Stara Zagora

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Stara Zagora

Stara Zagora is the sixth largest 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....
, and one of the nationally important economic centres. Stara Zagora is known as the city of straight streets, linden trees, and poets. According to the city's chamber of commerce

Chamber of commerce

A chamber of commerce is a form of business network. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to advocate on behalf of the business community....
, it is one of the oldest settlements in Europe

Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, being at least eight thousand years old. According to one unofficial study, Stara Zagora ranks second among the cities in Bulgaria by average salary.
a Zagora is the administrative centre of its municipality and the Stara Zagora Province

Stara Zagora Province

Stara Zagora is a province of south central Bulgaria. Its main city is Stara Zagora, second biggest city is Kazanlak. There is another town nearby called Radnevo....
.

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Encyclopedia

Stara Zagora is the sixth largest city in Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Chamber of commerce

Europe

Geography and climate

Stara Zagora is the administrative centre of its municipality and the Stara Zagora Province

Stara Zagora Province

Stara Zagora is a province of south central Bulgaria. Its main city is Stara Zagora, second biggest city is Kazanlak. There is another town nearby called Radnevo....
. It is located about away from 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....
, near the Bedechka river in the historic region of Thrace

Thrace

Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. Today the name Thrace designates a region spread over southern Bulgaria , northeastern Greece , and European Turkey ....
. The population is about 162,400.

The city is located in an area of transitional continental climate with considerable Mediterranean influence. The average yearly temperature is about .

History

Stara Zagora is considered one of the oldest settlements in Bulgaria and Southeastern Europe. It was founded by the Thracians

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....
under the name Beroe (meaning iron) about 6th-5th century BCE, with 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....
dwellings and the copper mine near the city being the oldest preserved ones in Europe

Europe

Ancient history

Ancient history is the history from the History of writing until the Early Middle Ages in Europe, the Qin Dynasty in China, the Chola Empire in India, and some less defined point in the rest of the world ....
.

Under the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the Roman Republic phase of the Ancient Rome, characterised by an autocracy form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, the town was renamed to Ulpia Augusta Traiana in honour of emperor Trajan

Trajan

Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus, commonly known as Trajan , was a Roman Emperors who reigned from 98 until his death in 117. Born Marcus Ulpius Traianus into a nonpatrician family in the Hispania Baetica province , Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian, serving as a general in the Roman army along the Limes G...
.

At the time of the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire and Eastern Roman Empire are conventional names used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople....
, it adopted the name Irinopolis after Byzantine empress Irene

Irene (empress)

Irene Serantapechaina, known as Irene of Athens or Irene the Athenian was a Byzantine emperor regnant from 797 to 802, having previously been Empress consort from 775-780, and empress mother and regent from 780-797....
. The fortifications around the town were reconstructed because of fear of Bulgarian attacks, but Irinopolis and the whole Zagore region were reincorporated into 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....
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

Constantinople

Constantinople was the empire capital of the Roman Empire , the Byzantine Empire , the Latin Empire , and the Ottoman Empire . Strategically located between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara at the point where Europe meets Asia, Byzantine Constantinople had been the capital of a Christendom empire, successor to ancient ancient Greece...
. The region was the first Bulgarian territorial gain south of Stara Planina. The town acquired the name Boruy.

In 1122 Stara Zagora (Beroia) was the site of a battle between Byzantine Emperor John II Komnenos

John II Komnenos

John II Komnenos or Comnenus was Byzantine emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as Kalo?oannes , he was the eldest son of emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina....
and an invading Pecheneg army, the Battle of Beroia

Battle of Beroia

The Battle of Beroia was fought between the Pechenegs and Emperor John II Komnenos of the Byzantine Empire in the year 1122 in what is now Bulgaria, and resulted in the disappearance of the Pecheneg people as an independent force....
. The Pechenegs suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of John's Byzantine army, and many of the captives were settled as foederati

Foederati

Foederatus is a Latin term whose definition and usage drifted in the time between the early Roman Republic and the end of the Western Roman Empire....
within the Byzantine frontier. In 1208 the Bulgarians defeated the Latin Empire

Latin Empire

The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople is the name given by historians to the Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire after their sack of Constantinople in 1204 and ended in 1261....
in the battle of Boruy

Battle of Boruy

The battle of Boruy took place in June 1208 near the city of Stara Zagora, Bulgaria between the Bulgarians and the Latin Empire. It resulted in a Bulgaria victory....
.

The Ottomans conquered Stara Zagora in 1371. A grade school was built in 1840 and the town's name was changed to Zheleznik (; a 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....
translation of Beroe) in 1854 instead of the 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....
, but was renamed once again to Stara Zagora in 1870. After the Liberation of Bulgaria

Liberation of Bulgaria

In Bulgarian historiography, the term Liberation of Bulgaria is used to denote the events of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 that led to the establishment of a Bulgarian people state with the Treaty of San Stefano of 3 March, 1878....
from Ottoman rule in 1878, it became part of autonomous Eastern Rumelia

Eastern Rumelia

Eastern Rumelia or Eastern Roumelia was an autonomous province in the Ottoman Empire from 1878 to 1908, however it was under Bulgarian control from 1885, when it Bulgarian unification the Principality of Bulgaria....
before the two Bulgarian states finally merged in 1886 as a result of the Unification of Bulgaria.

