Asenovgrad
Encyclopedia
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, part of Plovdiv Province
Plovdiv Province
Plovdiv Province is a province in central southern Bulgaria. It comprises 18 municipalities on a territory of 5,972.9 km² with a total population, as of December 2009, of 701,684 inhabitants...
.
History
Asenovgrad was founded by the ThraciansThracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
as Stenímachos around 300–400 BC. In 72 BC the city was captured by the troops of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
as part of the Roman expansion towards the Black Sea
Black Sea
The Black Sea is bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and the Aegean seas and various straits. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects that sea to the Aegean...
. After a long period of peace, the town was destroyed by the Goths
Goths
The Goths were an East Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin whose two branches, the Visigoths and the Ostrogoths, played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of Medieval Europe....
in 251, but rebuilt later. In 395 the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
was divided into two parts and the city fell under Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
control. Afterwards, the Slavic tribes flooded the region (until around 700 AD) and became the majority of the population. During this time the city was known by its Thracian name Stenímachos.
During the wars between the Bulgarian Empire
Bulgarian Empire
Bulgarian Empire is a term used to describe two periods in the medieval history of Bulgaria, during which it acted as a key regional power in Europe in general and in Southeastern Europe in particular, rivalling Byzantium...
and the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
, the city became a major military stronghold for the Bulgarian rulers. Due to aggravation of the relationships with the Latin Empire
Latin Empire
The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople is the name given by historians to the feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. It was established after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 and lasted until 1261...
, in 1230 Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Asen II
Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria
-Early rule:He was a son of Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria and Elena . Elena, who survived until after 1235, is sometimes alleged to be a daughter of Stefan Nemanja of Serbia, but this relationship is questionable and would have caused various canonical impediments to marriages between various descendants...
strengthened the local fortress Stanimaha and for this reason the city was named after him in 1934 (literally city of Asen). After Bulgaria was occupied by the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, Roma and Turks settled in Stanimaha, who nowadays make up 15% of the municipality of Asenovgrad's population (Asenovgrad, in addition to 29 villages), the rest 75% being ethnic Bulgarians
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
and 5% – unknown and others.
Tane Nikolov
Tane Nikolov
Tane Nikolov was a Bulgarian revolutionary and member of the revolutionary movement in Macedonia, Thrace and Pomoravlje...
, a well known revolutionary and leader of the Macedonian Struggle
Macedonian Struggle
The Macedonian Struggle was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts between Greeks and Bulgarians in the region of Ottoman Macedonia between 1904 and 1908...
, spent his last years in Asenovgrad and died here in 1947.
Cultural and natural sights
The city is a destination for religious and cultural tourism. Its main attractions are the monasteries St. Petka and Arapov's monastery and St. Kirik . Around the city there are 5 monasteries, 15 churches and 58 chapels (for which the city earned the nickname "The Little Jerusalem"), also there are historical, ethnographic and paleontological museums and 2 kilometers from the town is Asen's Fortress .Outside of the town is the 40 Springs hunting and fishing resort. The climate is very pleasant during the winter and cool in the summer, which made the city and its surroundings very attractive for tourism. The southeast portions of the city are noted for tourist destinations and their urban development, including Parakolovo and the 40 Springs complex.
In the late twentieth century the town was known for one of the first Bulgarian discos, Jumbare , with 600 seats and a round dancing floor, it was completed in 1977 and was located in the Asenovec hotel complex, which is full recovering, but the disco no longer exists.
Asen's Fortress
Asen's Fortress is located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the town proper, in Rhodope mountainsRhodope Mountains
The Rhodopes are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, with over 83% of its area in southern Bulgaria and the remainder in Greece. Its highest peak, Golyam Perelik , is the seventh highest Bulgarian mountain...
. The fortress has existed since the time of the Thracians
Thracians
The ancient Thracians were a group of Indo-European tribes inhabiting areas including Thrace in Southeastern Europe. They spoke the Thracian language – a scarcely attested branch of the Indo-European language family...
, and during the Middle Ages was a main strategic point. The fortress is named after king Ivan Asen II
Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria
-Early rule:He was a son of Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria and Elena . Elena, who survived until after 1235, is sometimes alleged to be a daughter of Stefan Nemanja of Serbia, but this relationship is questionable and would have caused various canonical impediments to marriages between various descendants...
. The church St Bogoroditsa Petrichka is the only wholly preserved building in the complex. In 1991 after a full restoration of the church, it begin to function as a orthodox temple.
The fortress is among the top 100 National tourist sights of Bulgaria and it is open during the entire year to visitors. Thousands of people and tourist walk to the top daily to take photographs, to relax and to see the beautiful view.
Paleontological museum
The paleontological museum in the city is affiliated with the National Museum of Natural History in BulgariaNational Museum of Natural History (Bulgaria)
The National Museum of Natural History of Bulgaria is a museum of natural history located in Sofia, the capital of the country on "Tzar Osvoboditel" str. next to the Russian church...
. It was founded in 1990 and has one of the largest paleontological collections in country. Among the exhibits there are saber-toothed tiger
Smilodon
Smilodon , often called a saber-toothed cat or saber-toothed tiger, is an extinct genus of machairodonts. This saber-toothed cat was endemic to North America and South America, living from near the beginning through the very end of the Pleistocene epoch .-Etymology:The nickname "saber-tooth" refers...
, tiger metailurus
Metailurus
Metailurus is a genus of false saber-toothed cat of the family Felidae, belonging to the tribe Metailurini endemic to North America, Africa, Europe, and Asia during the Miocene to Pleistocene, living from 9 Ma—11,000 years ago and existed for approximately .Metailurus was named by Zdansky...
, deinotherium
Deinotherium
Deinotherium , also called the Hoe tusker, was a large prehistoric relative of modern-day elephants that appeared in the Middle Miocene and continued until the Early Pleistocene. During that time it changed very little...
, bear – indarctos
Indarctos
Indarctos is a genus of mammals of the family Ursidae endemic to North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia during the Miocene, living from ~11.1—5.3 Ma, existing for approximately ....
and others.
Culture
The southern part of the town is known for its distilleries. Asenovgrad's wines are appreciated all over the country.The town is famous for its numerous shops for wedding dresses and many Bulgarians
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
come here in order to prepare for their wedding ceremonies.
Due to its specific geographical location the denizens of the town enjoy a breeze called вечерник (literally "night wind").
Twin towns — sister cities
NaousaNaousa, Imathia
Naousa or Naoussa is a city in the Imathia peripheral unit of Macedonia, Greece. Population 34,441.It is famous for its parks and for its ski resorts...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Kilkis
Kilkis
Kilkis is an industrial city in Central Macedonia, Greece. As of 2001 there were 17,430 people living in the city proper, 24,812 people living in the municipal unit, and 56,336 in the municipality of Kilkis. It is also the capital city of the regional unit of Kilkis.-Name:Kilkis is located in a...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. Prilep
Prilep
Prilep is the fourth largest city in the Republic of Macedonia. It has a population of 66,246 citizens. Prilep is known as "the city under Marko's Towers" because of its proximity to the towers of Prince Marko.-Name:...
, Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
. Stary Oskol
Stary Oskol
Stary Oskol is a city in Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located south of Moscow, on the Oskol River. Population: 221,163 ; 215,898 ; -History:...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.