Haidushka Polyana, town of Tvarditsa

Overview

The Tvarditsa mountain is very beautiful. An emblematic place is "Haidushka Polyana". This beautiful corner of Stara Planina preserves the memory of heroism and greatness, of the indomitable spirit of the people of Tvarditsa.

It is located east of the Predela area, on the road to Chumerna peak. The road passes by a beautiful area surrounded by dense beech and pine forest. In the western part of the meadow there is a fountain, and in the eastern part, near the road, there is a modest memorial plaque, erected in 1968 with the names of the bandits who found refuge and protection here: Kara Kolyu, Peyu Buyukliata, Filip Totyu, Panayot Hitov, Hadji Dimitar, Stefan Karadja, Dimitar Kalachliyata, Zlati Konarchanina and others.

During the Liberation War (spring of 1877) the Tvardishka detachment of the voivode Simeon Stoykov was established around "Haidushka Polyana". The detachment provided the Russian command with valuable data on the movement of the Turkish army and assisted the passage of parts of the Russian army through the Tvardishki Pass in the winter of 1877/78.

The name of "Haidushka Polyana" has long become a bright legend and a proud present. Here, every year, on the first Sunday of August, the generations of Tvarditsa meet to testify to their admiration for the memory of the people's protectors and their attachment to their homeland and ancestral roots.