Blagoevgrad
Blagoevgrad is а city in southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province, with a population of 70,881 inhabitants. It lies on the banks of the Blagoevgradska Bistritsa River; the city is the cultural centre of southwestern Bulgaria. It is located in the valley of the Struma River at the foot of the Rila Mountains, 101 kilometres south of Sofia, close to the border with North Macedonia. Blagoevgrad features a pedestrian downtown with preserved 19th-century architecture and numerous restaurants, cafés, coffee shops, boutiques. Blagoevgrad is home to two universities, the South-West University "Neofit Rilski" and the American University in Bulgaria; the city hosts the "Sts. Cyril and Methodius National Humanitarian High School", the former Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki moved from Thessaloniki to Blagoevgrad in 1913. Attractions in the surrounding area include the resort Bodrost. In Ottoman times the town was known as Yukarı Cuma in Gorna Dzhumaya in Bulgarian.
The name Gorna Dzhumaya distinguished the town from Dolna Dzhumaya to the south. The second is called today Irakleia, is in Greece; the town was renamed Blagoevgrad in 1950. The name Blagoevgrad is a construct from Blagoev + the Slavic suffix -grad, "Blagoev's city". Blagoev is from the Bulgarian personal name Blagoy, from blag, "sweet, figuratively- gentle and kind". Named after Bulgarian Workers' Social Democratic Party founder Dimitar Blagoev, an immigrant from Ottoman Macedonia; the climate is transitional continental with a strong Mediterranean influence, due to air masses that enter from the south valley of the Struma river. The city is protected from cold northerly winds due to the natural barrier of the high hills of Rila massif and the village of Belo pole. Mountain breeze descends from Rila along the river Bistritsa bringing cool air during hot summer days. Wind is moderate - 1.6 metres per second. Thanks to the many mountain forests around the town and the lack of industrial pollution, the air is clean in Blagoevgrad.
Winter is mild and marked by little to no snowfall. The average temperature in January is 0.6 °C. Summers are dry, with a small amount of rainfall; the average July and August temperature is 24 °C and the maximum temperature measured in Blagoevgrad is 44.6 °C. The average annual temperature is around 13 °C. An ancient Thracian settlement called Scaptopara emerged on the site around 300 BC and was conquered by the Roman Empire; the settlement was known for the hot springs in the vicinity. Although the history of the settlement in the Middle Ages is unknown, during the Ottoman rule of the Balkans it became a Muslim-majority town called Cuma-ı Bala, meaning Upper Juma in Persian and Ottoman Turkish. A Bulgarian quarter called Varosha was formed during the Bulgarian National Revival, with many of its typical houses and the Church of the Presentation of the Mother of God from 1844 being preserved to this day. A chitalishte was founded in 1866 and the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913 saw the liberation of the area from Ottoman rule and its integration in the Bulgarian state.
Before the Balkan Wars, Cuma-ı Bala was bounded as kaza to Serez sandjak in Selanik vilayet. In 1900, according to Vasil Kanchov the population of the town numbered 6440 people, of whom 1250 were Bulgarians, 4500 Turks, 250 Vlachs, 200 Roma, 180 Jews and 60 Greeks. During that time most of the Turks lived in the city and the Bulgarians lived in the surrounding villages. Many refugees from Greek and Vardar Macedonia arrived in the town in the subsequent decades; because of the large number of students, its cross-road location and number of social factors, the city has well developed economy. There are many clothing stores, cafés, restaurants; the district has the sixth largest economy in Bulgaria, for its share of the GDP, after the more industrial districts of Sofia City, Sofia District and Burgas. The number of people registered as unemployment is below 10%, less than the average for the country. Industries of interest: Food and tobacco processing industries - Animal products, vegetables and liquor production.
High export potential. Textile industry - Foreign investors have helped the development of many firms that produce ready-made clothing. Timber and furniture industries - The easy access to local resources makes gives that branch perspectives for development. There are open foreign markets for furniture. Increasing interest of foreign investors. Iron processing and machinery industry - Firms specialize in production of metal constructions and details. Radio-electronic equipment and other electronic communication components are being produced. Construction materials industry - The terrain characteristics are suitable for the extraction of certain minerals, used in construction. Marble is extracted at numerous locations in Sandanski municipality, Petrich, Strumyani. Other - Tourism, plastics, shoes. Transport: The city is situated on the European road E-79 and the Republican road I-1. Blagoevgrad is 31 km away from North Macedonia, 83 km away from Greece, 88 km away from Serbia; the distance to Sofia is 96 km, to Skopje - 183 km.
