Near the town of Dryanovo are the Roman fortresses of Discodurater, Strinava and Boruna, which were also used during the epoch of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (XII-XIV c.) As part of the front fortification system of the capital Turnovo. Local legends tell us that the surrounding strongholds were the Asenevtsian family estates. Peter Cholov suggests that these fortresses from ancient times were built and repaired by Dryanovo residents. That is why the local people have a good command of the construction art and have passed on the skills of the Dulgerian craft.
The evidence of the proliferation of driftwood in Dryanovo really goes back a long time. In 1784, the church book "Ref Düger" (Dülger Esnaf) ranks second after "Refresh Urahki" (plowman) in Dryanovo. Thus Dryanovo affirms its position as one of the dulgerian centers in the Bulgarian lands.
During the epoch of Ottoman rule Dryanovo developed in a very specific way, which leaves its mark even after 1878. In the 15th century Dryanovo was part of the waqf (tax-free property) of Kasum Pasha, the Rumelian Beylerbey. However, during the 80s, Sultan Mahmud II confiscated the Waqf estates, thus Dryanovo became part of the spahulik and was classified as the timor of the Veliko Turnovo cadence. In Bayazid II (late 15th - early 16th c.), 60 households from the Dryanovo paradise were exempt from certain tax obligations, in return for participating in the protection of the aisles, such as dervings. The Dryanovo and Dryanovo regions expanded relatively rapidly in the rest of the centuries until the Liberation, and in the 16th and 17th centuries even the settlement housed newcomers - Christians, probably seeking refuge from persecution in the plain. In 1869, the town was recognized by the town status, making Dryanovo the administrative center of the surrounding area.
The most magnificent event in Dryanovo's history is undoubtedly the battle for the Dryanovo Monastery during the April Uprising. For entire 9 days (April 29 - May 7 May 1876) the Bulgarian insurgents, led by Bacho Kiro Petrov and Pop Hariton, fought selflessly with dozens of times superior Turkish troops plus bashbozuk.
Dryanovo Monastery
The abbot of the Dryanovo Monastery of that time, Hieromonk Pachomius, was an active revolutionary figure. The monastery served as a shelter for Vasil Levski and Matthew Mitkaloto. The two hundred brave rebels actually came there just to get supplies and ammunition and then continue on their way. However, their plans failed when they found themselves surrounded by the walls of over 5000 Ottomans. Bumpy (battle) broke out.
On the third day of the battle, the rebel leader, pop Hariton Khalachev, was blinded after the incident while preparing gunpowder with the Abbot Pachomiy. In spite of the misery, the voivode did not fall in spirit. For his high morale we can judge in his words of farewell to the Chetniks, before the burning remains of the monastery:
“My heroes! Not as grandmothers, but as lions, come out of this furnace, and I remember whoever survives! Take me to the entrance, and I will die there as I can! ”And there, at the entrance of the monastery, in the battle finds the dead but fearless voivode pop Hariton.
It is true that the rebels knew what fate awaited them in the face of the numerous enemy, yet they did not want to surrender. On the last day of the battle, facing the threat of "turning the monastery to dust and ashes," they responded to the warning of Ottoman leader Fazl Pasha by saying:
"And if you think that by killing us you destroy, you will be able to humble us, you are lying a lot. The people want their truths and have decided to win them if they are to die. We did not stand up against the civilian population. No, we want the government to recognize our rights as a people and until that happens, we will not surrender ourselves into your tormenting hands - we have decided to network and keep our oath. And you will be responsible to Europe for your tyrannies. "
However, the famous Bacho Kiro (Kiro Petrov Zanev) remained a symbol of the sacrifice of the fighters in the Dryanovo Monastery. Surviving the unequal battle, he fled for a while, after which he was captured and brought to a Turkish court in Tarnovo. He was sentenced to death by hanging, but was told that he had to pretend to be crazy, because then the sentence would not come into force. This was exactly what was expected when Bacho Kiro suddenly confronted the Ottomans and proudly recited the following verses in Turkish:
I'm one Bacho Kiro,
I'm not afraid of a Turk comet.
I put the rifle on my shoulder,
I found Dryanovo Monastery.
My righteousness to drive I went out,
I threw my rope at my neck!
The death sentence followed.
In the first years after the Liberation, Dryanovo was mostly a craft town. The other more prominent esnafs (craft associations) in it after the Dülgerian are: the Mutafchi (the manufacture of fur products) and the Czech. Until the Release of Liberation is the operation of 8 painters. The local goldsmiths, gowns, turtles, blacksmiths and others have their own designs. Traveler Felix Kanitz reports that the lively commercial development of Dryanovo is hampered by the proximity of the surrounding town:
"Because of this, the Dryanovo people, who also lived in 1871 with Turkish families, are more farmers, beetles, hemp and growers than traders."
Kanitz counts houses in the town of 512, "covered almost exclusively with incredibly thick and large paving slabs."
The architecture of the local houses is so original and impressive that, as reported by P. Robov, Prince Ferdinand's second wife, Queen Eleanor, when she first visited Dryanovo, remained delighted and commissioned to preserve these city values. According to the model of this type of houses, the Bulgarian pavilion was built in the Liege World Exhibition in 1905. From the architectural point of view, there is some diversity among the Dryanovo houses, but in general they can be counted, according to M. Maimareva-Vasileva. , to the mid-mountain type. Of interest are the still existing in the town barrel and mutafchiysk workshops, dating from the middle of the XVIII century.
After the Liberation, many of the city's artisans were ruined by the saturation of the market with factory goods: fur coats, turtles, painters and more. Talented shoemakers remain in the city. At the Plovdiv Exhibition in 1892, the brothers Mincho and Stancho Tananovi of Dryanovo won a silver medal and at the Liège World Exhibition a bronze medal for their production. The number of dulgers continues to be high - several hundred people. The tailors are close to 20, there are more abadzhi, millers, bacardi, etc.
The city's population has begun to decline significantly since the Liberation, especially since the 90 years, when crafts have declined nationally. From 1892 to 1920, the people of Dryanovo dropped from 3258 to 2670, which is a decrease of just over 18%. Dryanovtsi are looking for livelihoods in Rousse, Varna and Sofia, which among other things is a trend at that time among the people of Tarnovo. P. Cholov writes that the Dryanovo colony in Rousse reaches 6000 people over the years.
Until 1895, Dryanovo is the second tobacco producer in the Turnovo district, after Gorna Oryahovitsa, where there are 5 factories producing about 40 tons of tobacco annually. The three Dryanovo factories produce about 29 tons per year. In Dryanovo at 1895, is also the second largest tobacco factory in the region - the Shishkov brothers, with 11 tons produced annually.
The construction of the Pre-Balkan railway is the most labor-intensive. line in the section Dryanovo - Krastets in 1906, which employs about 3000 people a year. As strange as it is, this built route further intensifies the economic decline of the city. It makes factory products even easier and cheaper to deliver. Throughout the period 1879-1919, Dryanovo was dominated by handicraft production, as it failed to develop intensive agriculture, banking or large-scale industry. So the city has no practical benefit from the strong competition created by the new transport links.
In the tourist guide for foreigners "Bulgarie", Dryanovo is characterized as a city with handicrafts that flourished during the Turkish rule, in which residential architecture is particularly impressive. Today Dryanovo is a picturesque mountain town that impresses its guests with its natural beauties, architecture and its rich cultural calendar.
