Pleven

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Pleven

Pleven ( ; historically known as Plevne in Turkish

Turkish language

Turkish is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and other parts of Eastern Europe....
and Plevna in English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
) is the seventh most populous city in Bulgaria

Bulgaria

The state of Bulgaria , Scientific transliteration Balgarija, officially the Republic of Bulgaria has played a significant role in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe for over fourteen centuries....
. Located in the northern part of the country, it is the administrative centre of Pleven Province

Pleven Province

Pleven Province or Plevenska Oblast is a province located in central northern Bulgaria, bordering the Danube river, Romania and the Provinces of Bulgaria of Vratsa Province, Veliko Tarnovo Province and Lovech Province....
, as well as of the subordinate Pleven municipality

Pleven Municipality

Pleven Municipality is a municipality in Pleven Province, Bulgaria.Settlements :Beglezh,Bohot,Brestovets,Brashlyanitsa,Bukovlak,Varbitsa, Pleven Province,...
.

Internationally known for the Siege of Pleven

Siege of Pleven

The Siege of Pleven during the Russo-Turkish War, 1877?78, saw a major struggle between the joint army of Russia and Romania; and the Ottoman Empire....
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

Varna

Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and in Northern Bulgaria, third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, and Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits, with a population of 352,211....
and Rousse

Rousse

Rousse is the fifth-largest city in Bulgaria with a population of near 175,600. Rousse is situated in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, 300 kilometre from the capital Sofia and 200 km from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast....
.

Geography
Pleven is located in an agricultural region in the very heart of the Danubian Plain

Danubian Plain (Bulgaria)

File:P4160574.JPGThe Danubian Plain constitutes the northern part of Bulgaria, situated north of the Balkan Mountains and south of the Danube....
, the historical region of Moesia

Moesia

Discussion

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Encyclopedia

Pleven ( ; historically known as Plevne in Turkish

Turkish language

English language

Bulgaria

Pleven Province

Pleven Municipality

Siege of Pleven

Varna

Rousse

Geography

Pleven is located in an agricultural region in the very heart of the Danubian Plain

Danubian Plain (Bulgaria)

File:P4160574.JPGThe Danubian Plain constitutes the northern part of Bulgaria, situated north of the Balkan Mountains and south of the Danube....
, the historical region of Moesia

Moesia

Moesia was an ancient region and Roman province situated in the areas of modern Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania along the south bank of the Danube River....
, surrounded by low limestone hills, the Pleven Heights. The city's central location in Northern Bulgaria defines its importance as a big administrative, economic, political, cultural and transport centre. Pleven is located 170 km away from the capital city of Sofia

Sofia

Sofia , is the Capital and largest city of the Bulgaria, with 2,5 million people living in the Capital Municipality. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of the mountain massif Vitosha, and is the administrative, cultural, economic, and educational centre of the country....
, 320 km west of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast

Bulgarian Black Sea Coast

The Bulgarian Black Sea Riviera covers the entire eastern bound of Bulgaria stretching from the Romanian Black Sea resorts in the north to Marmara Region, Turkey in the south, along 378 km of coastline....
and 50 km south of the Danube

Danube

The Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg River rivers which join at the eponymously named German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows eastwards for a distance...
.

The river Vit

Vit

The Vit also Vid is a river in central northern Bulgaria with a length of 189 km. It is a tributary of Danube. The source of the Vit is in Stara Planina, below Vezhen Peak at an altitude of 2,030 m, and it empties into the Danube close to Somovit....
flows near the town and the tiny Tuchenitsa river (commonly known in Pleven as Barata, literally "The Streamlet") crosses it.

The climate is temperate continental, with cold winters (down to –15°C) and hot dry summers (up to +35-44°C).

History

Prehistory and antiquity

The earliest traces of human settlement in the area date from the 5th millennium BC, the Neolithic

Neolithic

The Neolithic period was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 Before the Christian Era in the Middle East that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age....
.

Numerous archaeological findings, among them the largest golden treasure found in Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Thracians

The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European peoples who spoke the Thracian language - a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family....
, who inhabited the area for thousands of years.