The city is a main crossroad for tourists who want to visit the mountains and their ski resorts such as Bansko, Sandanski. The town is attractiv
Stara Zagora
Stara Zagora is the sixth-largest city in Bulgaria, the administrative capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province. It has a proud history illustrated by the many impressive ancient Roman buildings preserved in its centre; the name comes from the Slavic root star and the name of the medieval region of Zagore The original name was Beroe, changed to Ulpia Augusta Traiana by the Romans. From the 6th century the city was called Vereja and, from 784, Irenopolis in honour of the Byzantine empress Irene of Athens. In the Middle Ages it was called Boruj by the Bulgarians and Železnik; the Turks called it Eski Hisar and Eski Zagra, from which its current name derives, assigned in 1871. The original Thracian settlement dates from the 5-4th century BC when it was called Beroia; the city was founded by Phillip II of Macedon in 342 BC. Under the Roman Empire, the town was renamed Ulpia Augusta Traiana in honour of emperor Trajan; the city grew to its largest extent under Marcus Aurelius and became the second most important city in the Roman province of Thrace after Philippopolis.
Its status and importance is evidenced by the visits of several emperors including Septimius Severus and Diocletian. The Battle of Beroe was fought near the city in 250 resulting in a Gothic Victory, it was after this event that the city walls were doubled like other cities in the region. In the 2nd-3rd century the city had its own coin mint showing its importance. In 377, in the Gothic War, the Goths marched on Beroe to attack the Roman general Frigiderus but his scouts detected the invaders and he promptly withdrew to Illyria; the city was rebuilt by Justinian. John's Byzantine army, many of the captives, were settled as foederati within the Byzantine frontier. In 1208 the Bulgarians defeated the Latin Empire in the battle of Boruy fought nearby; the Ottomans conquered Stara Zagora in 1371. A grade school was built in 1840 and the town's name was changed to Zheleznik in 1854 instead of the Turkish Eskizağra, but was renamed once again to Stara Zagora in 1870, it was an administrative centre in Edirne Province before 1878 as "Zağra-i Atik".
After the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule in 1878, it became part of autonomous Eastern Rumelia as a department centre before the two Bulgarian states merged in 1886 as a result of the Unification of Bulgaria. Many of the monuments from the Roman city have been excavated and are visible in situ today and include: City walls The "Antique" Forum Roman city streets and buildings The Roman Baths 4th-6th c. public building with mosaics 4th c. private house with mosaics of Silenus with Bacchantes and of Dionysus’s Procession South city gate Thracian TombOverlooking the "antique" forum is an unusual building in the form of a monumental auditorium in the shape of a theatre. Stara Zagora is the administrative centre of the Stara Zagora Province, it is about 231 kilometres near the Bedechka river in the historic region of Thrace. The city is in an area of a transitional continental climate with a considerable subtropical influence; the average yearly temperature is about 13 °C. Stara Zagora was the biggest town in today's Bulgarian territory before liberation from Ottoman rule.
But the town was burned and destroyed by Turkish army during the Liberation war in 1877-1878. During the first decade after the liberation of Bulgaria, in the 1880s the population of Stara Zagora decreased and numbered about 16,000. Since it started growing decade by decade because of the migrants from the rural areas and the surrounding smaller towns, reaching its peak in the period 1989-1991 exceeding 160,000. After this time, the population has started decreasing because of the low birth rate. Stara Zagora is one of the richest cities in Bulgaria with much better economic situation than average for the Bulgarian provinces. According to the latest 2011 census data, individuals who declared their ethnic identity were distributed as follows: Bulgarians: 117,963 Gypsies: 5,430 Turks: 1,965 Others: 579 Indefinable: 617 Undeclared: 11,718 Total: 138,272 PFC Beroe Stara Zagora is a football club in Stara Zagora, it plays at Beroe stadium. The team is a member of the "A grupa" league. Beroe has won the Bulgarian Cup two times.
