The village of Kozichino

The village of Kozichino is one of the most picturesque villages nestled in the warm embrace of the Emin part of the Balkan Mountains. Kozichino, better known as Erkech, is the only village in Bulgaria that has managed to keep the language and traditions of our ancestors untouched by time. Old Bulgarian is still spoken here and the unique customs and traditions of the old Bulgarian culture are alive.
Throughout its history, Kozicino has not allowed another’s foot to sleep in his lands. The expression “Go and go, don’t get dark in Erkech!” Has been preserved since Turkish times.
The only working lemonade machine in the country from the beginning of the XX century is preserved in the village. The lemonade is produced in a classic way, being bottled in original bottles with a ceramic-wire stopper.
In Kozichino there is also a working windmill, as well as an authentic gift for dragging wool from the beginning of the XX century. There is also the old house “Daraka”, which has authentic equipment, household tools, costumes and is organized as an ethnographic museum.
One of the landmarks of Kozichino is the church “St. Great Martyr Paraskeva ”. It is a three-nave basilica, built in 1845-1848 and is one of the few fully preserved authentic churches in Bulgaria. “St. Paraskeva” has a very interesting story. In order to build their church, the local peoples chose the lowest place in the village so as not to anger the Ottomans. Sometimes Ottoman gangs from neighboring villages destroyed what was built, but the next night the villagers rebuilt it.
This is the only village in Bulgaria where the custom of lazary is held on “Palm Sunday”.