Belene is a town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 in Pleven Province

Pleven Province

Pleven Province is a province located in central northern Bulgaria, bordering the Danube river, Romania and the Bulgarian provinces of Vratsa, Veliko Tarnovo and Lovech. It is divided into 11 subdivisions, called municipalities, that embrace a territory of 4,333.54 km² with a population, as...

, Northern 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 Belene Municipality

Belene Municipality

Belene Municipality is a municipality in Pleven Province, northern Bulgaria. It is located along the south bank of Danube river, by the border with Romania...

. The town is situated on the right bank of the Danube river, close to the town of Svishtov

Svishtov

Svishtov is a town in northern Bulgaria, located in Veliko Tarnovo Province on the right bank of the Danube river opposite the Romanian town of Zimnicea. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Svishtov Municipality...

. As of December 2009, it has a population of 8,905 inhabitants.

Belene was proclaimed a town in 1964, which is celebrated every year in the first week of September with a market and cultural events.

The place is best known for the Belene prison (formerly a labor camp

Labor camp

A labor camp is a simplified detention facility where inmates are forced to engage in penal labor. Labor camps have many common aspects with slavery and with prisons...

) on Belene Island

Belene Island

Belene Island or Persin Island is the biggest island in Bulgarian waters. The island is formed by the Danube River splitting into two branches passing north and south of it. The international frontier between Bulgaria and Romania follows the north branch of the river and therefore Belene Island...

 and as the proposed site of Bulgaria's second nuclear power plant

Belene Nuclear Power Plant

The Belene Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant currently under construction 3 km from Belene and 11 km from Svishtov in Pleven Province, northern Bulgaria, near the Danube River...

, which has been under construction 7 km east of the town until it was interrupted in 1990 due to the severe economic crisis that followed the fall of communism in the country. There are plans to start construction again as a replacement for reactors 3 and 4 at Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant

Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant

The Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant is a nuclear power plant in Bulgaria situated north of Sofia and east of Kozloduy, a town on the Danube river, near the border with Romania. It is the country's only nuclear power plant and the largest in the region...

, which Bulgaria has shut down as a condition for EU membership. The total capacity of the two reactors will be 2,000 MW.

The main confessions in the town are Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, with two Roman Catholic and one Orthodox church being present. The Catholic Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary was built in 1860, the Eastern Orthodox Church of St George in 1874 and the Catholic Church of Saint Anthony of Padua

Anthony of Padua

Anthony of Padua or Anthony of Lisbon, O.F.M., was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. Though he died in Padua, Italy, he was born to a wealthy family in Lisbon, Portugal, which is where he was raised...

 was constructed in 1893.

Belene was the focal point for the feature documentary film The Mosquito Problem and other stories

The Mosquito Problem and other stories

The Mosquito Problem and Other Stories is a Bulgarian documentary feature film directed by Andrey Paounov. It was included in the 46th International Critic's Week of the Cannes Film Festival 2007-Plot:...

by Andrey Paounov

Andrey Paounov

Andrey Paounov is a writer - director best known for his documentary feature films.His debut Georgi and the butterflies won the "Silver Wolf" at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam.His second feature The Mosquito Problem and other stories was included in the 46th International...

 
The film features many of the town's colourful characters, highlighting their daily plight of a nuclear plant of empty promises and a year round mosquito

Mosquito

Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...

 epidemic.

Belene Cove

Belene Cove

Belene Cove is the 550 m wide cove indenting for 600 m the northwest coast of Ray Promontory, part of Svishtov Cove in Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The cove is entered between Isbul Point and Start Point....

 in Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands

South Shetland Islands

The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...

, Antarctica is named after Belene.

Twin towns — Sister cities

Belene is twinned

Town twinning

Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 with:
Lázně Bělohrad

Lázne Belohrad

Lázně Bělohrad is a town in the Hradec Králové Region of the Czech Republic. It has around 3,700 inhabitants.Villages Brtev, Dolní Javoří, Dolní Nová Ves, Horní Nová Ves, Hřídelec, Lány, Prostřední Nová Ves and Uhlíře are administrative parts of Lázně Bělohrad.-External links:* *...

, Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 Belleville-sur-Loire

Belleville-sur-Loire

Belleville-sur-Loire is a commune in the Cher department in the Centre region of France.-Geography:A farming village with a nuclear power station situated by the banks of the river Loire, some northeast of Bourges at the junction of the D82, D951 and the D751 roads...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 Hajdúsámson

Hajdúsámson

Hajdúsámson is a town in Hajdú-Bihar county, in the Northern Great Plain region of eastern Hungary.-Geography:It covers an area of and has a population of 11,573 people ....

, Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

 Vigonza

Vigonza

Vigonza is a comune in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about 25 km west of Venice and about 10 km northeast of Padua...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 Devrek

Devrek

Devrek is a town and district of Zonguldak Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It was founded under the name Hamidiye to be affiliated with the sanjak of Bolu. Devrek was incorporated into the Zonguldak Province on May 14, 1920...

, 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...