Historical sites Regional Historical Museum The Antique Forum Thracian Tomb The Roman Baths Roman mosaics of “Silenus with Bacchantes" and of Dionysus’s Procession The Samarsko Zname Monument Ayazmoto Park Defenders of Stara Zagora Memorial Complex Memorial House of Geo Milev The South Gate of Augusta Trajana The Opera House, built in 1925 Stara Zagora Transmitter with one of the few Blaw-Knox Towers in Europe Neolithic Dwellings Museum Bedechka - Gradinski Central City Part Makedonski know as Chumleka Dabrava Eastern Industrial Zone Geo Milev Golesh Industrial Zone Kazanski Kolyo Ganchev Lozenets Mitropolit Metodiy Kusev (Митрополит Методий Кусев - named after a
Petrich
Petrich is a town in Blagoevgrad Province in southwestern Bulgaria, located at the foot of the Belasica Mountains in the Strumeshnitsa Valley. As of 31 December 2013, the town has 31,140 inhabitants, it is the seat of Petrich Municipality. Petrich is located close to the borders with the Republic of Macedonia; the crossing into Republic of Macedonia is known as Novo Selo-Petrich, as the first settlement across the border is Novo Selo. Petrich Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named for Petrich. Petrich was included in the territory of the Bulgarian State during the reign of Knyaz Boris I. During the Middle Ages it was a Bulgarian fortress of importance during Tsar Samuil's wars with Byzantium. During Ottoman rule, it formed part of the Rumeli Eyalet, in the 19th century became a kaza of the Sanjak of Serres in the Salonica Vilayet. From 19 January 1892, Petrich and its district were included in the Bulgarian Exarchate, before being included in Bulgaria following the Balkan Wars in 1912-13.
In October 1925 it was the site of a brief conflict between Greece and Bulgaria sometimes called the War of the Stray Dog. The climate of Petrich is mediterranean climate with an average annual temperature of 15.5 °C. The town experiences considerable continental influence in winter. Petrich is the sunniest city in Bulgaria ahead of Sandanski with yearly sunshine hours exceeding 2,700 on average. Summer is hot and sunny and it is the longest season in Petrich, lasting from May through September as late as October; the average summer temperature is around 25 °C. In July, the sunniest month, Petrich receives 373 hours of sunshine, making it one of the sunniest places in Continental Europe. Winter season, around two months, lasts until early February. Average winter temperature is one of the highest in the country with average around 5 °C. In December, the darkest month, there are 103 hours of sunshine, on average. Climate table: The town is an agricultural centre for fruit and tobacco, it has three factories, making details for cranes and a furniture factory.
There is a 500 kW mediumwave broadcasting station working on 747 kHz. It uses as antenna a 205 metre tall guyed mast insulated with an additional cage antenna; this mast was built in 1977. Petrich.bg Petrich and photos Petrich municipality at Domino.bg Guide to Petrich municipality – cities, regions
Pleven
Pleven is the seventh most populous city in Bulgaria. Located in the northern part of the country, it is the administrative centre of Pleven Province, as well as of the subordinate Pleven municipality, it is the biggest economic center in Northwestern Bulgaria. At the end of 2015 its population is 99,628. Internationally known for the Siege of Plevna of 1877, it is today a major economic centre of the Bulgarian Northwest and Central North and the third largest city of Northern Bulgaria after Varna and Rousse; the name comes from the Slavic word plevnya or from plevel, meaning "weed", sharing the same root, the Slavic suffix -en. Pleven is in an agricultural region in the middle of the Danubian Plain, the historical region of Moesia, surrounded by low limestone hills, the Pleven Heights; the city's central location in Northern Bulgaria defines its importance as a big administrative, political and transport centre. Pleven is 170 kilometres away from the capital city of Sofia, 320 km west of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and 50 km south of the Danube.
