Stara Zagora
| Stara Zagora Стара Загора |
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| Nickname(s): The city of the linden-trees | |||
  Stara Zagora
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country |  Bulgaria |
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| Province (Oblast) |
Stara Zagora | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Svetlin Tanchev | ||
| Elevation | 196 m (643 ft) | ||
| Population [1][2] | |||
| - City | 158,956 | ||
| - Urban | 213,444 | ||
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||
| Postal Code | 6000 | ||
| Area code(s) | 042 | ||
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Stara Zagora (Bulgarian: Стара Загора) is the sixth largest city in Bulgaria, and a nationally important economic center. Stara Zagora is known as the city of straight streets, linden trees, and poets. Its population is c. 159,000.
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Geography and climate
Stara Zagora is the administrative centre of its municipality and the Stara Zagora Province. It is located about 231 kilometres (144 mi) away from Sofia, near the Bedechka river in the historic region of Thrace.
The city is located in an area of transitional continental climate with considerable Mediterranean influence. The average yearly temperature is about 13 °C (55.4 °F).
History
Stara Zagora is considered one of the oldest settlements in Bulgaria. It was founded by the Thracians under the name Beroe (meaning iron) about 6th-5th century BCE, with the Neolithic dwellings and the copper mine near the city being the oldest preserved ones in Europe. The area has been a mining region since antiquity.
A city was founded by Phillip II of Macedon[3][4][5][6] at 342 BC. Under the Roman Empire, the town was renamed to Ulpia Augusta Traiana in honour of emperor Trajan.
At the time of the Byzantine Empire, it adopted the name Irinopolis (Ειρήνόπόλις) after Byzantine empress Irene. The fortifications around the town were reconstructed to guard against Bulgarian attacks, but Irinopolis and the whole Zagore region were incorporated into Bulgaria in 717. The land was bestowed on khan Tervel as a Byzantine gift in acknowledgement of the Bulgarian help to fight back the Arabs besieging Constantinople. The region was the first Bulgarian territorial gain south of Stara Planina. The town acquired the name Boruy.
In 1122 Stara Zagora was the site of a battle between Byzantine Emperor John II Komnenos and an invading Pecheneg army, known as the Battle of Beroia. The Pechenegs suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of John's Byzantine army, and 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, also 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 (Железник; a Slavic translation of Beroe) in 1854 instead of the Turkish Eskizağra (Also called Zağra-i Atik), but was renamed once again to Stara Zagora in 1870. It was a kaza centre in Filibe sanjak of Edirne Province before 1878 as "Zağra-i Atik"[7]. After the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule in 1878, it became part of autonomous Eastern Rumelia as a sanjak centre before the two Bulgarian states finally merged in 1886 as a result of the Unification of Bulgaria.
Historical population
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1875 | 23,000 |
| 1884 | 15,500 |
| 1901–1913 | 27,000 |
| 1934 | 34,000 |
| 1940 | 40,000 |
| 1956 | 56,000 |
| 1965 | 87,000 |
| 1968 | 100,000 |
| 1975 | 122,000 |
| 1985 | 157,000 |
| 1992 | 162,000 |
| 2002 | 164,000 |
| 2009 | 158,956 |
Main sights
- The Antique Forum
- Thracian Tomb
- The Roman Baths
- 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
Districts
- Bedechka - Gradinski (Бедечка - Градински, named at river Bedechka)
- Central City Part (includes Supercenter, Chayka & Zagorka) (Централна градска част (Суперцентър, Чайка и Загорка) - Chayka - Sea-gull, Zagorka - named at Zagorka brewery)
