| Targovishte Търговище |
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Targovishte
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Bulgaria | ||
| Province (Oblast) | Targovishte | ||
| Municipality | Targovishte | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Krasimir Mirev | ||
| Elevation | 170 m (558 ft) | ||
| Population (Census February 2011)[1] | |||
| • Town | 36,969 | ||
| • Urban | 56,087 | ||
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||
| Postal Code | 7700 | ||
| Area code(s) | 0601 | ||
| License Plate | T | ||
| Website | www.targovishte.bg | ||
Targovishte (Bulgarian: Търговище:"marketplace", Turkish: Eski Cuma [2] [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]) is a city in Bulgaria, capital of Targovishte Province. It is situated at the northern foot of the low mountain of Preslav on both banks of the Vrana River. The town is 335 km away to the north-east from the capital Sofia and about 125 km to the west from the city of Varna and Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. As of February 2011, it has a population of 36,969 inhabitants.[1]
Targovishte is known as an old market settlement.
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First mentioned in 1573 in Ottoman tax registers, it was already an administrative centre in 1658. In the 18th and 19th centuries it became a famous market for animals and craft products called Eski Cuma ("old bazaar"). A monastical school was opened in the 18th century and a secular one, called the Slaveykov School and situated in the old Varosha Quarter was established in 1846, with Petko Slaveykov being a teacher there; a chitalishte was also built. Industrial development began after the Second World War. Factories producing car batteries and machines for the food industry were opened; later, furniture and textile industries developed. One of Bulgaria's largest wine production factories is located there. Targovishte is home to one of the largest glass factories in Europe. The investment in the factory was $380,000,000 and employs 1,500 people.[10]
The town is a cultural centre. In 2000, ruins of an Ancient Roman town called Missionis (Мисионис) were unearthed near Targovishte. The town art gallery named after the eminent Bulgarian arstist Nikola Marinov, who was born here, has a considerable collection of his works.
It is a multiethnic city which has predominant Bulgarian population (~70% according to census 2001) with sizeable Turkish and Roma minorities. There are two Bulgarian Orthodox churches: St. Uspenie Bogorodichno (Dormition of the Theotokos Church) (1847) and St. John of Rila and one mosque. The local football team is called PFC Svetkavitsa ("lightning") and plays in the B PFG. The city is also noted for its shooting sports traditions. There is also a drama theatre and a puppet theatre.
According to census 2011, Targovishte has a population of 36,969 inhabitants as of February 2011.[1] The number of the residents of the city reached its peak in the period 1980-1990 when exceeded 45,000 with a highest rate in 1989 numbering 47,798.[11] The following table presents the change of the population after the liberation of the country in 1878.
| Targovishte | |||||||||||||
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| Year | 1887 | 1910 | 1934 | 1946 | 1956 | 1965 | 1975 | 1985 | 1992 | 2001 | 2005 | 2009 | 2011 |
| Population | 8,519 | 9,388 | 10,343 | 10,561 | 14,193 | 25,588 | 38,875 | 46,043 | 42,988 | 40,659 | 38,390 | 37,375 | 36,969 |
| Highest number 46,043 in 1985 | |||||||||||||
| Sources: National Statistical Institute,[1][11][12] „citypopulation.de“,[13] „pop-stat.mashke.org“,[14] Bulgarian Academy of Sciences[15] | |||||||||||||
Targovishte is the administrative centre for the Targovishte Municipality, one of five municipalities of the Targovishte Province. In addition to Targovishte, which has the status of town (in Bulgarian: град, transliterated as grad), the municipality contains 51 other localities with the status of village (in Bulgarian: село, transliterated as selo).
The following list shows the names of localities transliterated in Latin alphabet,[16][17] followed in parentheses by the name in the Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet (which links to the corresponding Bulgarian Wikipedia article).
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Targovishte Glacier on Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Targovishte.