The river Vit flows near the town and the tiny Tuchenitsa river crosses it. Pleven's climate is temperate continental. Winters are cool, with much snow: temperatures fall below −20 °C overnight. Springs are warm, with temperatures around 20 °C. Summers are warm, temperatures have exceeded 38–44 °C on occasion; the average annual temperature is around 13 °C. The earliest traces of human settlement in the area date from the Neolithic. Numerous archaeological findings, among them the Nikolaevo treasure found in Bulgaria, evidence for the rich culture of the Thracians, who inhabited the area for thousands of years. In the beginning of the new era, the region became part of the Roman province of Moesia, a road station called Storgosia arose near present-day Pleven on the road from Oescus to Philippopolis, it evolved into a fortress. One of the most valued archaeological monuments in Bulgaria from the period is the Early Christian basilica from the fourth century discovered near the modern city. During the Middle Ages, Pleven was a well-developed stronghold of the First and the Second Bulgarian Empire.
When Slavs populated the region, they gave the settlement its contemporary name Pleven, it was first mentioned in a charter by Hungarian king Stephen V in 1270 in connection to a military campaign in the Bulgarian lands. During the Ottoman rule, known as Plevne in Ottoman Turkish, preserved its Bulgarian appearance and culture. Many churches and bridges were built at the time of the Bulgarian National Revival. In 1825, the first secular school in the town was opened, followed by the first girls' school in Bulgaria in 1840, as well as the first boys' school a year later. Pleven was the place where the Bulgarian national hero Vasil Levski established the first revolutionary committee in 1869, part of his national revolutionary network; the city was a major battle scene during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 that Russian Tsar Alexander II held for the purpose of the liberation of Bulgaria. The joint Russian and Romanian army paid dearly for the victory, but it paved the path to the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in this war, the restoration of Bulgaria as a state and the independence of Romania from the Ottoman Empire.
It cost the Russians and Romanians 5 months and 38,000 casualties to take the town after four assaults, in what was one of the decisive battles of the war. The siege is remembered as a landmark victory of the Romanian War of Independence, as on 28 November 1877 the Plevna citadel capitulated, Osman Pasha surrendered the city, the garrison and his sword to the Romanian Colonel Mihail Cerchez. In the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition of 1911 J. H. V. Crowe concluded his lengthy entry on Pleven with the memorable dictum: On the other hand, the Siege of Plevna stands out among other countless sieges and military actions in the region because of its significance. Without this fortress slowing the Russian onslaught, which gave the Great Powers time to intercede, Constantinople would have been repossessed by a Christian army once more; the events of the Russo-Turkish War proved crucial for the development of Pleven as a key town of central northern Bulgaria. The town experienced significant demographic and economic growth in the following years establishing itself as a cultural centre of the region.
The Bulgarian Agrarian National Union, a leading interwar party representing the Bulgarian peasantry, was founded in the town in December 1899. Prior to the Bulgarian orthographic reform of 1945, the name of the town was spelled Плѣвенъ in Cyrillic. According to census 2011, Pleven has a population of 106,954 inhabitants as of February 2011; the ethnic breakdown is 97% Bulgarians among others. The number of the residents of the city reached its peak in the period 1988-1991 when exceeded 135,000; the following table presents the change of the population after 1887. According to the latest 2011 census data, the individuals declared their ethnic identity were distributed as follows: Bulgarians: 95,386 Turks: 1,510 Gypsies: 1,017 Others: 489 Indefinable: 422 Undeclared: 8,130 Total: 106,954 In Pleven Municipality 112,414 declared as Bulgarians, 4626 as Gypsies, 3204 as Turks and 10,384 did not declare their ethnic group. An overwhelming majority of 90% of Pleven's residents are Eastern Orthodox Christian.
The Diocese of Nikopol, of which Pleven is part, is one of the two Roman Catholic dioceses in Bulgaria, an
Pazardzhik
Pazardzhik is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, southern Bulgaria. It is centre for the homonymous Pazardzhik Municipality; the name comes from the word pazar from the Persian bāzār, "market" + the Turkic diminutive suffix -cık, "small". Pazardzhik was founded by Tatars from what is today Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi in 1485 on the left bank of the river Maritsa, near the market of the region, an important crossroad at the middle of this productive region, named Tatar Pazardzhik meaning "small Tatar market". Thanks to this favourable location, the settlement developed. While it was small at the beginning of the 19th century, it became the administrative centre for the region at the end of the century and remained so until the dissolution of Ottoman Empire. During the following centuries the town strengthened its position. Trade in iron and rice prospered; the town impressed visitors with clean streets. In 1718 Gerard Kornelius Drish visited Pazardzhik and wrote "the buildings here according to construction and beauty stand higher than those of Niš, Sofia and all other places".