In the beginning of the new era, the region became part of the Roman province

Roman province

In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of the Italia ....
of Moesia

Moesia

Moesia was an ancient region and Roman province situated in the areas of modern Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania along the south bank of the Danube River....
, and a road station called Storgosia

Storgosia

Storgosia was a road station of Ancient Rome located in the vicinity of Pleven, northern Bulgaria, in the modern Kaylaka. It accommodated detachments of Legio I Italica's Svishtov garrison....
arose near present-day Pleven on the road from Oescus

Oescus

Oescus, or Palatiolon Palatiolum, was an ancient town in Moesia, northwest of the modern Bulgarian city of Pleven, near the village of Gigen. It is a Dacian-Moesian toponym....
(near modern Gigen

Gigen

Gigen is a village in northern Bulgaria, part of Gulyantsi municipality, Pleven Province. It is located on the Danube, close to the place where the Iskar River empties into it, opposite the Romanian town of Corabia....
) to Philippopolis

Philippopolis

The term Philippopolis , which translates as "Philip's Town," can be used to refer to the following cities:*Plovdiv, Bulgaria *Shahba, Syria ...
(now Plovdiv

Plovdiv

Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia, with a population of 379,119. It is the administrative centre of Plovdiv Province in southern Bulgaria and three municipalities , as well as the largest and most important city in Northern Thrace and the wider international historical region of Thrace....
). It later evolved into a fortress. One of the most valued archaeological monuments in Bulgaria from the period is the Early Christian basilica from the 4th century discovered near the modern city.

Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
, Pleven was a well-developed stronghold of the First

First Bulgarian Empire

The First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in AD 632 in the lands near the Danube Delta and disintegrated in AD 1018 after its annexation to the Byzantine Empire....
and the Second Bulgarian Empire

Second Bulgarian Empire

The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state which existed between 1185 and 1396 . A successor of the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Kaloyan of Bulgaria and Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria before gradually declining to be conquered by the Ottomans in the late 14th-early 15th century....
. When Slavs populated the region, they gave the settlement its contemporary name (Pleven is derived either from the Slavic

Slavic languages

File:Slavic europe.svgThe Slavic languages , a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia....
word "plevnya" ("barn") or from "plevel", meaning "weed", which share the same root). The name was first mentioned in a charter by Hungarian king

List of Hungarian rulers

This is a list of all rulers of Hungary since ?rp?d.See Heads of state of Hungary for a list of post-1918 presidents....
Stephen V

Stephen V of Hungary

Stephen V , King of Hungary 1246-1272)....
in 1270 in connection to a military campaign in the Bulgarian lands.

Ottoman rule

During the Ottoman rule, Pleven, known as Plevne in Ottoman Turkish

Ottoman Turkish language

Ottoman Turkish is the variety of the Turkish language that was used as the administrative and literary language of the Ottoman Empire. It contains extensive borrowings from Arabic language and Persian language languages and was written in a variant of the Arabic script....
, preserved its Bulgarian appearance and culture. Many churches, schools and bridges were built at the time of the Bulgarian National Revival

Bulgarian National Revival

The Bulgarian National Revival , sometimes called the Bulgarian Renaissance, was a period of socio-economic development and national integration among Bulgarian people under Ottoman Empire rule....
. 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

Vasil Levski

Vasil Levski was the nickname of Vasil Ivanov Kunchev , a Bulgarians revolutionary renowned as the national hero of Bulgaria and styled the Apostle of Freedom....
established the first revolutionary committee in 1869, part of his national revolutionary network

Internal Revolutionary Organisation

The Internal Revolutionary Organisation or IRO was a Bulgarian revolutionary organisation founded and built up by Bulgarian revolutionary Vasil Levski in the period between 1869 and 1871....
.

Siege of Pleven

The city was a major battle scene

Siege of Pleven

The Siege of Pleven during the Russo-Turkish War, 1877?78, saw a major struggle between the joint army of Russia and Romania; and the Ottoman Empire....
during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 that Russian Tsar

Tsar

Tsar or czar , occasionally spelled csar or tzar in English language, is a slavs term designating certain monarchs.Originally, the title Czar meant Emperor in the European medieval sense of the term, that is, a ruler who has the same rank as a Ancient Rome or Byzantine emperor due to recognition by another emperor or...
Alexander II

Alexander II of Russia

Alexander II Nikolaevich , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the List of Russian rulers of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881....
held for the purpose of the liberation of Bulgaria. The joint Russia

Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
n and Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located in Southeastern Europe Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian Mountains, bordering on the Black Sea....
n army paid dearly for the victory, but it paved the path to the defeat of the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
in this war, the restoration of Bulgaria as a state and the independence of Romania from Ottoman Empire. It cost the Russians and Romanians 5 months and 38,000 casualties to liberate 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

Romanian War of Independence

The Romanian War of Independence was fought in 1877 against the Ottoman Empire.On , Kingdom of Romania and the Russian Empire signed at Bucharest a treaty under which Russian troops were allowed to pass through Romanian territory, with the condition that Russia respects the integrity of Romania....
as on 28 November 1877 the Plevna citadel capitulated, and Osman Pasha surrendered the city, the garrison and his sword to the Romanian Colonel Mihail Cerchez.

The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition

Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition

The Encyclop?dia Britannica Eleventh Edition is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclop?dia Britannicas transition from a British to an American publication....
of 1911 concluded its lengthy entry on Pleven (transcribed as Plevna) with the memorable dictum:

Modern history

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, gradually establishing itself as a cultural centre of the region.

The Bulgarian Agrarian National Union

Bulgarian Agrarian National Union

The Bulgarian Agrarian National Union is a political party devoted to representing the causes of the Bulgarian peasantry. It was most powerful between 1900 and 1923....
, 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 ??????? (with yat

Yat

Yat or Jat is the name of the thirty-second letter of the old Cyrillic alphabet, or of the sound it represents. Its name in Old Church Slavonic is et? or iat? , in Bulgarian language yat or e dvoyno , in Russian language and Ukrainian language yat? , in Serbian language jat , Bosnian language, jat, Croatia...
) in Cyrillic.

Demographics and religion

According to statistical data, Pleven has a population of about 137,000 (or 124,000). The ethnic breakdown is 94% Bulgarians

Bulgarians

The Bulgarians are a South Slavs people generally associated with the Republic of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian language. Emigration has resulted in Bulgarian minorities or immigrant communities in a number of other countries....
and 5% Roma

Roma people

The Romani are an ethnic group of Europe tracing their Origins of the Romani people to middle kingdoms of India.The Romani are Romani diaspora with their largest concentrated populations in Europe, especially the Roma of Central and Eastern Europe, with more recent diaspora populations in the Americas and, to a lesser extent, in other par...
, with other ethnic groups being represented by about 1%.

An overwhelming majority of 90% of Pleven's residents are Eastern Orthodox Christian, while 5% of the population follows Islam

Islam

Islam is a Monotheism, Abrahamic religion originating with the teachings of the Prophets of Islam Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure....
. The Diocese of Nikopol

Nikopol, Bulgaria

Nikopol is a town in northern Bulgaria, the administrative center of Nikopol municipality, part of Pleven Province, on the right bank of the Danube river, 4 km downstream from the mouth of the Osam river....
, of which Pleven is part, is one of the two Roman Catholic dioceses in Bulgaria, and another 5% of the residents are Roman Catholic by faith, a significant number compared to other Bulgarian cities.

Pleven has three Eastern Orthodox churches, the Bulgarian National Revival

Bulgarian National Revival

The Bulgarian National Revival , sometimes called the Bulgarian Renaissance, was a period of socio-economic development and national integration among Bulgarian people under Ottoman Empire rule....
St Nicholas Church (1834) that was constructed at the place of a chapel from the Second Bulgarian Empire

Second Bulgarian Empire

The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state which existed between 1185 and 1396 . A successor of the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Kaloyan of Bulgaria and Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria before gradually declining to be conquered by the Ottomans in the late 14th-early 15th century....
, the St Paraskeva Church (1934) and the Holy Trinity Church, built in 1870 at the place of a church mentioned as early as 1523 and inaugurated by Exarch Antim I

Antim I

Antim I , born Atanas Mihaylov Chalakov , was a Bulgarian education figure and clergyman, and a participant in the Bulgarian liberation and church-independence movement....
. As of 2005, a new Eastern Orthodox church is being built in the Strogoziya quarter.

The construction of a large Roman Catholic church of Our Lady of Fatima

Our Lady of Fatima

Our Lady of F?tima is the title given to the vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary that was said to have appeared before three shepherd children at F?tima, Portugal on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917, starting on 13 May, the F?tima holiday....
began in 2001. A mosque

Mosque

A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. Muslims often refer to the mosque by its Arabic name, masjid, ? . The word "mosque" in English refers to all types of buildings dedicated for Islamic worship, although there is a distinction in Arabic between the smaller, privately owned mosque and the larger, "collective" mosque ,...
also exists in the town to serve the needs of the Muslim population, as well as a Methodist church that is situated on the site of the former local puppet theatre.

