men can be rallied". In the same letter, Đorđić claims that 1,500 of those Albanians lived near Tarnovo. Indeed, the toponym Arbanasi, a village near the city of Tarnovo, is a hint at Albanian settlement in the region. Arbanasi was populated (or repopulated) in the late 15th century and as an administratively autonomous village in the Ottoman Empire attracted many settlers. It is theorized that the first settlers were around 100–200 Albanians who were brought there during Bayezid II's campaigns in Albania. These settlers were gradually Hellenized and Bulgarianized in the following centuries. Other places in northern Bulgaria where an Albanian presence has been strongly suggested are Chervena Voda near Rousse, Poroishte near Razgrad, Dobrina near Provadia and Devnya near Varna. Albanians have been registered in the modern Bulgarian capital Sofia since the early 17th century; other possible colonies south of the Balkan Mountains included Gorno Arbanasi and Dolno Arbanasi near Asenovgrad. The most notable Albanian village in Bulgarian Thrace is Mandritsa near Ivaylovgrad, which was settled in the first half of the 17th century by settlers from near Korçë. A church was built in 1718. The village reached its demographic peak before the Balkan Wars; in 1912, it was inhabited by 1,879 people. Post-Liberation activities After the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule in 1878, many Albanians arrived to the country as political immigrants. A patriotic organization of Albanians in Bulgaria, Longing, was established on 1 January 1893 in Sofia and initially had 53 members. An Albanian-language printing press was founded shortly thereafter; besides calendars and newspapers, the printing house published important patriotic works of the National Renaissance of Albania, including publications by brothers Naim Frashëri and Sami Frashëri. Most notably, the text of the Albanian national anthem, Aleksander Stavre Drenova's Hymn to the Flag, was first published in Sofia by the Freedom of Albania newspaper. Notable people Politics Rıza Tevfik Bölükbaşı – Turkish philosopher, poet, politician of liberal signature and a community leader Vasile Lupu - Voivode of Moldavia between 1634 and 1653. Art and Entertainment Lika Yanko - Bulgarian artist Sports Linda Zetchiri - Bulgarian badminton player See also Mandritsa Arbanasi, Bulgaria Bulgarians in Albania Albania–Bulgaria relations References Footnotes Sources Ethnic groups in Bulgaria Bulgaria