The Village of Zverino

The village of Zverino is situated in Northwestern Bulgaria in Mezdra municipality, Vratsa district, in the picturesque gorge of the Iskar River. The region has been inhabited since the highest antiquity initially by the Thracians, and later be Slavs and Bulgars. A lot of legends are told about the village of Zverino (zver in Bulgarian is beast). According to one of them it was named after a knight that during the Crusades fell in love with a beautiful girl of the region. The knight was called Herr Zern, and after he married the girl they settled near the river. Soon, other people settled near them, and the local men quickly renamed the foreigner for Herr Zern to Herr Zver. Another story tells that the village was named after a local haiduk called Neno. He was the first to dare living in the district with his young and beautiful wife. The land was fertile, but the people were scared to settle there, as apart from the wolves it was a place where robbers raged. The people called the first daredevil Zver Neno, and later started calling the entire district Zverino. Today the village is known for its incredible nature. The local community center Fakel (Torch) is dated back to 1926. In the years a lot of art groups, choirs, and dance groups and orchestras have worked in the community center. Currently the library of the community center has over 19,600 units.