STARA ZAGORA

'Stara Zagora' () is a large city in the central part of Southern Bulgaria, and constitutes an important economic centre. Stara Zagora is known as the city of straight streets, linden trees and poets. According to the city's chamber of commerce, it is one of the oldest settlements in Europe, being at least eight thousand years old. According to one unofficial study, Stara Zagora ranks second among the cities in Bulgaria by average salary.^[1]

Contents

Geography and climate

History

Historical population

Culture

Landmarks

Famous Natives

Trivia

Notes

External links

Geography and climate

Stara Zagora is the administrative centre of its municipality and the Stara Zagora Province. It is located about away from Sofia, near the Bedechka river in the historic region of Thrace. The population is about 163,000.
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 to be one of the oldest settlements in Bulgaria and Southeastern Europe. 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.
Under the Roman Empire, the town was renamed to ''Augusta Trajana'' in honour of emperor Trajan.
At the time of the Byzantine Empire, it adopted the name ''Irinopolis'' after Byzantine empress Irene. The fortifications around the town were reconstructed because of fear of Bulgarian attacks, but Irinopolis and the whole Zagore region were reincorporated 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 the year 1122 Stara Zagora (''Beroia'') was the site of a battle between Byzantine Emperor John II Komnenos and an invading Pecheneg army, 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.
The Ottomans conquered Stara Zagora was in 1371. A class 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'', but was renamed once again to ''Stara Zagora'' in 1870. After the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule in 1878, it became part of autonomous Eastern Rumelia 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

Culture

Landmarks

★ 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 1925)

★ Stara Zagora Transmitter with one of the few Blaw-Knox Towers in Europe

Famous Natives

★ Anna Tomowa-Sintow, dramatic soprano opera singer

★ Vesselina Kasarova, lyric mezzo soprano opera singer

★ Kiril Hristov, writer

Trivia

★ Beroe Hill on Livingston Island, West Antarctica is named after this city, in its previous incarnation as Beroe.

Notes

1. http://www.karieri.bg/show/?storyid=312279

External links

★ 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