Huge stakes used to soar here. People would gather wood, pile it and set fire to it to melt down ore in large containers… This is one of the versions accounting for the name of Kladnitsa – derived from klada (stake). The village is located in a relatively obscure part of Vitosha mountain, in the vicinity of the town of Pernik, to whose administrative area it belongs. Another popular legend has it that as early as Thracian times fierce battles were fought here to defend its independence, in other words the name is believed to originate from the word klane (slaughter). Where the truth lies, no one can tell. Yet it is true that ore mining was developed here even in Thracian times. Later on, when these lands were conquered by the Romans, a road was built. It passed through the village and connected the predecessors of the villages of Sofia and Samokov. It has been known as the Roman Road…

Within the boundaries of Bulgaria, the settlement was one of the castles of Krakra Pernishki. Some 1000 years ago its defenders repelled the forces of the Byzantine Emperor Vassilius Bulgaroctone. Ore-mining was a main means of livelihood for the locals over the centuries. Traces from this primitive production can be found even today. The extracted iron ore was sent for processing to Samokov, along the Roman Road. In a later period stonemasonry was developed here. Then it was supplanted by coal mining, until recently associated with the name of Kladnitsa mine. It was in operation for some 20 years; today it is a fading memory of the past, which no one wants to go back to…

Approximately 1,200 residents live in modern Kladnitsa, most of them have sought and found a job in either Sofia or Pernik. To make a living out of their land is still next to impossible due to the unresolved issues regarding land reversion, the mistaken approach, the undetermined land borders and the scarce yields here at 1,000 meters of altitude.

“That we lie hidden in the mountain is not bad. This part of Vitosha is unrivalled in its beauty and offers excellent conditions for the development of eco-tourism…”, the mayor Mr. Krassimir Traikov tells me, beginning his monologue. He simultaneously explains to me the problem with the unemployment and its solution – by the implementation of ideas connected with subsidies under PHARE Program, in partnership with Vitosha National Park and, of course, Pernik Municipality…

In Kladnitsa there are no hotels, no hustle and bustle, not even a road network, which in view of eco-tourism is, to say the least, superb. A project has been drawn up for the construction of four major routes. The first is to reach the village of Bosnek, “Zhivata Voda” and “Duhlata”, the longest cave on the Balkans. It has 17 kilometers of passages and six underground rivers! The second will get to the quiet and mysterious village of Chouypetlovo, situated on the banks of Strouma river. It is known to have been founded by fugitives to the plain some 350 years ago. It is so remote and tucked away in the mountain that people could only discover it by the cocks crowing, from which its name is derived. There are about 35 caves in the region of the villages of Bosnek and Chouypetlovo – a fact that may prove crucial for the development of eco-tourism in the region. As for the third route, it envisages the construction of a gentle-slope road running along an already built derivation (for channeling water from the Golden Bridges to Stoudena Dam) to ease the traffic of people suffering from cardiovascular diseases, physical disabilities and others, who want to walk in the mountain and enjoy its beauty. The last eco-path will make it possible to go trekking across Vitosha from Kladnitsa up to the peaks of Selimitsa and Ostritsa and down to the Golden Bridges.

Kladnitsa will take care of the establishment of a visitors’ center, which will supply tourists with the needed information.

The bad thing, however, is that there are still many unresolved problems. Although it is an area of great water resources, there is a shortage of drink water! The water supply system is old and urgently needs to be renovated. The streets are in a deplorable condition, the road tarmac is bad - patchwork, holes, which make them impassable in case of torrential rains and landslides of rocks and earth.

I am walking along a street under construction towards one of the tourist attractions – the Kladnitsa Monastery St. Nikolai Mirlikiyski. The road leads up to Selimitsa mountain hut, nestling at the foot of the peak of the same name at 2,041 meters above sea level, near Cherni Peak. According to the legend the monastery was first established back in 14 c, but at a higher place. It survived the ravages of time over the centuries – periods of flourishing, destruction and defamation. It has preserved its present look since 1841 when it was restored. Up there, close to its buildings can be seen the ruins of the Kladnitsa Castle, which is known to have been erected as far back as 5 c. Thracians, Romans, Slavs and Bulgarians have possessed it at one point or another, located on the southwestern hang of Vitosha, where today’s inhabitants of Kladnitsa live hopeful of their future – a small village with rich history.

Rumen Stoichkov