Jump to content

Belogradchik

Coordinates: 43°37′N 22°41′E / 43.617°N 22.683°E / 43.617; 22.683
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Belogradchik
Coat of arms of Belogradchik
Coat of arms
Belogradchik is located in Bulgaria
Belogradchik
Belogradchik
Location of Belogradchik
Coordinates: 43°37′N 22°41′E / 43.617°N 22.683°E / 43.617; 22.683
CountryBulgaria
Provinces
(Oblast)		Vidin
Government
 • MayorBoyan Minkov
Elevation
522 m (1,713 ft)
Population
 (2024[1])
 • Total
4,601
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal Code
3900
Area code0936

Belogradchik (Bulgarian: Белоградчик, lit. 'Small White Town'; pronounced [bɛɫoɡrɐtˈt͡ʃik]) is a town in Vidin Province, northwestern Bulgaria, and is the administrative centre of the homonymous municipality. The town is situated in the foothills of the Balkan Mountains just east of the Serbian border and about 50 km south of the Danube River. The town is close to the Belogradchik Rocks, which are major tourist attraction. As of 2024, it had a population of 4,601.[1][2][3]

Geography

[edit]
Belogradchik Rocks at the town
Entrance of the Belogradchik Fortress

Belogradchik is situated at an altitude of 520 m in the western part of the Fore-Balkan, a mountainous chain straddling north of and in parallel with the Balkan Mountains. The town lies next to the Belogradchik Rocks, a major rock formation reaching some 30 km in length that contains outcrops reaches up to 100 m in height, which form a dramatic outline of the town. Close to the town is the source of the Gradska reka, a tributary of the Salashka reka, itself a tributary of the Archar of the Danube drainage.[4][5]

Belogradchik falls within the temperate continental climatic zone, moderated by the surrounding elevations, which makes the mean annual temperatures higher in comparison with settlements at the same altitude; the average January temperature is −1.4 °C, while in July it is 21.6 °C. The predominant winds are northwestern, northern and western. The annual precipitation reaches 673 mm, with a maximum in January (79 mm) and a minimum in February (32 mm). Snow cover lasts for about 60 days.[2]

The closest major road is the first class I-1 road a few kilometers to the northeast; in parallel to the I-1 is being constructed the Botevgrad-Vidin expressway. Several road radiate from Belogradchik leading to neighbouring villages. The closest railway station is at Gara Oreshets on the railway line No. 7 Mezdra−Vidin at a distance of 12 km. The distance to the provincial center Vidin is 55 km; the distance to the town of Montana is 70 km.[4][6][7][8]

History

[edit]

The region of Belogradchik has been inhabited by humans for over 1 million years. The Kozarnika Cave, located some 6 km north of the town, was used as a hunters’ shelter as early as the Lower Paleolithic (1.6-1.4 million BP) and keeps some of the earliest evidence of human symbolic behaviour, as well as the earliest European Gravette flint assemblages.[9] There was a Roman castrum at Belogradchik. During the middle ages the town was part of the First and Second Bulgarian Empires. In the late 14th or early 15th century the settlement was conquered by the Ottomans as a result of the Bulgarian–Ottoman wars. It was mentioned in Ottoman registers of 1454-1455 and by 1560 it was the center of a nahiyah, a regional administrative division. During the Bulgarian National Revival the local population founded a monastery school in 1821. During the Uprising in Northwestern Bulgaria of 1850 the Bulgarian rebels besieged the Ottoman garrison of the Belogradchik Fortress but were defeated by Ottoman reinforcements. On 25 February 1878 the town was liberated as a result of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 and joined the reestablished Bulgarian state. During the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885 the Serbs were defeated while trying unsuccessfully to capture Belogradchik.[10]

Demography

[edit]
Historical population
YearPop.±%
19462,192—    
19563,444+57.1%
19655,178+50.3%
19756,898+33.2%
19857,256+5.2%
19926,635−8.6%
20015,816−12.3%
20115,173−11.1%
20214,080−21.1%
Source: pop-stat.mashke.org[11]

The population of Belogradchik increased steadily until the 1980s, after which its growth is negative. According to the 2021 Bulgarian census the town had a population of 5,049, of which 3,825 identified as Bulgarians, 1,052 as Gypsies, 4 as Turks and 168 did not identify or did not respond.[12] The predominant religion is Christianity with some 4,317 people. Most others did not respond, have no religion or could not determine a religion.[13]

There are three schools, two kindergartens and a medical center.[10]

Economy

[edit]
The chitalishte of Belogradchik

The main economic activity is tourism.[7] There are several small factories. Agriculture and forestry are well-developed. The most important crops are grapes, orchards and raspberries. Livestock breeding is also prominent, mostly sheep and cattle.[10][3] The Belogradchik Observatory is one of the two astronomical observatories operated by the Institute of Astronomy of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.[5]

