Dragoynovo

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A village in central southern Bulgaria, in the Parvomay municipality of Plovdiv Province.
The region of Dragoyna is located where the Maritsa valley merges with the high mountains of the Rhodopes. The Dragoyna peak has two summits - Golyama (Big) and Malka (Little) Dragoyna, with an attitude difference of some 110 metres (360 ft). They are connected by a saddle.

As the highest point in the region, the peak has an extensive view.
The name of the village until 1906 was Kozluk.

In the 5th century BC, the powerful Odrysian kingdom was established in the Maritsa valley. The kingdom survived for centuries. The region of Dragoyna was probably a local centre of the Thracian aristocracy within the Odrysian kingdom. A high concentration of Thracian tumuli has been registered in the area. A golden ring has been found in Ezerovo near Dragoyna bearing an inscription that is thought to be in Thracian using the Greek alphabet. It indicates that the owners of the ring dedicated it to their deceased relatives. A settlement, most probably related to the sanctuary, was located close to the modern village of Dragoynovo.

In the 1st century AD this part of Thrace was added to the Roman Empire, and later it remained a part of its eastern half, the Byzantine Empire. It is known that a town centre, fortifications and churches from the Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages existed in the region. Probably in this period the legend – about queen Dragoyna – was made up.