Donauschwaben
 Villages Helping Hands

Remembering Our Danube Swabian Ancestors

DS in Bulgaria Homepage


GOSTILYA
 

          Gostilya (Bulgarian: Гостиля; also transliterated Gostilja) is a village in central northern Bulgaria, located in Dolna Mitropoliya municipality, Pleven Province. It was founded in 1890 by 133 families of Roman Catholic Banat Bulgarians from 2 Banat villages 1: Stár Bišnov (Bulgarian), today is Dudeștii Vechi, Romanina (Official), other variant names are Altbeschenowa (German), Óbesenyö (Hungarian) and 2: Ivanovo (Bulgarian), today is Ianova, Romania (Official), Janowa (German), Jen/Ianovici (Other), Temesjenő/Margitfalva/Janova (Hungarian) in what was then Austria-Hungary. It was later also settled by Banat Danube Swabians, Eastern Orthodox Bulgarians and Aromanians from Macedonia, as well as Banat Bulgarians from other villages.

          A school was built in 1893, the Roman Catholic church was opened in 1904 and the local community centre (chitalishte) was founded in 1926. Gostilya was once the poorest of the Banat Bulgarian villages in Bulgaria because it had a limited common[1] land. In 1939, the local Roman Catholic community numbered 1,091. 33 Banat Swabians left Gostilya in 1943 due to Nazi Germany's Heim ins Reich policy. As of 2008, Gostilya had a population of 289[1] and the mayor is Mariana Romanova.

          Gostilya Dolna Mitropolia Municipality, Pleven district, (133 families) - also joined by several families of Banat Swabians.

  


©Petar Iankov

 

Family of Stephanie Benjamin Leicher in Gostilya

 

 

 

Bibliography
Sources Used For This Work

  1. Njagulov, Blagovest (1999). "Banatskite bǎlgari v Bǎlgarija". Banatskite bǎlgari: istorijata na edna malcinstvena obštnost vǎv vremeto na nacionalnite dǎržavi (in Bulgarian). Sofia: Paradigma. ISBN 954-9536-13-0.

  2. Von Valentin, Louis (4 January 2003). "Bulgarien: Das etwas andere Dorf. Schwäbische Kultur zwischen Donau und Balkan" (in German). Preußische Allgemeine Zeitung / Das Ostpreußenblatt. Retrieved 2007-03-26.

  3. Cenkova, Iskra. "Germanija, bǎlgarska prikazka" (in Bulgarian). TEMA. Retrieved 2008-08-09.

  4. Contributions by  Rose Vetter, Anton Laigep and Jody McKim Pharr

  5. Roman Catholic church in Gostilya (image), author: Petar Iankov, permission code: CC-BY-2.5.

1: Common land (a common) is land owned collectively or by one person, but over which other people have certain traditional rights, such as to allow their livestock to graze upon it, to collect firewood, or to cut turf for fuel; "Hutweiden" (common pastures) of old times.

[Published at DVHH.org by Jody McKim Pharr 22 May 2013]


 

 

 

DVHH Bulgaria Coordinators:
 Rose Vetter, Richmond, BC - Canada
Anton Laigep,  Sofia, Bulgaria

English: County
Hungarian: Megye
Romanian: Judet
Serbian: Okpry
German: Grafschaft
Bulgarian: окръг

For family research join the DVHH Mail List!

Please share additional information about the villages and/or volunteer to be a Look-Up Guide, email the Bulgaria Coordinators.

 "History is the memory of things said and done."
- Carl L. Becker

A short history of the Danube Swabians

Ethnic Cleansing in Europe: 1944-1948

The Atrocity Book List

Historical Maps

Regional & Village Information:
[Banat] [Batschka] [Hungarian Highlands] [Sathmar] [Swabian Turkey] [Syrmia] [Slavonia]

Main DVHH Sections:
[History] [Our Heritage] [Research]
[Community]  [Search DVHH]

About Us / Contact:
[DVHH at a glance] [Membership] [Contact Registry] [DVHH Mail List] [Guestbook] [DVHH News]

DVHH.org © 2003-2013 Donauschwaben Villages Helping Hands, a Nonprofit Corporation
Last Updated: 19 Jun 2013
Keeping the Danube Swabian legacy alive