Yavornitsa Village

This is a village in the municipality of Petrich, located in the northern foothills of Belasitsa Mountain at 500 m a.s.l. and at 18 km west of Petrich. Local people grow tobacco, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and cabbage. Most houses are renewed; there are a few left old ones built in the style of the Rhodoppean house and the Ograzhden-Maleshevo house. Six of them have been designated as Cultural Monuments. The village has electricity and water supply; sewage is built at 90%.
The primary school of Dyado Ilyo Voivoda was opened in 1914; the Anton Popov Chitalishte – in 1965. It has a female singing group for authentic folklore, children’s singing and dancing groups; female folklore dancing ensemble, a Roma dancing group. The groups have taken part in many national and international festivals and has won many prizes incl. golden medals at the Pirin Sings Regional Festival.
In the locality of Gratska Chuka, north of the village, there is a Thracian necropolis (8 mounds) from the late Iron Age and the Roman Epoch. Other localities also host ancient remains. In the village itself, scientists have found plates with images of the three nymphs (from Antiquity) and a stone with some inscriptions (the Ottoman Period). Under the name of Yavornitche, the village was mentioned in Ottoman registries from 1570 and 1664. The main means of livelihood in the 19th c. were agriculture (wheat, maze, rice, cotton, linen, poppy, vines and orchards) and silk culture, less stock-breeding.
Three ethnic groups live peacefully in the village – Bulgarians, Turks and Roma people. At present, Yavornitsa has 300 houses and 1060 citizens. The average age of population is 45 years. The church holiday is on May 11, the Village Day – on May 24.
Phone code of Yavornitsa: (0)74202; postal code: 2896.