Svilengrad
Encyclopedia
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...
, situated at the border of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Svilengrad Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 18,132 inhabitants.
Svilengrad is close to the road borders of Greece and Turkey (supposedly one of the largest road customs in Europe). Svilengrad is located ESE of 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...
and Plovdiv
Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
, South of Varna
Varna
Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
and Burgas
Burgas
-History:During the rule of the Ancient Romans, near Burgas, Debeltum was established as a military colony for veterans by Vespasian. In the Middle Ages, a small fortress called Pyrgos was erected where Burgas is today and was most probably used as a watchtower...
, West of Edirne
Edirne
Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...
and North of the nearest Greek community Ormenio
Ormenio
Ormenio is the northernmost place in all of Greece. It is located in the municipal unit of Trigono in the Evros Prefecture of Thrace, immediately south of the Bulgarian border. Ormenio is located west-northwest of Orestiada, about 200 km north of Alexandroupoli, about 40 km west of...
and Alexandroupoli
Alexandroupoli
Alexandroupoli , is a city of Greece and the capital of the Evros peripheral unit in Thrace. Named after King Alexander, it is an important port and commercial center of northeastern Greece.-Name:...
in Greece. There is a higher level of employment than in surrounding villages. Most people work for customs and border related industries e.g. TIR servicing, hotels, border police, etc. The town center has a pedestrianized high street mostly filled with cafes, bars, phone shops and hotels. The town has 3 DVD rental shops, two cinemas and a library. 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 west of Svilengrad. The Evros Prefecture
Evros Prefecture
Evros is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of East Macedonia and Thrace. Its name is derived from the river Evros, which appears to have been a Thracian hydronym. Evros is the northernmost regional unit. It borders Turkey to the east, across the river Evros, and it...
and Trigono
Dikaia
Dikaia is a village in the northwestern part of the Evros Prefecture in Greece located west of Turkey and Edirne, southeast of Ormenio and Svilengrad, Bulgaria, north of Alexandroupoli and east of Kurdzhali, Bulgaria. Athens, the Greek capital, is nearly 1,100 km southwest...
of Greece is bordered to the south. 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...
lie to the west and southwest. The area to the southwest is famous for its fruit trees.
Origins
During Ottoman times, the town's name was Cisr-i Mustafapasha, which was meaning "Bridge of Mustapha Pasha". In 1529, the Old BridgeOld Bridge, Svilengrad
The Old Bridge or Mustafa Pasha Bridge is a 16th-century arch bridge over the Maritsa in Svilengrad, southern Bulgaria. Completed in 1529, it was built on the order of the Ottoman vizier Çoban Mustafa Pasha. The bridge was the first major work designed by the Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan, and was...
over 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...
, one of the symbols of the town, was erected. The town was ceded to Bulgaria in 1912 after the First Balkan War
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...
.
Communities
- VarnikVarnikVarnik is a village in the municipality of Svilengrad, in Haskovo Province, in southern Bulgaria.-References:...
- Dimitrovtse
- Novo Selo
- Raykova MogilaRaykova mogilaRaykova mogila is a village in the municipality of Svilengrad, in Haskovo Province, in southern Bulgaria.-References:...
- Tsernodab
- MatochinaMatochinaMatochina is a small village in southeastern Bulgaria, part of Svilengrad municipality, Haskovo Province. Matochina lies in the southernmost ridges of the Sakar Mountain, from the municipal centre Svilengrad and from the provincial capital Haskovo; it is located just west of the Bulgaria–Turkey...
- ShtitShtitShtit is a village in the municipality of Svilengrad, in Haskovo Province, in southern Bulgaria.-References:...
- PashovoPashovoPashovo is a village in the municipality of Svilengrad, in Haskovo Province, in southern Bulgaria.-References:...
- Kapitan AndreevoKapitan AndreevoKapitan Andreevo is a village in Svilengrad municipality, Haskovo Province, southern Bulgaria. As of 2005 it has 948 inhabitants and the mayor is Dimitar Shiderov. Due to the proximity with Turkey, there is a major border checkpoint built there, with the Turkish side of the checkpoint being called...
- MezekMezekMezek is a village in southeastern Bulgaria, part of Svilengrad municipality, Haskovo Province. It lies at the foot of the eastern Rhodope Mountains, just north of the Bulgaria–Greece border and not far west of the Bulgaria–Turkey border. Mezek is famous for the well-preserved medieval Mezek...
- LisovoLisovoLisovo is a village in the municipality of Svilengrad, in Haskovo Province, in southern Bulgaria....
- Studena
- LevkaLevkaLevka is a village in the municipality of Svilengrad, in Haskovo Province, in southern Bulgaria.-References:...
- SladunSladunSladun is a village in the municipality of Svilengrad, in Haskovo Province, in southern Bulgaria.-References:...
- Mihalich
- Pystrogor
- MomkovoMomkovoMomkovo is a village in the municipality of Svilengrad, in Haskovo Province, in southern Bulgaria.-References:...
Transportation
There is a local bus station from which it is possible to reach many big Bulgarian cities including the Black Sea resorts and local communities.Roads
- A1, the Maritsa, access to Ö8 superhighway in Turkey bypasses Svilengrad
- BG-9
- BG-55
- European route E85European route E85European route E 85 is part of the International E-road network, which is a series of main roads in Europe.The E 85 starts from Klaipėda runs south through Belarus, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria to Greece, ending at Alexandroupolis....
to border crossing into Greece and onward to OrmenioOrmenioOrmenio is the northernmost place in all of Greece. It is located in the municipal unit of Trigono in the Evros Prefecture of Thrace, immediately south of the Bulgarian border. Ormenio is located west-northwest of Orestiada, about 200 km north of Alexandroupoli, about 40 km west of...
and AlexandroupoliAlexandroupoliAlexandroupoli , is a city of Greece and the capital of the Evros peripheral unit in Thrace. Named after King Alexander, it is an important port and commercial center of northeastern Greece.-Name:...
in Greece
Persons
- Binka ZhelyazkovaBinka ZhelyazkovaBinka Zhelyazkova , was a Bulgarian film director who made films between the late 1950s and the 1990s. She was the first Bulgarian woman to direct a feature film and one of the few women worldwide to direct feature films in the 1950s.Zhelyazkova graduated from the Sofia Theatre Institute in 1956...
- Hristo AtanassovHristo AtanassovHristo Ivanov Atanassov is Bulgarian politician Chairman of the National Council of the political party Libertas Bulgaria .Hristo Atanasov is a Member of the Parliament in 36th National Assembly of Republic of Bulgaria.- Biography :...
- Ognyana Dusheva
- Milko Kalaydzhiev
- Rıza Tevfik BölükbaşıRiza Tevfik BölükbasiRıza Tevfik was a Turkish philosopher, poet, politician and a community leader of late 19th century and early 20th century...
- TurkishTurkish peopleTurkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
philosopher, poet and politician
External links
- Svilengrad municipality official website
- Svilengrad municipality - town and villages, populations, maps, locations, sizes, etc.
- Svilengrad Info - Hotel, restaurant, vacation, fun and more information
- http://www.bulgarianproperties.com/towns-cities-villages-resorts.php?IID=49&long=
- The news portal of Svilengrad