Location: Pleven District, Cherven Bryag Municipality
Population: 1119 people (as at 01.01.2007 – National Statistical Institute) Area: 32.598 km2 (National Statistical Institute).
Distance to Sofia: 84.511 km
Latitude: 43.23333N
Longitude: 24.03333E
Altitude: 100 - 199m

History

Reselets Village is situated in a sheltered valley between the last hills of Veslets and the farthest west points of Vratsa and Pleven districts, at 6 km to the west of Cherven Bryag, touching the left bank of Iskar River at altitude of 101 m. It is surrounded by Glesh hill to the north and Glamea hill to the south. Squeezing through pinnacles and rocky peaks, coming from Veslets, the small Rachene River, which never dries up, splits the village in two halves.
In the past, Reselets Village was popular for its watermills – karadzheyki. Since ancient times, when these areas were first inhabited, the waters of Rachene River and Belilkata River served as main drivers of many water utilities – watermills, fulling-mills, carders, etc. During the years, they provided means of living and economic growth to the habitation.
Village climate is extremely favorable for curing lung diseases. According to experts, the air changes several times in 24 hours there.

Historical background

Reselets used to be a big medieval castle town, important administrative center in medieval Bulgarian state, which was called Reselcha or Reselja (Turkish). In 17 century it lost its town status and was listed as village. Many ancient names are preserved on its territory: Bragles, Vranitsa, Vagrenitsa, Golesh, Glamea, Juglata, Kreshta, Ostroga, Pukela, Prokopanta, Propasishte, Raztoka, Rudinata, Stublata, Chutna, etc. These names are evidence of the ancient origins of the village and the fact that human activity here has not been interrupted for long time periods.
Turkish conquerors inherited it as a town and large administrative center. In the first centuries of the Turkish yoke it was known as vilaet (district), Reselets being the center.

Reselets Ziamet (territorial unit) included the town of Reselets and three villages – Lipnitsa (now Lepitsa), Chomakovtsi and Gabrvets (now Gabare). Eleshten, Suhache and Cherven Brayg were listed in the Timars (territorial units) after the Ziamet.

Reselets was the seat of the feudal lord, who reigned over the entire Ziamet. Orehovo beys and agas called it Kucuk Stambul (Little Istanbul) and used to come here in summer with their harems looking for coolness and good hunting in the age-old forests.

In the centuries that followed, village existence was documented in soldier registers of Hiybolu Kaaza (region).
During World War II, in Kaleto area treasure-hunters found golden coins with inscriptions and the image of Byzantine Emperor Constantine the Great. This leads to the assumption that Kaleto existed even during the Byzantine rule.

Multiple excavation in Kaleto area revealed valuable artifacts suggesting that the castle had a special place in the strategy of the tribes which used to inhabit the area in various periods of the distant past. Preserved are parts of thick surrounding walls, and in the west end of the area traces were found of cylindrical outpost and watch tower foundations built of baked bricks. In the flat part, remains were found of walls and edifices, and in 1960, during the excavation works for the construction of a tourist hut, the workers found the foundations of large rooms. The excavations for the water supply conduit along the route from Dobranin Dol uncovered well-shaped and robust clay pipes.

In 1952 near Cherven Bryag railway station at 2 km from Reselets, in Bivolski Kamak area, among the ruins of an old building, workers of the State Construction Association – Cherven Bryag Group, stumbled across three silver utensils Two of those had engraved on them the image of the Roman Emperor Licinius I (308 – 324). The inscription around the portrait reads that the utensils were manufactured in 318 AD on the occasion of his ascent to the throne.

Spear tips and arrows were found in the same area as well as a sickle dated back in the Iron Age, a stone hammer, a chrommel (manual stone grinder), a marble tombstone of the Roman warrior Lucius Plinus dated 79 AD, a rectangular sacrificial alter with carved bull’s heads, Roman clay utensils and a coin of Gordian III (238 – 244), a tombstone with burial feast (found in 1904)