Parvomay

The municipal centre town Parvomay is situated at 134 meters above sea level, with geographic coordinates 25о13`30`` east longitude and 42о06`00`` north latitude.

The topography of the Parvomay Municipality is predominantly a flat plain, except for the fields of the Voden and Bukovo villages and the rolling hills around Iskra, Bryagovo, Dragoinovo, and Ezerovo which are part of the foothills of Dragoyna.

The ridge's name comes from a legend about Dragoy, prince of the Slavonic tribe that inhabited the region and his daughter Dragoyna, who built a white stone castle on the peak that the Byzantines later conquered and destroyed.

Villages in Parvomay Municipality in the Plovdiv Province are; Bryagovo (789 inhabitants to 02/05/2006), Bukovo, Byala Reka, Dalbok Izvor, Dobri Do, Dragoynovo, Ezerovo, Gradina, Iskra, Karadjalovo, Vinitsa, Voden.

Archaeological finds in 2004 2005 and 2006 relate to a Thracian cult complex of a collection of tribes known as the Odrysian kingdom in an area to the south of Dragoynovo at the Goliama Dragoyna peak.

Sanctuaries of this type originated and developed as religious centres in the period between the Late Bronze Age and the end of the Roman Empire.

The sanctuary complex on Dragoyna peak was first studied and recorded in the first half of the 20th century since when the site has suffered at the hands of numerous treasure hunters.

Parvomay was for a time part of Eastern Rumelia, an autonomous province within the Ottoman Empire after the Treaty of Berlin in 1878.

On 14 April 1928, a sequence of two earthquakes[5] with a magnitude of approximately 7 in central Bulgaria destroyed 74,000 buildings and killed 114 people in the nearby cities of Plovdiv, Chirpan (to the north) and Parvomay.

There are also three elementary schools: St. Cyril and Methodius and Georgi Karaslavov and Hristo Botev, just south of the town centre and two kindergartens, Osmi Mart and Maritsa.

The upgrading of the Plovdiv-Svilengrad line was the biggest local project financed by EU's ISPA program at a cost of 340 million euros.

Falling from the Mechkovets Hills, the Kayaliyka River runs North through villages of Iskra, Bryagovo, Dragoinovo, Ezerovo and Bodrovo joining the Marista 8 km to the east of Parvomay Town.

Agriculture and especially vegetable growing are of great importance for the Parvomay region it is one of the biggest producers of tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and aubergine (egg-plant)in the Country.

The relative humidity is particularly low– up to 60%.The strongest wind comes from the North-West, mainly in May and June, when it blows for weeks with average velocity of about 3 м/s.

Short thunderstorms and hailstorms are quite common in summer and you may get some thick fogs in the North of the District along the Maritsa river but this is quite uncommon.

Parvomay town contains G. Karaslavov museum house and St. Dimiter Church (built in the period 1841–43) displays iconostasis and mural paintings of the Debar school.

Preserved ancient relics are displayed in a museum in the town the Primary School St. Cyril and Methodius and also the House of Culture in the village of Iskra.

During the month of May the May Cultural Festival is held in the town of Parvomay, where the people of Parvomay and their guests gather at the halls of the Community Centre to meet the art of the visiting theatres, the local dramatic and music-folklore teams, national favorite and local artists and a lot more interesting additional events.

Many national orchestras, folklore groups and single artists take part in the centre of Parvomay town.

Tourism in the Municipality is somewhat underdeveloped but growing,[8] with new hotels opening such as the 'Tzarigrad' in Debar south of Parvomay town and 'Finest' in the centre.

A second dam of the Kayaliyka river at Ezerovo forms a sizable lake which is a popular summer spot for local visitors and fishing.

Furthermore, in Tatarevo and Iskra there has been a growth and development in business tourism related to production and tasting of local wines.

Map of Parvomay municipality (Plovdiv Province)
Parvomay's courthouse, built in 1932
Parvomay Theatre & St. Cyril and Methodius
Georgi Karaslavov School, Parvomay
Parvomay Station during renovations
St. Georges Church, Parvomay
Bryagovo Lake, south of Bryagovo village
Angel Voyvoda Bust, Parvomay Park