During the Ottoman period Pazardchik had 18 mosques but only Kurshumlu Mosque, build in 1667 survived till today. The Russians under Count Nikolay Kamensky took the city after a brief siege in 1810. By the mid-19th century Pazardzhik was a big, important centre of crafts and trade, with a population of about 25,000 people, it hosted two big annual fairs, a big market Tuesdays and Wednesdays. There was a post office with a telegraph. In 1837 the Church of the Mother of God was built – an important national monument, famous for its architecture and woodcarving. In the mid-19th century Pazardzhik became an important cultural centre: a school was opened in 1847, a girls' school in 1848, a community centre in 1868, the women's union "Prosveta" in 1870. Pazardzhik is exempt from Zapdniya Russian detachment commander with Lt. Gen. Joseph Gurko on 14 January 1878. Thanks the Armenian Ovanes Sovadzhiyan, Ottoman command failed to execute his plan – to light the town and destroy its Bulgarian population – before retreating.
From the early 20th century on people built factories and houses, thus the industrial quarter of the town. From 1959 to 1987 Pazardzhik was again an administrative centre for the region, is again since the 1999 administrative division of Bulgaria. In the 1880s the population of Pazardzhik numbered about 15,000 and it was one of the largest of Bulgaria. Since it started growing decade by decade because of the migrants from the rural areas and the surrounding smaller towns, reaching its peak in the period 1985–1992 exceeding 80,000. After this time, the population has started decreasing in consequence of the poor economic situation in the Bulgarian provinces during the 1990s that led to a new migration in the direction of the country capital Sofia and abroad; as of February 2011, the city has a population of 71,979 inhabitants, while the Pazardzhik Municipality of 114,817 inhabitants. According to the latest 2011 census data, the individuals declared their ethnic identity were distributed as follows: Bulgarians: 57,332 Turks: 4,822 Gypsies: 3,423 Others: 325 Indefinable: 495 Undeclared: 5,582 Total: 71,979 The ethnic composition of Pazardzhik Municipality is 89787 Bulgarians, 10132 Gypsies and 5686 Turks among others.
According to some reports, as of the middle of the 19th century the city was composed by 33 neighborhoods — 18 Turkish, 12 Bulgarian and 3 Gypsy. Although the Bulgarian neighborhoods were numerically smaller they were more densely populated, while there were Bulgarians in the Turkish neighborhoods too. In 1865 the population of the city was 25.000, Bulgarians comprised 57% of it and the Turks 28,5%. As a trading town the city was attractive for other peoples and sizable minorities of Jews and other peoples remained for decades, they are present although in much smaller numbers. Kurshumlu Mosque from 1667 is one of the oldest mosques in Europe, it is one of the highlights of Pazardzhik. The Church of the Theotokos preserves the most impressive icons in Bulgaria by master artists of the Debar School, wood-carvings of New and Old Testament scenes, icons by Stanislav Dospevski. Among the town's landmarks are the clock tower, the ethnographic and history museums; as with most Bulgarian cities, Pazardzhik has developed a significant pedestrian center, in which several central squares typify the European coffee house society and pedestrian culture.
In Bulgaria the café culture is prominent, with many downtown squares providing up to a half dozen cafés, with ample outside seating. Pazardzhik has a level of pedestrian streets above the high Bulgarian standard. There are several longer pedestrian streets, at one point there is an intersection where five different pedestrian streets converge. A few of these do not continue for long, but most do, or are connected to the rest of the pedestrian areas of the city, thus could be said to form the pedestrian network of the city. During the warmer seasons, most afternoons of the week and weekends find a large number of people strolling about or sitting in cafés. Pazardzhik Point on Snow Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Pazardzhik. Pazardzhik is twinned with: West Bend, Wisconsin, USA Stavropol, Russia Chekhov, Moscow Oblast, Russia Barysaw, Belarus Salerno, Italy since 2011 Konstantin Velichkov - enlightener, politician.
