The fall of Bulgaria under Turkish rule was not quick. For decades the Bulgarian people have fought in every way for their freedom. There are many examples of unimaginable courage, self-sacrifice and fearlessness, which people showed against the invader, but even more sunk into oblivion. Knowledge of the glorious past was not well received, and stories gradually became myths and myths became legends. However, this helped to preserve at least part of the story. The case of Queen Kuna, the ruler of the strong fortress Gradishte near the present-day village of Kunino, which is located near the town of Roman in northwestern Bulgaria, is similar.
Even today there is talk of the beauty of the Kuna Queen. She lived in the last years of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. The Turks came from the south through the Balkans, and Tsar Ivan Shishman had fled the royal city of Tarnovo to Nikopol. The local rulers were left alone to face the brutal invader. This is what happened to the ruler of the Gradishte fortress in the Iskar gorge. He proclaimed himself for king and marched against the Turks. Kuna was his only child. The legend tell that for this reason she was trained in martial arts by her father as a child. After her father’s death, there was no one to replace him, and she sat on her father’s throne. She became known among the people as a just and good ruler. Although she had a small kingdom, she had great courage. That is why she did not bow her head to the Turks, but went to war with them as a father. Kuna Queen gathered around her a group of girls who could ride, shoot a bow and spin a mace. For a long time, it stopped the invasions of the invaders to northern Bulgaria, preventing the gorge. Eventually the Turks became angry and sent a huge army. The queen and her Amazons were not afraid, but gave up every inch of land only after fierce battles and a lot of bloodshed. Eventually they were repulsed and the Ottomans headed for the fortress. Kuna decided to give them one last fight. The two armies met on the Rudina plateau near today’s Kunino. There, however, most Amazons died in the unequal battle. The Ottoman leader offered Kuna to surrender and become a khan in the sultan’s palace. In order not to fall into captivity, the proud queen of Kunino threw herself from the sheer cliffs above the Devil’s Mill cave.
The legend tell that her blond hair was left hanging on a hawthorn tree above the cave. Even today, the long ivy, falling like a girl’s hair from the rock, remind generations of the fearless girl. The statue of Kunino’s protector is still white today at the height above the village of Kunino, sculpted by teachers at the local Technical School of Stone.