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Southeast Bulgaria > Aitos > History
History of AitosAitos is an old settlement founded by the Thracian tribes. Northwest of the town there are the remains of three turrets belonging to the medieval fortress called Aetos (in Greek - an eagle) erected between 650 and 750. And that is where its present day name comes from. It was registered with this name by the Byzantine chronicler Nikita Honiat, and in the chronicles of the French knight Geoffrois de Lavarduen. In 1206 Aetos was destroyed by the Crusaders. In 1488 it grew again as a fortified town. Later in 17th century the traveller Evlia Chelebi registered it as Chengis, while in the Revival Period it was known as Orlovo or Orlovets. At that time it was a considerably big town with a famous fair. After the signing if the peace treaty in Odrin in 1829 many inhabitants of the towns and its vicinity moved to Bessarabia, and yet during the liberation period (1878) the town numbered 3000 inhabitants. The annual four-day long agricultural and crafts fair continued to be held. The first agricultural school for young girls in the country was opened here.
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