Country Bulgaria Time zone EET (UTC+2) Local time Friday 4:23 PM Area code 07172 | Province
(Oblast) Sofia Postal Code 2212 Population 33 (2011) | |
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Weather 12°C, Wind NW at 11 km/h, 41% Humidity | ||
Berende (Bulgarian: Беренде; [bɛrɛnˈdɛ]) is a village in Dragoman Municipality, Sofia Province, in the westernmost part of Bulgaria near the border with Serbia.
Map of 2212 Berende, Bulgaria
Berende is located in the western reaches of the Balkan Mountains, not far from the banks of the Nishava River. The distance to the national capital Sofia is 52 km (32 mi). Nearby towns are Godech and the municipal centre Dragoman, both 10 km (6.2 mi) away. In 1985, Berende had 79 residents; in 2011, its population had dwindled to 33.
According to linguist Anna Choleva–Dimitrova, the toponym Berende stems from the Pecheneg tribe of the Berendei. The Berendei are known to have settled in various parts of the Balkans around the 10th–12th century.
The village has a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church, the Church of St Peter, which features rich 14th-century interior frescoes. It is located 800 metres (2,600 feet) west of the village, near the Nishava. Today, the churches lies in the village's old graveyard. Not far from the church on the way linking it to the village is Mosta (Моста, “The Bridge”), a natural bridge rock formation.