Historical population

Year
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

Districts

APK (??? - named at former Industrial-agricultural complex)
Atyuren (?????? - future district of the city)
Bogomilovo (?????????? - former village of Bogomilovo)
Central City Part (includes Supercenter, Chayka & Zagorka) (????????? ??????? ???? (???????????, ????? ? ???????) - Chayka - Sea-gull, Zagorka - named at Zagorka brewery)
Chumleka (???????)
Dabrava (??????? - former village of Dabrava)
Eastern Industrial Zone (??????? ???????????? ????)
Hrishteni (??????? - former village of Hrishteni)
Industrial Zone (???????????? ????)
Kazanski (????????)
Kolyu Ganchev (???? ?????? - named at famous Bulgarian revolutionary)
Lozenets (??????? - from ???? - vineyard
Vineyard

A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture....
)
Malka Vereya (????? ????? - Vereya - old name of the city, Malka - small)
Samara 1, 2 & 3- (?????? 1, 2 ? 3 - named at sister city of Samara, Russia
Samara, Russia

Samara is list of cities and towns in Russia by population types of inhabited localities in Russia in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia, the Volga Federal District....
)
Studentski grad - (?????????? ???? - Student town)
Tri Chuchura north, center & south - (??? ?????? ?????, ?????? ? ?? - "Three spouts")
Zheleznik (small & big) (???????? - named at former name of the city)
Zora (???? - Dawn)

Culture

Landmarks

The Antique Forum
Thracian Tomb
The Roman Baths
The Samarsko Zname
Samara flag

File:Samara flag.pngThe Samara flag is one of the most important military symbols of the Military of Bulgaria. Sewed by local nuns and given to the Opalchentsi in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 by the citizens of the Russian city of Samara, Russia on 18 May 1877, it became famous when it was heroically prevented from being captured by the...
Monument
Ayazmoto Park
Defenders of Stara Zagora Memorial Complex
Memorial House of Geo Milev
Geo Milev

Geo Milev , born Georgi Kasabov Milev , was a Bulgarians poet and author....
The South Gate of Augusta Trajana
The Opera House
Opera house

An opera house is a theater building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building....
(built 1925)
Stara Zagora Transmitter
Stara Zagora Transmitter

The Stara Zagora Transmitter is a high power mediumwave broadcasting station near Stara Zagora in Bulgaria. It has at least 3 guyed masts. One of these masts is a Blaw-Knox Tower....
with one of the few Blaw-Knox Tower
Blaw-Knox Tower

The Blaw-Knox company was a manufacturer of steel structures and construction equipment based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company is today best known for its mast radiator, most of which were constructed during the 1930s in the United States....
s in Europe

Famous Natives

Anna Tomowa-Sintow
Anna Tomowa-Sintow

Anna Tomowa-Sintow is a Bulgarian soprano who has sung to great acclaim in all the major opera houses around the world in a repertoire that includes Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Gioacchino Rossini, Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, Richard Wagner, and Richard Strauss....
, dramatic soprano opera singer
Vesselina Kasarova
Vesselina Kasarova

Vesselina Kasarova is a Bulgarian mezzo-soprano opera singer....
, coloratura mezzo soprano opera singer
Kiril Hristov, writer

Trivia

Beroe Hill
Beroe Hill

Beroe Hill is a hill of 400 m in the southwest extremity of Gleaner Heights, Livingston Island , West Antarctica. The hill was named after the ancient Thracian town of Beroe, ancestor of the present city of Stara Zagora....
on Livingston Island, West Antarctica
West Antarctica

West Antarctica, or Lesser Antarctica is one of the two major regions of Antarctica, lying on the Pacific Ocean side of the Transantarctic Mountains and comprising Marie Byrd Land, Ellsworth Land, and the Antarctic Peninsula....
is named after this city, in its previous incarnation as Beroe.
One of the two lighting factories Svetlina
Svetlina AD

Svetlina AD, or more commonly only Svetlina is the name of two Bulgarian lighting manufacturing plants. The word svetlina means light and AD is a similar abbreviation to the French s.a. or English Ltd....
is situated here.

Twin Towns
Stara Zagora is twinned
Town twinning

Town twinning, also known as sister cities, is a concept whereby towns or city in geographically and politically distinct areas are paired, with the goal of fostering human contact and cultural links between their inhabitants....
with:
Radom
Radom

Radom is a city in central Poland with 227,309 inhabitants. It is located on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship , having previously been the capital of Radom Voivodeship , 100 km south of Poland's capital, Warsaw....
in Poland
Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian Enclave and exclave, to the north....
Larissa
Larissa

Larissa is a city and the capital of the Thessaly Peripheries of Greece of Greece, and capital of the Larissa Prefecture. It is a principal agricultural centre and a national transportation hub, linked by rail with the port of Volos and with Thessaloniki and Athens....
in 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....
Samara
Samara, Russia

Samara is list of cities and towns in Russia by population types of inhabited localities in Russia in Russia. It is situated in the southeastern part of European Russia, the Volga Federal District....
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....
County Down
County Down

County Down is one of the nine Counties of Ireland that form the province of Ulster and one of six counties that form Northern Ireland. The county forms an area of ....
in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland

conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
Kruševac
Kruševac

Kru?evac is a city and a municipality located in Serbia at 43.58? North, 21.32? East. According to the 2002 census it had a population of 75,256 ....
in 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....
Barreiro
Barreiro

Barreiro is a municipality and city in Portugal with a total area of 32.0 km? and a total population of 79,047 inhabitants. The city itself has a population of 40,859....
in 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....

See also

Stara Zagora Airport
Stara Zagora Airport

Stara Zagora Airport is one of the two airports /the other one is Kalvacha Airport/ of the sixth largest city in Bulgaria, Stara Zagora. The airport is located near the Kolio Ganchev suburb located about 9 km south from the city center of Stara Zagora....
Kalvacha Airport
Kalvacha Airport

Kalvacha Airport is an airport which serves the city of Kazanlak. The airport is located near the Ovoshtnik village located about 9 km south from the city center of Kazanlak....
List of cities in Bulgaria
List of cities in Bulgaria

This is a list of cities in Bulgaria with over 20,000 inhabitants. Province capitals are shown in bold....

External links