History
Name and origin of the village
The area of Vetren dol is rich in Thracian and Roman finds. When the French archeologist Albert Dumont traveled through the village in 1870 he found a plate of Thracian horseman in the church, where Saint George was honored and also bas relief of the Persian God Metros. Another finds in the village were consecrated plate of another Thracian horseman and an alter of Herat and a column dedicated to Apollo. There were also Thracian bronze coins from 2nd century BC, roman coins from the Bezant emperors Joan Conmen (1118-1143 AD), Andronicus and also from the Polish king Sigismund I and Ludovik 14. There are 4 unexcavated mounds in the village. People used to find huge earthen jars and iron peaks of arrows. There are remains from an old village on the hill -1 km south of the village near the Saint George’s church. Nearby there were also the churches: Spasova, Rangelova, Mitrova, Elenova. 500 meters south from the present village is the consecrated ground Holy Trinity and on the Golak hill - a roman sanctuary Saint Nicola.
There is no doubt that near the Saint George church, where some building materials and a cemetery were found, an old settlement from the Thracian and Roman era existed. The life in this settlement due to the churches around continued to the Middle Ages. Afterwards the new village appeared down by the river. If we can judge by the written document from the Bulgarian historian Stefan Zahariev, where he talked about a plate in the church-left from Old Bulgarian times, we can tell that the village existed even before the Turkish time as a substitute of the village near St. George’s church. This plate was taken away by the teacher Nikifor Pop Konstantinov in Pazardjik in 1847-1848. The names of the donors and the year were written on the plate. Another proof of the existence of the village before 1604 were the Roman coins from the Bezant emperors Iona Conmen II and Andronicus the First. The village is divided in two neighborhoods today: the old Vlahova neighborhood with the church east from Ortaark River and Chukura - the lower neighborhood west from the river. The name Vlahova comes from the local family Vlahova and not from the ethnic population Vlasi, which came from the Danube river region. We have no information how the village survived the Turkish times. We know that it has existed for sure since 1604, but it is first mentioned in a Turkish document as Ienikioi (Novo selo), which means New village in 1633. Its second name in 1674 was Ieli dere, which means Windy valley. On a map from 1878 it was called Elme dere (Apple Valley) but the most popular name remains Eli dere (50 valleys). This was the name of the river itself and it means, that before reaching the plain the river flows through 50 valleys. The village has been wearing the name Vetren dol or Valley of the winds since 1934.
The April uprising
Vetren dol took part in the April uprising very actively. The head of the revolutionary activity was Mito Damianov Angelov. In 1872 he met the Bulgarian Apostle of freedom Vasil Levski in the monastery “Saint Peter and Paul” in the nearby village. At this time the abbot Jeremiah was familiar with Levski and used his acquaintance to organize a revolutionary committee in the region. On a secret meeting they took an oath in 1872. The members of the committee were Mito Damianov, Krustyu Macanov and Lukas Chernogoreca from Eli dere (Vetren dol), Nicola Angelov and Todor Atanassov from Batkun, Atanas Krastev-Kachaka, Temelko Veshov and the priest Stoil from Patalenica, Damian Petrov and Peter Gatev from Iamurchevo (Mokriste). In the autumn of the same year Vasil Levski was captured and the activity of the committee seized until the winter of 1876. After Mito Damianov found out, that there were new apostles in March 1876 he sent Atanas Kachaka to Panagyuriste to be in connection with the committee over there. Preparation for the uprising began in Eli dere (Vetren dol). Four days after the announcement of the uprising in Koprivstica and Panagyuriste on the 24 of April (6 May - new style) the Vetren dol people revolted. The population of the village went into the mountain in the “Saint Marina” locality. The path to Chepino was blocked by trunks and branches so the connection between Tatar Pazardjik and Chepino was cut. The Turkish army tried to cross the path, but it was pushed from a detachment, formed by people from Vetren dol and Varvara under the lead of Mito Damianov. In the battle he was injured in his leg. He found sanctuary in the home of Atanas Kachaka in Patalenica, who healed him for 10 days. At the same time the villages in the Thracian plane were ruined. The reports of the events afterwards were by memories of Hadji Rashko, sent from the Pazardjik ruler Ali bei with a letter to the riot in Belovo. According to him the people from Vetren dol were still hiding in the forest. After meeting some people from Varvara Hadji Rashko succeeded to persuade Mito Damianov to hide, because the Turkish ruler knew of his activity and there was an order for his arrest. On 11 May 1876 (old style) Mito Damianov came back to Eli dere and met Lukas Chernogoreca and some other villagers in the area of “Spasova church” to discuss their further actions. The Turkish troops surprised the rebels and the group scattered and the attempts to find Mito Damianov were unsuccessful. Kel Hasan pasha gathered all the people in the village and told them, that if Mito Damianov didn’t surrender in three days, he would put the village on fire and he would kill all the villagers. The captured Krustyu Macanov was brutally killed. The wife of Mito Damianov managed to escape the guards and brought some food to his husband and told him about the warning. He sent her back to the village and soon afterwards he surrendered. The whole population of the village was forced to witness the hanging of Mito.
