Harmanli
Encyclopedia
Harmanli is a town in Haskovo Province
, South-central Bulgaria
. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Harmanli Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 18,557 inhabitants.
Harmanli came into being in about 1510 along the road that connects Central Europe
and Anatolia
.
and precipitous north slopes of the Rhodope Mountains
. The south boundary of the Thracian
lowlands is outlined by the north Rhodope foot, along which it leans close on the north Rhodopes, between the lower end of the Momina Klisura defile
(at 300 m elevation) and the beginning of the Harmanli defile (at 80 m elevation).
The Maritsa
River flows near the city. The climate of the area is temperate continental, which determines the variety of the vegetative types, some of which pertain to the evergreen groups (south of Harmanli). The soils are mainly maroon and woody. It is located 270 km from the capital Sofia
To facilitate travelers, caravaners and threshers a vaulted bridge over the river in Arabic style traditional in that epoch was built in 1585 by the order of the Turkish
vizier Siviush Pasha. The marble inscription on the bridge
reads as follows:
The world is a bridge, across which the way of the king and the poor man passes
The hunchbacked bridge has been saved almost intact till our day.
Bulgarian municipalities were charged with some fiscal, administrative and other functions in 1834. The written rules, called 'Instructions for mayors, masters and village criers,' which were a herald of the first Bulgarian Act of local self-government, are of interest.
Harmanli does not need to travel because the world goes through it
Historic fountain was built at the White-legged Girl's Spring (Ak baldır çeşmesi), half an hour way from the bridge. The legend about Guergana, eternalized in the beautiful poem by Petko Slaveikov,
Another legend relating that boyar Valkashin or Vukasin, father of the legendary Krali Marko, was killed near this spring fighting the Ottoman sultan Murad.
Although the fountain is an object of local lore disputes, even if it is a fiction story, it is an emblem of Harmanli.
- natural waterfalls in the regions of Kiumiurluka and Kuru Dere and the protected area of Defileto, as well as the historic spots the Karakoliuvata Kashta cave
, Forest Hades and Haidushkata Dupka a small cave
.
- Harmanli - Svilengrad
and Istanbul
(Е-80 or І-8), and the second one is from North Europe
through Rousse
- Haskovo
- Harmanli and Mediterranean, on which basis corridor 9 will be developed in the future.
Harmanli Cove
in Tower Island
, Antarctica is named after Harmanli.
----
Hristo Stoichkov
the European Footballer of the Year
in 1994 had played in local team FC Hebros
in 1983–1984
Haskovo Province
Haskovo Province is a province in southern Bulgaria, neighbouring Greece and Turkey to the southeast, comprising parts of the Thracian valley along the river Maritsa. It is named after its administrative and industrial centre - the city of Haskovo...
, South-central Bulgaria
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...
. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Harmanli Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 18,557 inhabitants.
Harmanli came into being in about 1510 along the road that connects Central Europe
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
and Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
.
Geography
Its territory spreads over some parts of the Upper Thracian Lowlands between the oblique south slopes of the Sredna GoraSredna Gora
Sredna Gora is a mountain range in central Bulgaria, situated south of and parallel to Balkan mountain range and extending from the river Iskar to the west and the elbow of Tundzha north of Yambol to the east. Sredna Gora is 285 km long, reaching 50 km at its greatest width...
and precipitous north slopes of the Rhodope Mountains
Rhodope 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 south boundary of the Thracian
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
lowlands is outlined by the north Rhodope foot, along which it leans close on the north Rhodopes, between the lower end of the Momina Klisura defile
Defile (geography)
Defile is a geographic term for a narrow pass or gorge between mountains or hills. It has its origins as a military description of a pass through which troops can march only in a narrow column or with a narrow front...
(at 300 m elevation) and the beginning of the Harmanli defile (at 80 m elevation).
The Maritsa
Maritsa
The Maritsa or Evros , ) is, with a length of 480 km, the longest river that runs solely in the interior of the Balkans. It has its origin in the Rila Mountains in Western Bulgaria, flowing southeast between the Balkan and Rhodope Mountains, past Plovdiv and Parvomay to Edirne, Turkey...
