Chiprovets Uprising of 1688

a revolt of the Bulgarian population of the city of Chiprovets (now Chiprovtsi, northern Bulgaria) and its environs against the Turkish yoke in September 1688. It took place during the war between the Ottoman Empire and the anti-Turkish coalition of European states known as the Holy League.

The uprising was provoked by the Austrians’ occupation of Belgrade on Sept. 6,1688, and their advance on Vidin and Sofia. The rebel forces consisted of artisans and merchants of Chiprovets, who were for the most part Catholics, and Orthodox peasants from nearby villages. The rebel detachments, whose commanders included G. Peiachevich, I. Stanislavov, and L. Andrenin, were crushed by the forces of the Hungarian feudal lord I. Thököly, an ally of the Ottoman Turks. Chiprovets and the various villages that had taken part in the uprising were plundered and burned. Many of the inhabitants were killed; others fled.