Economy

A major centre of oil processing, metalworking, machinery construction, of light and food industries in Socialist times, after 1989 Pleven found itself in an economic crisis, with many of the major enterprises (such as the Plama oil refinery) closing or practically ceasing to work. However, the late 1990s and early 2000s saw a revival of light industry and the development of branches such as knitwear and store clothes production. Tourism, which had attracted many people from the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
prior to 1989, and had experienced a slump in the following years, is on the rise again. Other economic branches have also improved in the 2000s. The unemployment

Unemployment

File:World map of countries by rate of unemployment.pngUnemployment occurs when a person is available to work and currently seeking work, but the person is without Wage labour....
has fallen from 17% in 2000 to 7.5% in 2005 and continues to decrease.

The city has seen a number of major foreign investments in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Particularly noticeable is the mass construction of hypermarkets, with two Billa

Billa

This article is about the company. For the Indian movies see Billa starring Rajinikanth or Billa starring Ajith Kumar.Billa is a European supermarket chain operating in numerous countries, originating in Austria....
stores, a Praktiker

Praktiker

Praktiker is a Germany hypermarket chain offering home improvement and do-it-yourself goods. It is based in Kirkel, Saarland, and opened its first store in 1978....
outlet and a number of technology hypermarkets being opened . In 2005, the investments in the economy of Pleven amounted to around 250 million leva

Bulgarian lev

The lev is the currency of Bulgaria. It is divided in 100 stotinki . In archaic Bulgarian the word "lev" meant "lion"....
(around €

Euro

The euro is the official currency of 16 out of 27 European Union member state of the European Union . The states, known collectively as the Eurozone are: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain....
125 million).

Transport

International rail road Sofia — Bucurest — Moscow runs through Pleven. The international motor way E 83 passes just north of the city. The national A2 Hemus highway Sofia — Varna is projected to pass 16 km south of Pleven. The inner city transportation in Pleven is maintained mainly by trolleybuses. There are 14 trolleybus lines and 75 km trolleybus network and two bus lines. The trolleybus fleet consist of 70 ZIU-682 trolleybuses produced 1985-1988. A project for 12 km trolleybus routes extension, was announced by the Pleven municipality and expected to start 2009.

Transmitter

Near Pleven, there is a large facility for mediumwave and shortwave broadcasting. Pleven mediumwave transmitter, working on 594 kHz, uses as antenna two 250 metres tall guyed mast radiators insulated against ground. These masts belong to the tallest structures of Bulgaria.

Attractions and culture

Historical sights

Most of the sights of the town are related to the Russo-Turkish War. The monuments related to the war alone are about 200. Some of the more popular include the St George the Conqueror Chapel Mausoleum

St George the Conqueror Chapel Mausoleum

The St George the Conqueror Chapel Mausoleum is a mausoleum and memorial Bulgarian Orthodox chapel, as well as a major landmark of Pleven, Bulgaria....
in honour of the many Russian and Romanian soldiers who lost their lives during the Siege of Pleven

Siege of Pleven

The Siege of Pleven during the Russo-Turkish War, 1877?78, saw a major struggle between the joint army of Russia and Romania; and the Ottoman Empire....
and the ossuary

Ossuary

An ossuary is a chest, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeleton remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce....
in Skobelev Park

Skobelev Park

Skobelev Park is a museum park in the vicinity of Pleven, Bulgaria. It was built between 1904 and 1907 on the very battlefield of the Siege of Pleven during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, specifically the third assault of General Mikhail Skobelev's detachment between 30 August and 11 September 1877....
. Another popular attraction is Pleven Panorama

Pleven Panorama

Pleven Epopee 1877, more commonly known as Pleven Panorama, is a panorama located in Pleven, Bulgaria, that depicts the events of the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78, specifically the five-month Siege of Pleven which made the city internationally famous and which contributed to the Liberation of Bulgaria after five centuries of Histo...
, created after (and reputedly larger than) the Borodino Panorama

Poklonnaya Hill

Poklonnaya Gora is, at 171.5 metres, one of the highest spots in Moscow. Its two summits used to be separated by the Setun River, until one of the summits was razed in 1987....
in Russia

Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
on the occasion of the anniversary of the Siege of Pleven.