- Makedonski (Македонски - Macedonian) know also as Chumleka (Чумлека)
- Dabrava (Дъбрава - former village of Dabrava)
- Eastern Industrial Zone (Източна индустриална зона)
- Geo Milev (Гео Милев - named at Bulgarian poet)
- Golesh (Голеш)
- Industrial Zone (Индустриална Зона)
- Kazanski (Казански)
- Kolyo Ganchev (Кольо Ганчев - named at famous Bulgarian revolutionary)
- Lozenets (Лозенец - from лозе - vineyard)
- Mitropolit Metodiy Kusev (Митрополит Методий Кусев - named at famous Starozagorian bishop)
- Opalchenski (Опълченски - Volunteer's district named at Bulgarian voluntary army units) also known as Chaika (Чайка - Sea-Gull)
- Samara 1, 2 & 3- (Самара 1, 2 и 3 - named at sister city of Samara, Russia)
- Slaveykov (Славейков - named at famous Bulgarian poet Petko Slaveykov)
- Studentski grad - (Студентски град - Student town)
- Tri Chuchura north, center & south - (Три чучура север, център и юг - "Three spouts")
- Vasil Levski - (Васил Левски - named at famous Bulgarian revolutionary)
- Vazrazhdane - (Възраждане - Renaissance)
- Zheleznik (small & big) (Железник - named at former name of the city)
- Zora (Зора - Dawn)
Future districts :
- Atyuren (Атюрен - future district of the city)
- Bogomilovo (Богомилово - village of Bogomilovo)
- Hrishteni (Хрищени - village of Hrishteni)
- Malka Vereya (Малка Верея - Vereya - old name of the city, Malka - small, village of Malka Vereya)
Famous people
- Anna Tomowa-Sintow, dramatic soprano opera singer
- Vesselina Kasarova, coloratura mezzo soprano opera singer
- Vesselin Stoykov,Bass-bariton opera singer Web page
- Kiril Hristov, writer
- Stefan Kisyov, writer
- Anelia, famous pop-folk singer
- Maria, famous pop-folk singer and commercial model of Ariana beer.
Other
- Beroe Hill on Livingston Island, West Antarctica is named after this city, in its previous incarnation as Beroe.
- One of the two lighting factories Svetlina is situated here.
Twin towns and sister cities
Stara Zagora is twinned with:
Radom, Poland[8]
Larissa, Greece
Samara, Russia
County Down, United Kingdom
Kruševac, Serbia
Barreiro, Portugal
See also
- Stara Zagora Airport
- Kalvacha Airport
- List of cities in Bulgaria
References
- ↑ http://www.grao.bg/tna/tab02.txt
- ↑ "OPERATIONAL PROGRAMME "REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT" 2007-2013" (PDF). Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works. September 2007. p. 39. http://www.eufunds.bg/docs/OPRD_29August_FINAL_Revised.pdf.
- ↑ Women and slaves in Greco-Roman culture: differential equations by Sandra Rae Joshel, Sheila Murnaghan,1998,page 214,"Philip II founded cities at Beroe, Kabyle, and Philippopolis in 342/1, and Aegean-style urban life began to penetrate Thrace."
- ↑ Late Roman villas in the Danube-Balkan region by Lynda Mulvin,2002,page 19,"Other roads went through Beroe (founded by Philip II of Macedon) "
- ↑ Philip of Macedon by Louïza D. Loukopoulou,1980,page 98,"Upriver in the valley between the Rhodope and Haimos Philip founded Beroe (Stara Zagora) and Philippolis (Plovdiv)."
- ↑ The cities in Thrace and Dacia in late antiquity: (studies and materials) by Velizar Iv Velkov,1977,page 128,"Founded by Philipp 11 on the site of an old Thracian settlement, it has existed without interruption from that time."
- ↑ http://acikarsiv.ankara.edu.tr/fulltext/3066.pdf
- ↑ "Radom Official Website - Partner Cities". (in English and Polish) © 2007 Urząd Miasta Radom. http://www.radom.pl/_portal/118786399846cd5dbe4a35e/Miasta_partnerskie.html. Retrieved 2008-10-23.
External links
- Stara Zagora Regional museum of history
- Stara Zagora Tourist Information Centre
- Stara Zagora Economic Development Agency
- Maps, Population, Info & Facts about cities and villages in Stara Zagora municipality
- Programata Stara Zagora — the free cultural guide of Stara Zagora
- Information and links about Stara Zagora
- Information from Visit Bulgaria
- Chamber of commerce
- Real Photos from Stara Zagora
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