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Vidin - History |
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Historians
claim that Vidin has existed as a town for more than 2000 years. Attracted
by the fertile land along the Danube, the
Thracian tribes of Mizi and Tribalti established the first settlement on
this land. At the beginning of the new era the lower course of the Roman
Empire and Roman legions settled near the old Thracian settlements. At
that time the name of the town was Bononia. It developed as an important
urban and military centre. When
the slurs came in the 7th the century the town was named Bdin.
At the end of the 10th c. the rulers of the town, assessing
it’s strategic situation, began constructing new fortifications. The
foundations of the Baba Vida fortress were laid. People
have created a lot of legends about it. One of the most popular says:
In
1003 the Byzantine troops, led by the emperor Vasilius II, the killer of
the Bulgarians used the most modern means of siege, but the fortress was
defended bravely and had to surrender only because of treachery.
In
13th c. and 14th c. Vidin was the capital of an
independent fief. Many times it had to resist the attacks of tartars,
magyars and other enemy tribes. Among the rulers at that time was one,
whose name has remained forever in the history of the town and the country
– Tzar Ivan Sratsimir. Most probably he started ruling Vidin kingdom
in 1360. During his reign there was a period of relative peacefulness
despite the dynastic conflicts and the constant threat by the Turks. A lot
of documents of that time show that Vidin was one of the busiest ports on
the Danube. In order to preserve his kingdom Ivan Sratsimir had to declare
himself a vassal to the Turks. Ivan Sratsimir supported the campaign for
the liberation of the Christian world, organized by the Central European
countries and led by the Hungarian king Sigizmund. Sultan Bajazid, furious
of his opposition, sent his troops to Bdin and conquered the town by
fraud. So, in 1396 the Ottomans defeated the last Bulgarian stronghold.
During the years of the slavery Vidin succeeded in keeping its significance as a commercial and military center. Understanding its strategic situation the Turks turned into a citadel of paramount importance. |
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The
ruler of Bdin was already very old, so he decided to divide his kingdom
between his three daughters. The fertile land from Bdin to the Carpathian
Mountains he gave to his oldest daughter Vida. His daughter Gamza got the
land near the river Morava and the third one – Koula, was given the
land near the river Nishava and the town, since then has been named Koula.
Gamza and Koula got married but their marriages were a failure, so Vida
decided to remain single and defend her kingdom alone. An inaccessible
fortress was built by her order, which would protect the town from
invaders. Vida lived in it until she grew old and the people called the
fortress Baba Vida in her memory.
However,
the freedom – loving Bulgarians didn’t put up with this
situation. The first revolt against the Ottoman yoke broke out here in
1403. Konstantin and Fruzhin led it. The climax of the struggle against
the yoke was the revolt in the Northwest part of Bulgaria in 1850, but it
was suppressed, too.