| Vratsa Враца |
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| City of Vratsa. | |||
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| Motto: Vratsa, city like the Balkan - ancient and young. (Враца, град като Балкана - древен и млад.) | |||
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Vratsa
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| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Bulgaria | ||
| Province (Oblast) |
Vratsa | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Kostadin Shahov | ||
| Elevation | 344 m (1,129 ft) | ||
| Population (Census February 2011)[1] | |||
| • City | 60,482 | ||
| • Urban | 73,443 | ||
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||
| Postal Code | 3000 | ||
| Area code(s) | 092 | ||
Vratsa (Bulgarian: Враца, also transliterated as Vraca or Vratza, in some languages with a W) is a city in northwestern Bulgaria, at the foothills of the Balkan Mountains. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Vratsa Province. As of February 2011, the town has a population of 60,482 inhabitants.[1]
The city of Vratsa is a commercial and crafts centre and a railway junction. Vratsa accommodates textile, metal processing, chemical, and ceramics industries.
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The city of Vratsa is picturesque. It is nestled in the foothills of "Vrachanski Balkan" (Vratsa Mountain), with the Leva River calmly crossing the city, and enormous and fearful rocks overhanging the roofs. The city is 116 km away from the national capital Sofia.
The area has diverse and attractive natural features, which together with the opportunities of recreation gives a special charm of the eastern part of the Northwest Bulgaria. Several protected natural attractions and historical monuments are located on the territory of the Vratsa State Forestry.
The number of the residents of the city reached its peak in the period 1990-1991 when exceeded 85,000.[2] The following table presents the change of the population after the World War II.
| Vratsa | |||||||||||||
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| Year | 1887 | 1910 | 1934 | 1946 | 1956 | 1965 | 1975 | 1985 | 1992 | 2001 | 2005 | 2009 | 2011 |
| Population | 11,323 | 15,250 | 16,177 | 19,620 | 26,582 | 39,091 | 61,134 | 75,451 | 75,518 | 68,975 | 63,260 | 61,011 | 60,482 |
| Highest number 85,272 in 1990 | |||||||||||||
| Sources: National Statistical Institute,[1][2][3] „citypopulation.de“,[4] „pop-stat.mashke.org“,[5] Bulgarian Academy of Sciences[6] | |||||||||||||
Vratsa is an ancient city found by ancient Thracians. Vratsa was called Valve ("door of a fortress") by the Romans due to a narrow passage where the main gate of the city fortress was located. Nowadays, this passage is the symbol of Vratsa, and is shown on the town's Coat of arms.
After the fall of Rome, Vratsa became part of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium).
At the end of the 6th century AD, Vratsa was populated by the South Slavic tribes. Even if they came from Pannonia and Dacia on the north, the town reimained under Byzantine rule.
In the 7th century, the Bulgars and the Slavs found the First Bulgarian Empire and the Slavic Vratsa became part of it. The city grew into important strategic location because of its proximity to the South State border. The name of the city was changed from Valve to the Slavic Vratitsa, which has the same meaning and is the source of the modern name. Vratsa became famous for its goldsmiths and silversmiths production and trade, high-quality earthenware and military significance.
In the 8th century, the Bulgarian army captured Sofia, which led to the decreasing of Vratsa's importance because of the better strategic position of Sofia, its more developed economy and larger size. But Vratsa was again key for the resistance against the Byzantine, Serbian and Magyar invasions in the Middle Ages.
The mountains and forests are suitable for development of different types of tourism — hunting and fishing, skiing, speleology, delta-gliding, photo-tourism, etc.
Good opportunities exist for exercising different sport activities such as mountaineering, bicycle sport and for those who enjoy being thrilled can go for hanggliding and paragliding, or set out for carting, buggy and motocross racing tracks.
Conditions are provided for rest and entertainment — children's and adults' swimming pools, water cycles, discos, bars, restaurants, excellent hotel facilities and good service. If you are a fervent admirer of winter sports you will be glad to hear that the rope lines near the Parshevitsa Chalet are working, and the skiing tracks are well maintained.
There are also a Museum of History and an Ethnographic and Revival Complex.
Vratsa connects to the villages and city within the region and throughout the country by bus and railway transport. There are regular bus lines to Sofia, Pleven, Vidin, Montana, Kozloduy, Oryahovo, Mezdra (at short intervals), as well as to the smaller villages, scattered around the city. The bus station is located on the way between the railway station and the centre of the city. Vratsa is an important railway station along the railway route Mezdra — Boychinovtsi — Brusartsi — Vidin (Lom). The city connects to the national railway network through the railway station of Mezdra. The railway station is located in the northeastern part of the city. There is regular bus transport within the city.
Vratsa Peak on Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Vratsa.
Vratsa is the home of a professional Quidditch team operating within the fictional Harry Potter universe. The Vratsa Vultures have won the European Cup seven times.[7]
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