Landmarks and tourism

[edit]

The town is an important tourist destination. Its historical center includes Bulgarian National Revival architecture. Several of the local sites are included in the 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria. The Museum of History of Belogradchik is located in one of the preserved old houses and contains over 6,000 artifacts, covering local history, nature and art.[5][14] The most important architectural landmark is the Belogradchik Fortress, which has some traces of the medieval Bulgarian fortification but its modern appearance dates from an early 19th century Ottoman renovation. Covering an area of 10,210 m2, it is spectacularly located among the natural rock surroundings.[10][15]

The most important landmarks are the Belogradchik Rocks, which consist for various groups of dramatically shaped sandstone and conglomerate rock formations spanning a territory of about 50 m2. The rocks vary in colour from primarily red to yellow. They were included in the vote for the New 7 Wonders of Nature.[15][16][17]

Another tourist attraction within the municipal borders is the Magura Cave near the village of Rabisha, containing cave paintings dated to 8000 year BC. The site is included in the UNESCO's tentative list of World Heritage. Close to the cave is Lake Rabisha, the largest inland natural freshwater lake in Bulgaria.[18][19]

[edit]
  • A view of the town
    A view of the town
  • Panoramic view of the rocks
    Panoramic view of the rocks
  • The central square
    The central square

Citations

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Tables of Persons Registered by Permanent Address and by Current Address". Official Site of the Civil Registration and Administrative Services (GRAO). Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  2. ^ a b Encyclopaedia Bulgaria, Volume I 1978, pp. 251–252
  3. ^ a b Geographic Dictionary of Bulgaria 1980, pp. 41–42
  4. ^ a b Encyclopaedia Bulgaria, Volume I 1978, p. 251
  5. ^ a b c "The Belogradchik Cliffs – A Natural Wonder". Official Tourist Portal of Bulgaria. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  6. ^ "A Map of the Republican Road Network of Bulgaria". Official Site of the Road Infrastructure Agency. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Bulgaria Guide, Belogradchik". Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  8. ^ "Infrastructure". Official Site of Belogradchik Municipality. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  9. ^ Sirakov, N.; Guadelli, J.-L.; Ivanova, S.; Sirakova, S.; Boudadi-Maligne, M.; Dimitrova, I.; Fernandez, Ph.; Ferrier, C.; Guadelli, A.; Iordanova, D.; Iordanova, N.; Kovatcheva, M.; Krumov, I.; Leblanc, J.-Cl.; Miteva, V.; Popov, V.; Spassov, R.; Taneva, S.; Tsanova, T. (10 March 2010). "An ancient continuous human presence in the Balkans and the beginnings of human settlement in western Eurasia: A Lower Pleistocene example of the Lower Palaeolithic levels in Kozarnika cave (North-western Bulgaria)". Quaternary International. 223–224: 94–106. Bibcode:2010QuInt.223...94S. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2010.02.023. ISSN 1040-6182. Retrieved 28 December 2016.
  10. ^ a b c d Encyclopaedia Bulgaria, Volume I 1978, p. 252
  11. ^ "Cities of Bulgaria". Data Base of Population Dynamics. 3 April 2025.
  12. ^ "Population by Ethnic Group, Statistical Regions, Districts and Municipalities as of 07.09.2021". Official Site of the National Statistical Institute. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  13. ^ "Population by Religious Denomination, Statistical Regions, Districts and Municipalities as of 07.09.2021". Official Site of the National Statistical Institute. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  14. ^ "Museum of History of Belogradchik". Official Site of Bulgarian Tourist Union. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  15. ^ a b "Belogradchik Rocks and Fortress". Official Site of Bulgarian Tourist Union. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  16. ^ Encyclopaedia Bulgaria, Volume I 1978, p. 253
  17. ^ "The Belogradchik Cliffs – A Natural Wonder". Official Tourist Portal of Bulgaria. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  18. ^ "The Magoura Cave with drawings from the bronze age". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved 26 April 2025.
  19. ^ "The Magura Cave (The Rabisha Cave)". Official Tourist Portal of Bulgaria. Retrieved 26 April 2025.

References

[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Belogradchik.
  • Георгиев (Georgiev), Владимир (Vladimir) (1978). Енциклопедия България. Том I. А-В [Encyclopaedia Bulgaria. Volume I. A-V] (in Bulgarian). и колектив. София (Sofia): Издателство на БАН (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Press).
  • Мичев (Michev), Николай (Nikolay); Михайлов (Mihaylov), Цветко (Tsvetko); Вапцаров (Vaptsarov), Иван (Ivan); Кираджиев (Kiradzhiev), Светлин (Svetlin) (1980). Географски речник на България [Geographic Dictionary of Bulgaria] (in Bulgarian). София (Sofia): Наука и култура (Nauka i kultura).
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Belogradchik&oldid=1287475821"