River flows near the city. The climate of the area is temperate continental, which determines the variety of the vegetative types, some of which pertain to the evergreen groups (south of Harmanli). The soils are mainly maroon and woody. It is located 270 km from the capital Sofia
Sofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
History
The first historical records of it date back to 1530. They belong to the Slovene Benedit Kuripešič, who would sojourn there as an interpreter in his mission. Skilful masters built a solid caravansary on the right bank of the Harmanli river (then Oludere).To facilitate travelers, caravaners and threshers a vaulted bridge over the river in Arabic style traditional in that epoch was built in 1585 by the order of the Turkish
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...
vizier Siviush Pasha. The marble inscription on the bridge
Bridge
A bridge is a structure built to span physical obstacles such as a body of water, valley, or road, for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle...
reads as follows:
The world is a bridge, across which the way of the king and the poor man passes
The hunchbacked bridge has been saved almost intact till our day.
Bulgarian municipalities were charged with some fiscal, administrative and other functions in 1834. The written rules, called 'Instructions for mayors, masters and village criers,' which were a herald of the first Bulgarian Act of local self-government, are of interest.
Culture
The location of the town along the roadway gives reason to a writer Gencho Stoev to say that:Harmanli does not need to travel because the world goes through it
Historic fountain was built at the White-legged Girl's Spring (Ak baldır çeşmesi), half an hour way from the bridge. The legend about Guergana, eternalized in the beautiful poem by Petko Slaveikov,
Another legend relating that boyar Valkashin or Vukasin, father of the legendary Krali Marko, was killed near this spring fighting the Ottoman sultan Murad.
Although the fountain is an object of local lore disputes, even if it is a fiction story, it is an emblem of Harmanli.
Tourist attractions
The municipality area has highly remarkable and beautiful sights of natureNature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
- natural waterfalls in the regions of Kiumiurluka and Kuru Dere and the protected area of Defileto, as well as the historic spots the Karakoliuvata Kashta cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
, Forest Hades and Haidushkata Dupka a small cave
Cave
A cave or cavern is a natural underground space large enough for a human to enter. The term applies to natural cavities some part of which is in total darkness. The word cave also includes smaller spaces like rock shelters, sea caves, and grottos.Speleology is the science of exploration and study...
.
Today
Two transcontinental roadways intersect the municipality. The first one is from West and Central Europe, through SofiaSofia
Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...
- Harmanli - Svilengrad
Svilengrad
Svilengrad is a town in Haskovo Province, South-central Bulgaria, situated at the border of Turkey and Greece. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Svilengrad Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 18,132 inhabitants....
and Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
(Е-80 or І-8), and the second one is from North Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
through Rousse
Rousse
Ruse is the fifth-largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is situated in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, from the capital Sofia and from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast...
- Haskovo
Haskovo
Haskovo , is a city, an administrative centre of the homonymous Haskovo Province in southern Bulgaria, not far from the borders with Greece and Turkey. As of February 2011, it has a population of 74,843 inhabitants....
- Harmanli and Mediterranean, on which basis corridor 9 will be developed in the future.
Harmanli Cove
Harmanli Cove
Harmanli Cove is a 1.1 km wide cove indenting for 1.1 km the east coast of Tower Island in the Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica, north of Breste Cove. Entered north of Cape Dumoutier.The cove is named after the town of Harmanli in southeastern Bulgaria....
in Tower Island
Tower Island
Tower Island is an Antarctic island long and high, lying northeast of Trinity Island and marking the northeast extent of Palmer Archipelago...
, Antarctica is named after Harmanli.
----
Hristo Stoichkov
Hristo Stoichkov
Hristo Stoichkov Stoichkov , sometimes Stoitchkov; born 8 February 1966 in Plovdiv) is a retired Bulgarian footballer. He is regarded as one of the best footballers of his generation and the greatest Bulgarian footballer of all time. Nicknamed The Dagger , The Dog , The Modern Left...
the European Footballer of the Year
European Footballer of the Year
The "", literally translated as "the golden ball" and often referred to as the European Footballer of the Year award, was an annual association football award. It was presented to the player who had been considered to have performed the best over the previous calendar year...
in 1994 had played in local team FC Hebros
FC Hebros
FC Hebros is a Bulgarian football club based in Harmanli, currently playing in the Bulgarian "V" Amateur Football Group, the third division of Bulgarian football. Its home stadium "Hebros" has a capacity of 5 000 seats. Its best achievement was participating in the Bulgarian "B" Professional...
in 1983–1984