The village of Brestovitza in the Rodope Municipality is not one of the typical Bulgarian villages where population declines and unemployment is high. There are more than 3000 people living here and their number has been growing. What keeps so many young people here is the fact that nature provides perfect conditions for vine growing. Half of the people in Brestovitza own vineyards.

Vine growing and winemaking are the main occupations of the locals. Recently there has been growing interest in the cultivation of traditional and new types of table grapes. "Most of the table grapes on the local market in this country come from the region of Brestovitza," says Mayor Lyuben Radev. He says last year was very beneficial for producers as the warm and dry weather during the summer until the end of autumn allowed farmers to have a rich harvest of sweet and juicy grapes.

Lyuben Radev is proud that he has managed to protect a patent for Brestovitza to be designated as "Capital of Wine" in Bulgaria. This is important for the image of the village and attracts tourists. Brestovitza enjoys great interest as a wine destination abroad, too. Recently a large tour operator has declared interest to open an office there, which is expected to bring even more tourists.

"I am grateful to winemakers in the village as we all work for the common good. I meet winemakers every week to discuss new ideas and projects for the development of Brestovitza as a wine center of Bulgaria. We are to establish an association in order to apply for funding under European programs for rural areas. Our village is alive as there are many young people who are working in the sphere of agriculture. There are people coming here and looking for property to buy. Moreover, a large investor has planned to build a residential complex near the village. With joint efforts in the next few years we would have better infrastructure for the convenience of all residents," the mayor adds.

Another recent achievement of the village is the restoration of a remarkable house that is a monument of culture and dates back to the period of the National Revival. The idea for the restoration of the famous Vlahova House in Brestovitsa emerged some 60 years ago but financing was attracted just recently. In the near future the house will open as a Museum of Wine. More details from Lyuben Radev.

"The house has a rich history and Bulgarian national hero Vasil Levski had also been here. It is known that once arrived here from the town of Karlovo, hidden in a barrel of wine. The owner of the house was a wealthy wine producer, selling wine in the Karlovo region. The house is well preserved and we were able to carry out restoration works thanks to European funds. Now the house looks the way it originally did. We just need to arrange the museum's collection. We are to display old equipment used for making of wine and will pay special attention to archives and stories about the presence of Vasil Levski here. We want to create a place to store all the interesting things about Brestovitza that people should know about and remember," Lyuben Radev says.

English: Alexander Markov