page_title: Petrevene
section_title: After the restoration of the Bulgarian statehood (1878–1918)
hierarchical_section_title: Petrevene / History / After the restoration of the Bulgarian statehood (1878–1918)
caption_attribution_description: English: Petrevene seal, 1907
context_page_description: Petrevene is a village in North Central Bulgaria.
  It is situated on the left bank of Panega river. It is in the Municipality of Lukovit, part of the District of Lovech, and is 6 kilometres away from the municipality center of Lukovit. The main road E-83 and the railroad Cherven Bryag—Zlatna Panega pass through it.
  Historical records of the settlement date back from the early 15th century, during the Ottoman Empire, although evidence from the surrounding areas indicate the area was likely settled much earlier. Historically, it has been an important part of the marble trade, and is notable for its long history of shifting Pomak Muslim and Christian village populations and tensions.
  It known for its local festival 'Watermelon Day' – a longstanding and popular local tradition dating back to 1936. The local economy is based around small farming, particularly cattle, and services to traffic from the local high road.
context_section_description: The removal of the Ottoman rule in 1878 brought a mass migration to Petrevene of Eastern Orthodox Bulgarians from upper Balkan villages as Brusen and Vidrare with its hamlets of Smolevica, Kraeva Bachiya, etc. In 1882 Felix Kanitz wrote its name as Petreven. It used to be written also as Petrevyane, Petryovene or Petrovene (Bulg.: Петрeвяне, Петрьовене, Петровене), still in use among locals nowadays. Since 1891 its official name is Petrevene. It was included in the District of Pleven  of the Principality of Bulgaria. The families Tonovski, Gergovski, Tzanovski, Stoevski, Velevski, Moldovanete, Dilovski, Nedkovski etc. are among the first ones in Petrevene after the removal of the Ottoman rule. Vidrarians favored growing cattle, while Brusenes - water buffaloes. This used to a reason for some frictions in the village. Initially, the marriages between the new generations of Bruseners and Vidrareans were banned for some time. Possibly this was because they came from different Christian dioceses.
  The first mayor of Petrevene after the removal of the Ottoman rule was Tono Benchev Bakov (Peykin) of Vidrare, born in its hamlet of Smolevica. He used to be a member of the Revolutionaly Committee "Hasan Kasam" founded by Vasil Levski in the village of Vidrare in 1869. He has moved to Petrevene prior to the Russian-Turkish war (1877/78) due to a conflict he had with local Ottoman authorities in Vidrare. His brother-in-law, the revolutionary Yosif Poppetrov from Vidrare, also a member of the revolutionary committee of Vasil Levski, has been exiled by the Ottoman authorities to the town of Diarbekir in the Middle Asia, now in Turkey. This was due to his involvement with the robbery of the Ottoman Bank, mastered by Dimiter Obshti, in the Arabakonak pass in Bulgaria in 1872. Tono Benchev has served as a mayor of Petrevene for 16 years. He used to be close to Stefan Stambolov, a major co-revolutionary of Vasil Levski and the current Prime Minister of Bulgaria. He has visited him during his official trips in the Principality of Bulgaria. The first secretary in the village municipality was Tono Benchev' son, Bencho Tonov. In 1878 an elementary school (1st to 4th grade) opened in Petrevene. Till 1891 it was hosted in a former Pomak house, after which it moved to the then newly constructed "old" school, built by Stoyu Stanev of Petrevene. The village Municipality (Bulg.: obshtina) has moved to the vacated former schoolhouse. Andrey Gadzhovski of Lukovit, born in Dranchevo, Macedonia, and Marko Markov of Karlovo were the first teachers in Petrevene. The first native teacher,  Velyu Ninov, was hired in 1896. During the 1890s Petrevene was terrorized by the local band of the Bulgarian Yako voyvoda and his Pomak co-brigand Kachamachko.
  A mass exodus to Turkey by the Pomaks in the region started after the Unification of Bulgaria in 1885. They moved mostly to the regions of the cities Corlu in East Thrace and Hasanbey in Balikesir in Anatolia. Their property and estates were thereby bought, transferred to, or abandoned and acquired by the remaining population. A Pomak school opened briefly in the village of Blasnichevo to encourage Pomaks to remain in their locations. In 1893 only 22 Pomaks remained in Petrevene. The entire Pomak population left the village by 1898. Several Italian quarry men settled in Petrevene at the beginning of the 20th century. They created, in particular, many skillful gravestones, still standing in the village cemetery.
  Due to the rise of the anti-Islamism and nationalism in post-Ottoman Bulgaria, the abandoned and decaying village mosque was removed in 1902.  Its materials were recycled and used in the construction of the present-day Eastern Orthodox church of "Dormition of the Theotokos". It was built  by Trǎn constructors in 1902 not far from the location of the former mosque with the enthusiastic support of the locals. They donated money, icons and church appliances to it. The population of Petrevene was not affected harshly by the two World Wars. Only a few people fought and less than fifty lost their lives in the wa
caption: The municipality seal of the village of "Petryovene", 1907
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