Culture

The Pleven Regional Historical Museum

Pleven Regional Historical Museum

The Pleven Regional Historical Museum , founded in 1953, is one of the largest museums in Bulgaria. The museum is situated in a two-story edifice near the centre of Pleven that is a monument of culture of national importance and has an area of 7,000 m?....
is another popular tourist attraction, while the Svetlin Rusev Donative Exhibition

Svetlin Rusev Donative Exhibition

The Svetlin Rusev Donative Exhibition is a permanent art exhibition in Pleven, Bulgaria, including over 400 works of Bulgarian and foreign art donated by the noted Bulgarian artist and collector Svetlin Rusev....
, situated in the former public baths, exhibits works by Bulgarian artists, as well as noted Western European art figures like Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso

Pablo Diego Jos? Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno Mar?a de los Remedios Cipriano de la Sant?sima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso was a Spanish people Painting, drawing, and Sculpture....
, Francisco Goya

Francisco Goya

Francisco Jos? de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish Painting and Printmaking. Goya was a court painter to the Spanish Crown and a chronicler of history....
, Honoré Daumier

Honoré Daumier

Honor? Daumier , was a France printmaker, caricaturist, Painting, and sculptor, whose many works offer commentary on social and political life in France in the 19th century....
, Marc Chagall

Marc Chagall

Marc Chagall ; [shuh-GAHL] , was a Jewish Russians artist, born in Belarus and naturalized France in 1937, associated with several key art movements and was one of the most successful artists of the twentieth century....
, Maurice Denis

Maurice Denis

Maurice Denis was a French Painting and writer, and a member of the Symbolism and Les Nabis movements. His theories contributed to the foundations of cubism, fauvism, and abstract art....
, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Salvador Dalí

Salvador Dalí

Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dal? i Dom?nech, 1st Marquis of P?bol was a Spain Catalonia surrealist painter born in Figueres.Dal? was a skilled Technical drawing, best known for the striking and bizarre images in his surrealism work....
, Renato Guttuso

Renato Guttuso

Renato Guttuso was one of the major Italian people painters of the twentieth century.His best-known paintings include Flight from Etna , Crucifixion and La Vucciria ....
and Eugène Delacroix

Eugène Delacroix

Ferdinand Victor Eug?ne Delacroix was a France Romanticism artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school....
, Auguste Rodin and Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas , born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas , was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism although he rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist....
.

The Ivan Radoev Dramatic Theatre

Ivan Radoev Dramatic Theatre

The Ivan Radoev Dramatic Theatre is a theatre in Pleven, Bulgaria. Its edifice in the centre of the city was designed by an Austria-Hungary architect and built 1893-1895....
is the centre of theatrical life in Pleven. A number of community centres (chitalishta) are also active in the city.

Sport and recreation

Pleven is often regarded as an important centre of sports in Bulgaria, with many noted Bulgarian sportspeople having been born and/or trained in the town, including Tereza Marinova

Tereza Marinova

Tereza Marinova is a Bulgarian athlete who competed in long jump and triple jump. In her younger days she became both European and World Junior champion, and she still holds the World junior records in athletics at triple jump....
and Galabin Boevski

Galabin Boevski

Galabin Boevski is a Bulgarian weightlifting. He was born in Knezha, and was both World Champion and Olympic Champion. He was later suspended for eight years after failing drug tests....
. The sports school in Pleven is thought of as one of the most prominent in the country.

The city hosts two football clubs, Spartak Pleven and Belite orli , which have separate stadiums. Both teams play in the second Bulgarian league and haven't had any major successes in the past, although Spartak Pleven has been the first team for a couple of former Bulgarian internationals

Bulgaria national football team

The Bulgaria national football team is the national football team of Bulgaria and is controlled by the Bulgarian Football Union. Bulgaria's best Football World Cup performance was in the Football World Cup 1994 in USA, where they beat defending champions Germany national football team to reach the semi-finals, losing to Italy national footba...
such as Plamen Getov

Plamen Getov

Plamen Getov is a former Bulgarian Footballer and Bulgaria national football team.A native of Pleven, Getov played as a forward for Spartak Varna, FC Beloslav, Spartak Pleven, CSKA Sofia, Etar Veliko Tarnovo, Levski Sofia, PFC Shumen, PFC Cherno More Varna and in Portugal with Portimonense S.C....
.

