Palitsi village

The village of Palitsi is located 13 kilometers from the town of Elena on the road to Sliven. It is located on a high hill, which serves as a watershed between the Kostelska and Bebrovska rivers. The climate is temperate-mountainous with cool summers and long autumns.

The village consists of two parts: Gorno Palitsi (the old village) behind the river in the direction of the village of Kamenari, where there are still preserved old houses. There was also an old inn there. The village is supposed to have originated here; Dolno Palitsi (Razvalatsi). During raids by Turks and robbers, this part was often devastated, that's why it is called Razvalatsi.

There are several legends about the origin of its name. One says that after the forest was uprooted, the fern was set on fire to make room for the houses, and from the word "pali" the name Palitsi was derived.

Another legend says that the first settlers were two brothers. One of them was small in stature, and that's why they called him pale. He lived in the eastern end of the village, which is why this part was called "Palik" and from there came the name Palitsi. The other brother lived at the western end of the settlement and in the winter made a sled in the snow, but his brother let his pigs loose and ruined it. That is why the western neighborhood was called Razvalatsi.

There is evidence that the name of the village originates from Latin - Palatium (tent, marquee), which meant a tent, a summer villa, as the Romans built by the roads. And not far from here ran the Roman road from Nikopolis ad Istrum to the Vratnik pass (Demir gate) in Stara planina.

Another version indicates that merchants and other travelers stayed in the roadside inn. It was set on fire several times and then restored. The name of the settlement came from these burnings.

Outlaws and Chetniks roamed the vicinity of Palitsi in Turkish times. In 1900-1901, during the extraction of firewood, a human skeleton and a rifle were found in a hollow oak tree. There are conjectures that perhaps there was a local revolutionary committee in the village, as committee papers were found in the attic of an old house, handed over to the school museum in the village of Chakali. The village is the center of several nearby hamlets. During the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, there was a Bashibozic camp in its vicinity. During the fighting, the village and hamlets were burned and looted.