Haskovo
Haskovo is a city and the administrative centre of the Haskovo Province in southern Bulgaria, not far from the borders with Greece and Turkey. According to Operative Program Regional Development of Bulgaria, the urban area of Haskovo is the seventh largest in Bulgaria and has a population of 184,731 inhabitants; the first settlement found in Haskovo is from circa 5000 BC. Haskovo celebrated its 1,000th anniversary as a town in 1985. To mark the event, a new clock tower was erected in the centre of the town. Haskovo Cove in Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, is named after the city of Haskovo. Due to its relative proximity to the Aegean sea the climate in summer is similar to Mediterranean climate, whilst in winter with the winds coming from the north, the temperatures drop to the level of continental climate; the average yearly temperature is about 14 °C. Winters are cold but not as snowy as the northern parts of the country. Summer in Haskovo lasts until October. Many speculate that the current name came from the Arabic word "has".
Others claim that it comes from the Turkish word "has", having roots to the meaning "clean." The ancient Thracian name of the settlement was Marsa, by which it was known until as late as 1782. By 1830, it was known by Hasköy; the Bulgarian placename suffix "-ovo" replaced the Turkish "köy" after the city switched to Bulgarian from Ottoman rule. According to the archeologists, the area of Haskovo was settled about seven thousand years ago. In and around Haskovo, evidence has been preserved that confirms its long history during the prehistoric, Greek and Byzantine periods. In the 9th century — during the First Bulgarian Empire — a fortress was built in Haskovo that soon was transformed into a town; the town was located at the centre of a sizable region between the Klokotnitsa and Maritsa rivers. In medieval times it was known for the nearby Uzundzhovo famous in all of Bulgaria. After the liberation from Ottoman rule in 1878, the Haskovo region became popular for high-quality tobacco production. However, presently there is no cigarette production in the region as the once big Tobacco company "Haskovo-BT" was closed in 2005.
The biggest enterprises produce food and textiles. The population of Haskovo was 14,191 in 1887. Since it started growing decade by decade because of the migrants from the rural areas and the surrounding smaller towns, it reached its peak in the period 1987-1991, when the population exceeded 90,000. In December 2017, Haskovo's population was 71,214 people within the city limits; the Haskovo Municipality, with the affiliated adjacent villages, had a population of 87,780. According to the latest 2011 census data, the individuals declared their ethnic identity were distributed as follows: Bulgarians: 54,869 Turks: 12,507 Roma: 691 Others: 400 Indefinable: 709 Undeclared: 7,221 Total: 76,397 In Haskovo Municipality 63,963 declared as Bulgarians, 16,890 as Turks, 3859 as Roma and 8,984 did not declare their ethnic group. Most of the 28,444 Turks in Haskovo Province are concentrated within the city and the municipality, while the Bulgarians have a higher proportion in the province than the city, numbering 180,541.
According to the 2001 census, the Orthodox Christians are around 20 % Muslims. The most notable cultural landmarks in Haskovo are the newly renovated Ivan Dimov drama theater, the Museum of History, an art gallery; the annual Colourful Thrace Sings and Dances folk festival takes place in the nearby park Kenana. A 32-metre-high monument of the Mother of God and the Infant Jesus was erected on the Hill of Youth near Haskovo in 2003; the monument was inaugurated on 8 September on the occasion of the Nativity of Holy Virgin Mary, when the day of the town of Haskovo is celebrated. It was entered into the Guinness Book of Records as the highest monument to the Mother of God in the world. Haskovo has invested in renovating its town center, with a variety of new sculptures and fountains erected. Municipal landmarks include the Thracian Aleksandrovo tomb as well as Uzundzhovo's Church of the Assumption, built as a mosque during Ottoman times. In 1395 the Eski cami was built as one of the first in the Balkans.
Its minaret is inclined. Tane Nikolov, revolutionary Asen Zlatarov, scientist Anyu Angelov, acting Minister of Defence Stanimir Stoilov and football manager Grigor Dimitrov, tennis player.
