Chavdar Voyvoda

Chavdar (Bulgarian: Чавдар) is a Bulgarian coachbuilding company in Botevgrad. Founded by Racho Dzhambov, the company that would later become "Chavdar" produced around 200 buses between 1927 and 1947; on chassis' from Ford Motor Company, Mercedes-Benz, and Dodge. In 1948 the state took control of the property. Later Chavdar models were rebadged and restyled Setras.

Chavdar is the name of a Bulgarian folklore hero. He was a 'haudut' or 'hauduk', which means someone protecting the people from Turkish/Ottoman injustice. Hauduts would usually take to the woods and wage guerilla warfare on the ruling Turks. One of the greatest haudut figures in Bulgarian foklore and epic tales, Chavdar was immortalised by one of the greatest poets and revolutionaries in Bulgaria - Hristo Botev. One of Botev's masterpieces is "Chavdar Voevoda". The name of the Bulgarian coach company carries the name of this same folklore and national hero character.

The origins of the name remain unclear. Although it was previously believed that Chavdar was a Turkish name, the name does not figure among Turkish names. There have been claims that Chavdar has a Persian or Hindi origin, which finally culminates in claims that it actually derives from Sanskrit. This is somewhat related to one of the theories of the homelands of the ancient Bulgars, which some people believe to have been between the Hindokush mountains and the Iranian plateau. Interestingly, in todays Chuvash republic - an ex-Soviet republic, there is a river called Chevdar. The Chuvash - a branch of the descendants of the ancient Bulgars - also happen to have a folk hero named Chavdar.