Melnik

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Bulgaria -x- Blagoevgrad Province

Melnik day.jpg

Location: Melnik is a tiny town in Blagoevgrad Province, in south-western Bulgaria, in the southwestern Pirin Mountains, about 437 meters (1,434 ft) above sea level.
Climate:
History: It has a long and proud history, but its current population is counted at 325 humans. It is popularly known as Bulgaria's smallest city, and rates in an international survey as the 10th drunkest city in the world. Melnik has figured in Vampiric history over the centuries: The Church of St Nicholas the Thaumaturge (ruins near the current town) was an early attempt by the Tremere to extend their influence into the region. Though the Tremere were slaughtered by Tzimisce nobles at the time, the church remained in use for several centuries.

Through the turn of the last century, it was home to a coterie of relatively young vampires who may or may not have been associated with the Sabbat. The Southern Courts eventually succeeded in driving them out, and at the end of WW II, prevailed upon the Greek government to order the Greek population (the large majority at the time) to move South before the town and its environs were turned over to Bulgaria. According to reliable sources, there are no current supernatural occupants.
Population: With a population of 385, it is the smallest town in Bulgaria, retaining its city status today for historical reasons.
Economy: The economy of Melnik is run by Tourism and Real Estate development (outside city limits). The town is an architectural reserve and 96 of its buildings are cultural monuments.

By Night

Melnik night.png

Arenas

Attractions

Bars and Clubs

Castles

Cemeteries

City Government

The Mayor of Melnik

The Melnik Town Council

Local Law Enforcement


Churches

Crime

"There is little to no crime in Melnik. All the residents in the city take great pains to make sure nothing disturbs the tourist trade."

Citizens of Melnik

Current Events

2008
The provincial authorities felt the town needed a part-time constable, so they sent Raina Popov to fill the position. To date she performs her duties to perfection, which is to say that she patrols, watches the town's visitors and protects the townsfolk from outsiders.

2009
On the night of April 17th, the village idiot Haralambi left the Lupine Tavern and was never seen again. At midnight, his landlady Ruzha Yankov called the nightwatchman Zdravko Minkov to go and find the drunk idiot, who she was certain had fallen asleep somewhere on the way home.

Zdravko was last seen investigating a disturbance in the small garden between Tomov Brothers Bibliophiles and Bozhidarov Tobacco Sellers. What that disturbance was, remains a mystery. When the nightwatchman failed to come back with Haralambi, Ruzha finally called the new constable to investigate. A considerable amount of blood was found at the scene, though not enough to account for a death, but likely a serious injury.

By midnight, the entire town was awake and terrified by these bizarre disappearances; those who had organized search parties, the constable confined to the Lupine Tavern and the rest she strongly advised to remain in the safety of their homes. Unfortunately, the current group of tourists became involved.

By three o'clock in the morning, it became apparent that neither the village idiot or the nightwatchman were going to be found, as a thick fog had rolled in and made further investigation a near impossibility.

Near dawn of April 18th, Zdravko Minkov was seen by most of the shop owners and other early risers, running through the town - waving at everyone as he ran towards a small river bed, about a kilometer east of town. The last person to see Zdravko alive was his best friend Vasil Dimov, the custodian of the local stadium.

Vasil thought that something was wrong with Zdravko, because when he ran past he just waved and he looked very pale. Vasil was so concerned that he gave chase, but Zdravko reached the river which was swollen with spring runoff a couple minutes before him. Vasil saw him jump, naked into the ice cold, white water of the river and he was carried away down river in the dawn light.

Zdravko's uniform and weapon were found nearby on the muddy banks of the river by the constable and those she deputized to find the missing nightwatchman. Though the constable and her deputies searched for the next few days, down both sides of the riverbank as far as the highway, no remains were ever found. The local judge, Magistrate Lazarov ultimately ruled it a suicide and the case was shut, but Vasil and Zdravko's friends feel certain that it was something else entirely, perhaps the 'evil eye' at work.

Galleries

Hospitals

Hotels & Hostels

Hypermarkets

There are no hypermarkets in Melnik, in fact, asking for one brings a blank look from any towns-person. Almost all inns and taverns provide meals, but townspeople do buy goods and necessities from the local shops, of which there are several. All basics can be obtained through local merchants, in the unlikely circumstance that a visitor might need something from outside Melnik, it can likely be found for sale at Georgiev's Grocery. Most locals shop elsewhere and one wonders how Spas Georgiev makes a living.

Landmarks

Maps

Melnik map detailed.png

Monasteries

Monuments

Museums

Parks

Private Residences

Restaurants

Ruins

Schools

Shops

Theatres

Transportation

Vampires of Melnik

Aleksey Asen -- The Prince of Melnik

Wraiths of Melnik

Websites

www.wikipedia.org (from there, you can find a variety of sites)

http://www.bulmaps.bg/index.php?l=eng

http://www.visittobulgaria.com/visit/practical_info/maps_collection/map_of_melnik