mi)
449:is common for Bulgarian villages.
182:is a mountain village in southern
14:
45:
38:
852:Лилково: богове, камъни и руни
46:
948:Лилково: вихри, веди и влъхви
1:
973:Villages in Plovdiv Province
666:The Boris Koilov Chitalishte
140:1,400 m (4,600 ft)
989:
793:Papazov, Kostadin (2000).
16:Place in Plovdiv, Bulgaria
395:Panoramic view of Lilkovo
300:—
64:
33:
28:
251:Reptiles and amphibians:
946:Lichkov, Angel (2013).
878:Arizanov, Ivan (2004).
850:Lichkov, Angel (2006).
822:Valchev, Angel (1973).
733:
699:
667:
659:
651:
396:
212:Liberation of Bulgaria
731:
697:
665:
657:
649:
394:
274:Historical population
84:41.91083°N 24.58694°E
591:to speak (too much)
880:Спомени и размисли
511:Standard Bulgarian
504:
481:Old Church Slavonic
275:
200:Rodopi Municipality
80: /
854:. Plovdiv: Makros.
734:
700:
668:
660:
652:
508:Lilkovo's dialect
502:
425:Origin of the name
411:Bachkovo Monastery
407:Alexios I Komnenos
397:
150: • Total
89:41.91083; 24.58694
968:Rhodope Mountains
950:. Plovdiv: Niton.
795:Слово за Лилково
639:
638:
381:
380:
188:Rhodope Mountains
177:
176:
129: • Land
980:
952:
951:
943:
926:
925:
918:
912:
911:
904:
898:
897:
891:
883:
875:
856:
855:
847:
828:
827:
819:
813:
812:
806:
798:
790:
505:
289:
284:
276:
263:First Balkan War
204:Plovdiv Province
95:
94:
92:
91:
90:
85:
81:
78:
77:
76:
73:
49:
48:
42:
19:
988:
987:
983:
982:
981:
979:
978:
977:
958:
957:
956:
955:
945:
944:
929:
920:
919:
915:
906:
905:
901:
884:
877:
876:
859:
849:
848:
831:
821:
820:
816:
799:
792:
791:
752:
747:
726:
692:
644:
588:говоря (много)
473:
427:
402:
259:
229:
227:Flora and fauna
220:
196:
163:
88:
86:
82:
79:
74:
71:
69:
67:
66:
60:
59:
58:
57:
56:
55:
54:
50:
24:
17:
12:
11:
5:
986:
984:
976:
975:
970:
960:
959:
954:
953:
927:
913:
899:
857:
829:
814:
749:
748:
746:
743:
725:
722:
691:
688:
684:Rodopska Iskra
643:
640:
637:
636:
633:
630:
626:
625:
622:
619:
615:
614:
611:
608:
604:
603:
600:
597:
593:
592:
589:
586:
582:
581:
578:
575:
571:
570:
567:
564:
560:
559:
558:so; like that
556:
553:
549:
548:
545:
542:
538:
537:
534:
531:
527:
526:
523:
520:
516:
515:
512:
509:
485:palatalization
472:
469:
426:
423:
401:
398:
379:
378:
375:
372:
368:
367:
364:
361:
357:
356:
353:
350:
346:
345:
342:
339:
335:
334:
331:
328:
324:
323:
320:
317:
313:
312:
309:
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291:
290:
285:
280:
258:
255:
228:
225:
219:
216:
195:
192:
175:
174:
171:
165:
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161:
159:
155:
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151:
147:
146:
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138:
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133:
130:
126:
125:
121:
120:
117:
113:
112:
109:
105:
104:
101:
97:
96:
62:
61:
52:
51:
44:
43:
37:
36:
35:
34:
31:
30:
26:
25:
22:
15:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
985:
974:
971:
969:
966:
965:
963:
949:
942:
940:
938:
936:
934:
932:
928:
923:
917:
914:
909:
903:
900:
895:
889:
881:
874:
872:
870:
868:
866:
864:
862:
858:
853:
846:
844:
842:
840:
838:
836:
834:
830:
825:
818:
815:
810:
804:
796:
789:
787:
785:
783:
781:
779:
777:
775:
773:
771:
769:
767:
765:
763:
761:
759:
757:
755:
751:
744:
742:
738:
730:
723:
721:
718:
715:
710:
707:
706:
696:
689:
687:
685:
681:
676:
673:
664:
656:
648:
641:
634:
631:
628:
627:
623:
620:
617:
616:
612:
609:
606:
605:
601:
598:
595:
594:
590:
587:
584:
583:
579:
576:
573:
572:
568:
566:(обла) греда
565:
562:
561:
557:
554:
551:
550:
546:
543:
540:
539:
535:
532:
529:
528:
524:
521:
518:
517:
513:
510:
507:
506:
500:
498:
494:
490:
486:
482:
478:
470:
468:
466:
461:
458:
455:
450:
448:
444:
440:
436:
432:
424:
422:
420:
416:
412:
408:
399:
393:
389:
385:
376:
373:
370:
369:
365:
362:
359:
358:
354:
351:
348:
347:
343:
340:
337:
336:
332:
329:
326:
325:
321:
318:
315:
314:
310:
307:
304:
303:
299:
296:
293:
292:
286:
281:
278:
277:
271:
268:
265:in 1912, its
264:
256:
254:
252:
248:
246:
242:
240:
236:
233:
226:
224:
217:
215:
213:
209:
205:
201:
193:
191:
189:
185:
181:
172:
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160:
152:
139:
131:
118:
110:
102:
93:
65:Coordinates:
41:
20:
947:
916:
902:
879:
851:
823:
817:
794:
739:
735:
719:
711:
703:
701:
683:
677:
669:
569:timber pole
525:to get used
496:
492:
488:
474:
464:
462:
459:
453:
451:
446:
438:
434:
433:(Bulgarian:
430:
428:
418:
414:
403:
386:
382:
260:
250:
249:
244:
243:
238:
237:
234:
230:
221:
197:
179:
178:
116:Municipality
680:chitalishte
672:Fish Primer
413:. The name
158:Postal code
87: /
962:Categories
797:. Plovdiv.
745:References
678:The first
574:кикотя са
465:Demirciköy
257:Population
145:Population
75:24°35′13″E
72:41°54′39″N
888:cite book
803:cite book
705:devshirme
642:Education
580:to laugh
547:hedgehog
519:алащисам
495:, нèбо ,
443:etymology
194:Geography
169:Area code
137:Elevation
882:. Sofia.
690:Religion
599:изцапан
577:смея се
544:таралеж
530:гугугар
522:свиквам
514:English
471:Language
239:Mammals:
184:Bulgaria
108:Province
103:Bulgaria
824:Тъмраш
724:Economy
596:мустав
477:Smolyan
435:Лилково
431:Lilkovo
415:Lilkovo
400:History
218:Climate
208:Plovdiv
202:in the
180:Lilkovo
111:Plovdiv
100:Country
53:Lilkovo
29:Лилково
23:Lilkovo
632:пирон
629:шайка
624:uncle
621:вуйчо
613:don't
610:недей
602:dirty
563:жорда
536:snail
533:охлюв
454:lil -
439:lilek
377:−50.0%
366:−40.0%
355:−18.9%
344:−31.1%
333:−65.2%
322:−50.1%
311:−12.2%
245:Birds:
119:Rodopi
635:nail
607:немò
585:лопя
555:така
552:есей
541:ежек
497:мàсло
489:сòрце
419:Lalku
297:1,054
267:Pomak
214:.
173:03109
894:link
809:link
714:Agha
618:укю
493:мòре
447:-ovo
371:2015
360:2005
349:1995
338:1985
327:1975
316:1965
305:1956
294:1946
283:Pop.
279:Year
162:4105
124:Area
341:111
330:161
319:462
308:925
964::
930:^
890:}}
886:{{
860:^
832:^
805:}}
801:{{
753:^
491:,
374:27
363:54
352:90
288:±%
190:.
153:21
924:.
910:.
896:)
811:)
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