Opletnia

According to the authors of the popular collection "The Bulgarian Village", published in 1930, "it got its name from the winding and impassable Balkan area of ​​Opletnya". The way the houses were built, braided with hazel rods, also gave the name, its inhabitants claim today. According to a third legend, the name of the village comes from the dark ages of slavery, when the Turks braided the hair of a rebellious maiden around the largest tree. The main livelihood was fishing, mountain livestock breeding and agriculture, as well as mining - typical for the settlements of the region.
The village is located at the foot of the southern slope of the Vratsa Mountain. It starts from the valley of the Iskar River and "crawls" up the steep valley of the Byala Voda River. Historians believe that the land was inhabited by the Thracians, and the present-day village dates back to before the 14th century. In Turkish documents from the 16th century, it is found as the village of Oplatna and with its current name.

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  According to legend, the village was founded in the 18th century. There was a mill on the river, where the owner Stoyan Tsokol lived with his three sons. All the surrounding land was owned by two Turks. They gave the pastures for the use of Stoyan Voychov from the village of Osikovitsa. He could not pay the debt and the Turks wanted to take his livestock. After long pleas, they agreed to leave the animals to him, but only if he moved permanently with his family to the area. He came to Opletnya with his seven sons. This is how the great Voychovtsi and Tsokolovtsi families were born. At the same time, the founder of the Tujarites also moved here from Osikovo (Milanovo) to a more hidden place. Due to the small area of ​​land, the village is "collected" - there are no neighborhoods. After the murder of Botev, three of the Chetniks set off west to Osikovo (Milanovo). They passed through Kalichina Bara (Parshevitsa) then along the ridge above Kobilini Steni and descended along the ridge to the Rusinov del neighborhood. There they reached Semov's sheepfold. For several days, they were fed by grandmother Mina Mitrovitsa and her husband Dimitar Semov. Fearing this dangerous hospitality, Trifon Semov (their neighbor and nephew) suggested taking the komitas further away, supposedly to a safer place. Together with another relative, Trifon took the three chetniks to Toplata Dupka in the rocks above the neighborhood. While they were leading them, Trifon whispered to the other to take them and kill them, but he categorically refused. In Toplata Dupka, the komitas stayed for several days, supplied by Trifon with food sent to them by grandmother Mina and her mother-in-law. Then the three asked Trifon to take them across the Iskar River so that they could continue to the Botevgrad Balkan. He promised to take them to the boat that crossed the river near Oselna – the boatman was a relative of his and there would be no problems. In the meantime, Trifon went down to Opletnya and told the village leaders that he had komits and was thinking of calling them to the Turks. They tried to dissuade him, but he did not give up his intentions. After a few more days, he went down to Opletnya again and appeared before the byulukbashiya in the presence of several of the Bulgarian leaders. Trifon Semov insisted that the Turk send people to capture the chetniks, but the byulukbashiya was afraid that if there was a shootout, one of his subordinates might die and told Trifon Semov to tell the komits to run away from the village. However, the traitor did not give up and threatened that he would complain to the kaymakamin in Vratsa. Then the Turk decided to send people and agreed with Trifon to ambush the three chetniks the next evening. Yes, but as they were walking down, the three became suspicious and were on guard - they lay down, and Trifon fell, pierced by a Turkish bullet. Two younger chetniks ran down to the river in the bushes, but the next morning they were discovered and beheaded. Now there is a memorial plaque there above the road before Opletnya. The third chetnik, Sava Vuchovski from Drashan, fled up towards Osikovo. The Turks saw him the next day, but one of the locals helped him by misleading the pursuers and Sava escaped only slightly wounded. Then he hid in one of the Osikovo sheepfolds, but to be on the safe side they took him to the sheepfold of a shepherd from Opletnya under Kobilini steni. He hid there for several months. In the fall, a Turk from Vratsa, who had meadows nearby, was looking for a shepherd to take his flock to Constantinople. Sava was recommended to him, and so the Chetnik became a servant of Ismail Aga. Not only that, but the following year he again went with the sheep to Constantinople. That's where the Liberation found him.