Kazanlak
Kazanlak (Bulgarian: Казанлъ̀к, Kazanlǎk, Thracian and Greek Σευθόπολις is a Bulgarian town in Stara Zagora Province, located in the middle of the plain of the same name, at the foot of the Balkan mountain range, at the eastern end of the Rose Valley. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Kazanlak Municipality; the town is among the 15 biggest industrial centres in Bulgaria, with a population of 44,760 people as of Dec 2017. It is the center of rose oil extraction in Bulgaria and the oil-producing rose of Kazanlak is one of the most recognizable national symbols; the oldest settlement in the area of the modern-day city dates back to the Neolithic era. During the 4th-3rd centuries BCE the lands on the upper Tundzha river were within the dominion of the Thracian ruler Seuthes III and took an important place in the historical development of Thrace during the Hellenistic era; the Thracian city of Seuthopolis was uncovered near Kazanlak and studied at the time of the construction of the Koprinka Reservoir.
In the 4th century BCE, near the ancient Thracian capital of Seuthopolis and close to the city, a magnificent Thracian tomb was built. Consisting of a vaulted brickwork "beehive" tomb, it contains, among other things, painted murals representing a Thracian couple at a ritual funeral feast; the tomb was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. In the Middle Ages the valley became an administrative center of the Krun region where the Bulgarian boyar Aldimir ruled. After 1370 Kazanlak was under Ottoman dominion, its modern name is derived from the Turkish Kazanlık. The modern city dates back to the beginning of the 15th century, it was founded as a military fortress to protect the Shipka Pass and developed as a city of craftsmen. More than 50 handcrafts developed such as tanning, goldsmithing, frieze weaving, cooperage and, of course, rose cultivation; the oil-producing rose, imported from central Asia via Persia and Turkey, found all the necessary conditions to thrive – proper temperature, high moisture and light, cinnamon-forest soils.
Kazanlak rose oil has won gold medals at expositions in Paris, Philadelphia, Antwerp and Milan. After Bulgarian independence the handcrafts declined due to the loss of the markets in the huge Ottoman Empire; the textile and military industries were developed. The Bulgarian climate is temperate, with average temperatures from 0 °C to 1.5 °C in January, 21 °C in July. The average altitude is 350 m. Spring temperatures rise comparatively early and are above 5 °C and above 10 °C but sometimes there are some cold spring periods; the summer temperatures are moderate and the average summer rainfall is rather high at the beginning of summer. During the second half of the summer and the beginning of the autumn, there are continuous drops in rainfall; until the middle of November, the average autumn temperature is above 5 °C, above 10 °C until the end of October. The winter is mild, with comparatively low snowfall, short-lasting snow-cover and low minimum temperatures; the highest rainfall is in June, the lowest in February and March.
The general wind direction is from north-east. The town of Kazanlak and the surrounding region is situated in the western part of the Kazanlak Valley. There are various soil types maroon soils which are suitable for growing oleaginous cultures and herbs; the Kazanlak Valley was formed during the Quaternary Period with the rise of the Balkan and Sredna Gora Mountains and the submergence of the Fore-Balkan fields. The fault character of the Valley is evidenced by the hot mineral springs near the village of Ovoshtnik and the town of Pavel Banya. Morphologically, the Kazanlak Valley is divided into three areas; the western area is the broadest one and has a lot of hills due to the numerous alluvials, formed by the rivers flowing through the Balkan Mountains. Although the average altitude is 350 m, here it reaches up to 500 m; the central area is narrower and lower, the relief of the eastern area is much more complex. Soil cover is related to the relief, flora of the region and the economical activity of the man.
The varied Bulgarian natural environment has produced about 20 soil subtypes. This region is characterised by cinnamon-forest soil; the spreading of the accumulative river materials along the Tundzha river and the Eninska river has formed alluvial soil types and subtypes. The draining and the intended geological base together with the drought-resistant and thermophilic forest vegetation are the reason for the spreading of the forest soils; the arable lands related to this soil type are inclined and that leads to the degradable effect of the plane and ravine erosion. The alluvial soils are high-productive – they are represented by arable lands of I, II and III category, they cover two-thirds of the searched territory and this is an obstruction to the town growth. The lands are planted with roses and perennial plants. Low-productive and degraded lands are located only north-east of Kazanlak. Part of them are covered with pastures; this region is not rich in mineral resources of industrial importance but there are several non-metalliferous minerals of local importance.
There is a clay deposit for brick manufacturing in Manastirska Niva locality two km west of Kazanlak. A greisen-pit for broken stone, paving stones, kerbs is located 7 km east of the town in Kara Dere locality. Sand and felt are extracted from the pits near the vil
