Balgarevo

Balgarevo is a village in Kavarna Municipality, Dobrich Province, northeastern Bulgaria. As of December 2010, it has a population of 1,375 inhabitants.

History

According to local sources the village has been established by seven families. Descendants of these families also live in the village nowadays. The settlement has changed its location at least once after it was situated closer to Kaliakra cape, as of the hypothesis is epidemic disease. The old population of Balgarevo belonged to the Gagauz ethnic group. Later in mid-19th century large families from Kotel, Elena and Yambol regions follow the 'emigration flow' from inner Bulgaria to Dobrudja and settled in the village.

The two massive stone-built churches are popular landmarks. One is the so-called 'Greek church' due to the frescoes in Greek language on its walls. The presence of such is reasonable, as before the Liberation the local population failed to acknowledge the Bulgarian Exarchate by following the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople. There is also a certain Greek cultural and social influence that could be noticed even by the given names of the inhabitants. This period finally ended during the 1920s leaving of the Greek colonies which populated the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.