Zvinitsa is a village in Southern Bulgaria. It is part of Kardzhali Municipality, Kardzhali Region.

It is 31 km north-east from town of Kardzhali, 26 km south from town of Haskovo, 93 km west from town of Svilengrad and 255 km south-east from city of Sofia.

The village of Zvinitsa is situated in the Eastern Rhodopes at an altitude of about 296 m. The relief is hilly and the climate - transitional Mediterranean with hot summer and mild winter. The village is located on the bank of Zvinitsa Dam and there are two more micro dams in the close proximity - Tokmakli Dam and Gledka Dam.

The population is approximately 420 people.

The village bears the name of Zvinitsa, son of Khan Omurtag and father of khan Presiyan and is famous as the Dobrudzha of Kardzhali Region with the most delicious peppers in the country.

The village is provided with electricity and water and has good tranport connections. There are an elementary school, a community center, a grocety store and one dentist here. GP you will fiond in the village of Most /6 km in the west/. The nearest hospitals are in Haskovo where you can also find the nearest secondary school.

LANDMARKS AND TOURISM

Every year at the end of May the traditinal fair of the village is held here.

At the settlement of the village of Perperek /14 km in the south/ is located the protected territory "Field of rodopska gorska maika" which occupies area of 1.70 ha. The plant is Balkan endemic species, included in the Red Book of Bulgaria.

At about 16 km in the south-west of Zvinitsa, close to the village of Chiflik, you can visit a rather interesting archaelogical complex of religious objects and tombs in the area Klise Basha. The most interesting object is the church built in the style of "opus mixtum" revealed on an earth terrace near Perpereshka River. At the west and the north of the main church is revealed large secular cemetery with more than 100 studied graves. Most of the tombs are burial chambers of stone plates and are marked by stone pillars with crosses, which was not a traditional custom of the Middle Ages. In many of the tombs were found artifacts associated primarily with the Christian religion.

At 21 km south-west is located the famous Thracian complex Perperikon. It consists of big megalithic sanctuary, a holy town and a fortress.

At about 23 km south-west, near the village of Shiroko pole, you can visit the medieval fortress Monyak. The fort is one of the largest (over 50 ha) and highest forts in the Rhodope mountains. It was built in XII-XIII century and was used as the main fort of Bulgarian rulers in the region in the early life of Bulgaria.

Sources: www.kardjali.bg, http://bg.guide-bulgaria.com, http://bg.wikipedia.org
Photos: www.panoramio.com, Internet