Arbanasi

The official version about Arbanasi says, that it was founded in the XV - XVI century by settlers from South Epir. But nothing about an earlier existence of the village is known, except for the archeological founds around the two churches "St.Archangels Michail and Gavrail" and "St.Dimitar". Archeologists have claimed that these two churches were built on the foundations of earlier built churches. There is no further information. Since then thorougher researches were not made. Nevertheless some authors publicate some works that mention hypothesis that Arbanasi existed even earlier, back to the time of tsar Ivan-Asen II, right after his glorious victory at Klokotnitsa on 9 May 1230. If we have a close look over writings of the tsar found in Turnovo we can read a certain fragment: " … And all his lands from Odrin to Dratch I conquered, Grecian lands, and Arbanasian and Serbian…".

It is known that after tsar Ivan-Asen II's victory, Turnovgrad was a center of different cultures, and every single ethnical group had its own district - jewish, Armenian and the famous district of the just conquered Franks.

But does that mean that Arbanasi was a separate district of Albanian merchants even back in the XIII century? There are no solid evidences about that this is true. It is only known that this village was a place where some boyars lived.

And really while some archeologists were having a look over the city, some fragments of everyday-life pottery dating back from the XIV century.

But the lack of financial support from any source stopped the archeological works, so the theory that Arbanasi was settled during the reign of tsar Ivan-Asen II The Great remains neither proved nor rejected