The original settlement was formed on the northwest edge of the valley, which had the same name, round the ramparts of the old Roman fortress, which was registered in the maps of that time (the 3 rd century) as Mutacio Turess, which means the tower in Latin. The settlement developed thanks to the vicinity of the road famous for that time – Via militaris, known as the Emperor's road in the Middle Ages. The city is mentioned in the 14 th century under the name Pirgos which has the same meaning – the tower. The Turks called Pirot Serkjoj, which means city village.
In the second half of the 19 th century when our region was under the Turkish rule, Mohammedan tribe of Tatar origin, settled near Pirot. They were expelled from Russia and moved to Turkey and they scattered to all parts of the empire. They built their own village – Corin Dol, near the village Veliko Selo. People called it later “cerkesko selo”. These people lived more from stealing the cattle during the night than by working. The Turks expelled them from the village and burnt it.
During its existence, Pirot was ten times flooded by the rivers on which banks it is situated, it was two times shaken and destroyed by the earthquakes and two times devastated by the plague. Pirot and its vicinity survived the Turkish oppression which lasted from 1442 to 29 December, 1877 when it was liberated after the battles in Nisor, Budin del and in Pirot. The Turks were expelled for good from this city and from our country. The people from Pirot fought bravely in the Serbian-Turkish war 1912 and in the First World War; 7610 people lost their lives in these wars. Pirot and its vicinity, as well as, the whole our country, was betrayed and left by the royal army and the king in 1941 during the Second World War. The Germans entered Pirot and eleven days later they left it and its entire region to the Bulgarian fascists. Then, the third and the longest Bulgarian occupation began. Pirot was enslaved, but the insubordinate city began an uprising as many times before. The difficult battle for the liberation started and it lasted three and a half years. The striking battalion of Pirot's Partisan Detachment entered Pirot on 8 September, 1944, and it was greeted with joy and flowers. About 2000 people from Pirot lost their lives in the War of National Liberation.
The city of poor craftsmen and migrant workers became known for its beautiful rugs, kachkaval, cheese and pottery products...
