Battle of Alamidere

The Battle of Alamidere was a clash between Bulgarian and Ottoman troops that took place on 21 October (3 November, New Style) 1912 during the First Balkan War, near the village of Alamidere, 15 km southeast of present-day Smolyan.

The battle ended in a Bulgarian victory. After their defeat, the Turks withdrew from the area and regrouped on the southern bank of the Arda. Through its victory in this battle, the 21st Sredna Gora Regiment captured the upper reaches of the Arda River and created favourable conditions for the complete liberation of the Rhodope Mountains from Ottoman rule. To commemorate this success, the village was renamed Polkovnik Serafimovo in 1934, after the rank and surname of the regiment's commander. One of the peaks near the battlefield was also named Mount Srednogorets. A monument was erected on Mount Srednogorets near Alamidere to commemorate those killed during the Balkan Wars. The peak subsequently became known as the Shipka of the Rhodopes.