Spartak Pleven is also a basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five active players each try to score points against one another by propelling a basketball through a 10 feet high hoop under organized rules....
team, a national championship winner in 1995 and national cup winner in 1996 (then named Plama Pleven). Other than that, the team is a regular first league participant.

Pleven is famous for its Kaylaka

Kaylaka

Kaylaka is a large park and protected area south of Pleven, Bulgaria, situated in a Karst valley. The park is spread over 10 km? and is surrounded by sheer cliffs that suggest favourable conditions for rock climbing....
(where the ruins of the Storgosia fortification can be found) and Skobelev

Skobelev Park

Notable natives

Iliya Beshkov, artist
Artist

The definition of an artist is wide-ranging and covers a broad spectrum of activities to do with creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art....
Lucy Diakovska, singer
Emil Dimitrov
Emil Dimitrov

Emil Dimitrov was a popular Bulgarian singer. He made his debut in 1960 and recorded about 30 albums altogether. In the 60s Lili Ivanova and Emil Dimitrov were the most popular singers of modern songs....
, singer and composer
Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, usually in the medium of musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of music....
Silvia Dimitrova
Silvia Dimitrova

Silvia Dimitrova in Pleven) is an icon Painting. She won a place at the prestigious School of Applied Arts at Troyan at the age of 13. She graduated in 1989....
, artist
Tereza Marinova
Tereza Marinova

Tereza Marinova is a Bulgarian athlete who competed in long jump and triple jump. In her younger days she became both European and World Junior champion, and she still holds the World junior records in athletics at triple jump....
, triple jump
Triple jump

The triple jump is a track and field sport, similar to the long jump, but involving a ?hop, step and jump? routine, whereby the competitor runs down the track and performs a hop, a step and then a jump into the sand pit....
athlete, 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics

The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 13 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....
gold medal
Gold medal

A gold medal is typically the highest medal awarded for achievement in a non-military field. The concept comes from the military, initially with a simple recognition of military rank, and later decorations for admission to military orders dating back to medieval times....
list
Svetlin Rusev
Svetlin Rusev

Svetlin Rusev is a famous artist and one of the greatest Bulgaria collectors of creations of art. He is very famous for the Svetlin Rusev Donative Exhibition, a permanent art exhibition in Pleven, including over 400 works of Bulgarian and foreign art donated by him....
, artist
Krassimir Rangelov, sculptor
Slavi Trifonov
Slavi Trifonov

Stanislav Todorov Trifonov , known as Slavi Trifonov , is a Bulgarian showman, actor, singer and viola player born in Pleven . Trifonov's music genres are chalga and pop-rock, but he has experimented with other genres as a part of Ku-ku Band ....
, popular showman
Showman

Showman can have a variety of meanings, usually by context.Travelling Funfair are people who run Amusement and side show equipment at regional Shows, Capitol Shows, events and festivals throughout Australia....

Twin cities

Brest

Brest, Belarus

For other uses, see BrestBrest , formerly also Brest-on-the-Bug and Brest-Litovsk, is a city in Belarus at the border with Poland opposite the city of Terespol, where the Western Bug River and Mukhavets River rivers meet....
, Belarus

Belarus

Belarus is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered by Russia to the north and east, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the north....
Jinzhou

Jinzhou

Jinzhou , is a prefecture-level city of Liaoning province, China. It is a geographically strategic city in the "Liaoxi Corridor" , which connects the land transportation between North China and Northeast China....
, People's Republic of China

People's Republic of China

The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the List of countries by population in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately a fifth of the world's population....
Kaiserslautern

Kaiserslautern

is a city in southwest Germany, located in the States of Germany of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century and is within easy reach of Paris and Luxembourg ....
, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands....
Edessa

Edessa, Greece

Edessa is the capital of the Pella Prefecture of Macedonia , Greece. Administratively, it belongs to the Central Macedonia peripheries of Greece and is also the capital of the defunct provinces of Greece of the same name....
, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkans. It has borders with Albania, Bulgaria and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north, and Turkey to the east....
Volos

