Voivode Kalifer

According to legend, Kalifer Voivode was a hajduk leader who lived in the 16th century and is associated with the founding of Kalofer. Tradition holds that the town was established in 1533 during the reign of Sultan Suleiman I. Kalifer Voivode and his men controlled this part of the Balkan Mountains and frequently attacked Turkish caravans.

The sultan could not overcome Kalifer Voivode and his hajduks, so he offered to let them settle in the area of present-day Kalofer on condition that they stopped attacking the caravans. Kalifer Voivode accepted the proposal and settled there.

According to the legend, the men in Kalifer’s group had no wives and therefore “stole” brides from nearby Sopot. The privileges granted to the town from its foundation helped preserve its Bulgarian character. Kalifer Voivode himself fell in love with Buyana, the sister of his standard-bearer Radan from Sopot.

Tradition relates that Kalifer’s hajduks established families and brought craftsmen from Filibe to help build the town. Kalofer thus became one of Bulgaria’s centres of rebellion.