He refused the bandage for his eyes and he addressed his villagers: “Farewell good fellows. Freedom will come without me! Forgive me for what I have sinned!” He was hanged before his children’s eyes, who were watching secretly hidden in a bush. So in May 1876 a noble Bulgarian died. This man chose to sacrifice his life for the life of his villagers and to save Vetren dol. Life went on and soon afterwards freedom came. Today there are two memorials of him: one on the spot where he was hanged close to the Town hall and another on his grave in the churchyard.
The liberation day
The liberation of Vetren dol came in the begging of January 1878 just before Pazardjik was liberated. The Russian troops didn’t enter the village - they passed the neighboring one Lozen. That’s why the Vetren dol inhabitants went there in spite of the cold weather to meet them. 15 Bulgarian horsemen slept over in Vetren dol. The only victim in the village was a Turkish lady who was killed. She owned a water mill and helped in capturing the rebels by giving them out.
The wars
People from the village took part in the Balkan wars and the First and Second World Wars. To honor them a memorial was built in 1961-1962. It is situated in the park just opposite the Town hall. On two plates on both sides of it are written all the names.
On the eastern plate:- Dimitar (Mito) An. Damianov-1876-hanged Eli dere
- Krustyu Macanov-1876-killed Eli dere
- Angel Milushev-1912-killed Bulair
- Angel Zlatanov-1912-kiled Odrin
- Georgi Michin-1912-killed Krivolak
- Todor Djurilov-1912-killed Dar dere
- Angel Spasov-1913-died in Turnovo
- Georgi Genchin 1913-killed Odrin
- Dimitar Mandarov-1913-killed Krivolak
- Ivan Pashev-1913-killed Odrin
- Stoian Iordanov-1913-died Turnovo
- Andon Pashev-1917-killed Odrin
- Georgi Djurilov-1917-killed Cherna
- Georgi Kondakov-1916-kille Doiran
- Georgi Mitrev-1917-killed Belasica
- Dimitar Mitrev-1917-killed Gevgeli
- Nicola Mihailov-killed 1918
- Blago Zlatanov-killed 15.02.1944
- Boris Zlatanov-killed 15.02.1944
- Vlado Stoichev-killed 15.02.1944r
- Dimitar Pashev-killed 15.02.1944
- Peter Pashev-killed 15.02.1944
- Boris Stoichev-killed 08.10.1944 in Kriva palanka
- Boris Mihailov-killed 25.10.1944 in Plochata
- Georgi Stefanov-killed 12.03.1945 on the River Drama
- Peter Rajankov-killed 06.10.1944 in Kriva palanka
- Ivan Pashev-1913-killed Odrin
- Stefan Dimitrov-killed 04.04.1945 in Hungary
Vetren dol has existed for 400 years and has its special place in Bulgarian history. The vicinities of the village and the remains and finds of traces from the Thracians, Romans and Slavs are still weakly explored. In the reading room and the school there were some museum exhibitions for a while with Roman coins, arrows and others pages of history. Famous Bulgarian writers, poets and historians like Konstantin Irechek, Ivan Vazov, Petko Slaveikov, Stefan Zahariev and others wrote about the village.