Volos

Volos is a coastal port city situated at the center of the Greece mainland, about 326 km north from Athens and 215 km south from Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia Prefectures of Greece....
, Greece

Greece

Bitola

Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre....
, Republic of Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

The Republic of Macedonia , , often referred to simply as Macedonia, is a landlocked country on the Balkans in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south and Albania to the west....
Kavadarci

Kavadarci

Kavadarci is a town located in the Tikve? region of The Republic of Macedonia. Situated in the heart of Republic of Macedonia?s wine country, it is home to the country?s largest manmade lake and the largest winery in south-eastern Europe, both named after the Tikve? plain....
, Republic of Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

Agadir

Agadir is a major city in southwest Morocco, capital of the Agadir province and the Sous-Massa-Draa economic region ....
, Morocco

Morocco

Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 34 million and an area just under 447,000 km2....

Guimarães

Guimar?es is a city and List of municipalities of Portugal in northwestern Portugal in the province of Minho and in the Braga . In the 9th century, V?mara Peres was able to expel the Moors and founded a fortified town under his own name Vimaranis which later became Guimaranis, present day Guimar?es....
, Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital and the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia of the Russian Federation. It is also the largest European cities and metropolitan areas, with the Moscow metropolitan area ranking among the largest urban areas in the world....
Central Administrative Okrug, Russia

Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
Rostov-on-Don

Rostov-on-Don

Rostov-on-Don is the types of inhabited localities in Russia and the administrative center of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia, located on the Don River , just 46 km from the Sea of Azov....
, Russia

Russia

Russia , or the Russian Federation , is a list of countries spanning more than one continent country extending over much of northern Eurasia....
Braila

Braila

Braila is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of the Braila County, in the close vicinity of Galati. In 2002, according to the official Romanian census, the city had a population of 216,292 people in 2002, making it Romania's 10th largest city....
, Romania

Romania

Gornji Milanovac

Gornji Milanovac is a town and municipality located in Serbia at 44.012691? North, 20.273572? East. Its name means "Upper Milanovac" while Milanovac stems from name "Milan" in the Serbian language....
, Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country in Central Europe and Balkans Europe, covering the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central part of the Balkans....
Bursa, Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in southwest Asia and Thrace in the Balkans region of Southern Europe....
Chernivtsi

Chernivtsi

Chernivtsi is the Capital of Chernivtsi Oblast in western Ukraine. The city lies in the historic Bukovina region of Ukraine and is situated on the Prut, a tributary of the Danube....
, Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south....
Charlottesville, Virginia

Charlottesville, Virginia

Charlottesville is an independent city located within the confines of Albemarle County, Virginia in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of George III of the United Kingdom of the United Kingdom....
, United States

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...

Honours

A city in Kansas
Plevna, Kansas

Plevna is a city in Reno County, Kansas, Kansas, United States. The population was 99 at the 2000 United States Census....
and a town in Montana
Plevna, Montana

Plevna is a town in Fallon County, Montana, Montana, United States. The population was 138 at the 2000 United States Census....
in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
, as well as a village in Ontario
Plevna, Ontario

Plevna is a village in eastern Ontario, Canada, located approximately 100 km southwest of Ottawa, and is situated in prime cottage country with many lakes surrounding it....
, Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
were named after Pleven, or more precisely its historical name in English Plevna, the reason for which is the battle in 1877.

A road in Hampton, Middlesex, London is named Plevna, adjoining another called Varna Road both comprising of Victorian terraced housing built in 1870s and named after the battles in Bulgaria of the period.

Pleven Saddle
Pleven Saddle

Pleven Saddle is a deep saddle in Friesland Ridge, Tangra Mountains, Livingston Island, Antarctica, bounded by MacKay Peak to the WSW and Tervel Peak to the ENE....
on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands
South Shetland Islands

The South Shetland Islands are a group of List of antarctic and sub-antarctic islands, lying about 120 kilometres north of the Antarctic Peninsula....
, Antarctica
Antarctica

Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent, overlying the South Pole. It is situated in the Antarctica of the southern hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean....
is named after Pleven.

Pleven

Geography

History

Prehistory and antiquity

Middle Ages

Ottoman rule

Siege of Pleven

Modern history

Demographics and religion

Economy

Transport

Transmitter

Attractions and culture

Historical sights

Culture

Sport and recreation

Notable natives

Twin cities

Honours

See also

External links