Stara Zagora Province
Encyclopedia
Stara Zagora is a province
of south central Bulgaria
. It is named after its administrative and industrial centre—the city of Stara Zagora
—the sixth-biggest town in the country. The province embraces a territory of 5,151.1 km² that is divided into 11 municipalities with a total population, as of December 2009, of 350,925 inhabitants.
In the southeastern part of the province on the edge of Radnevo Municipality there is a coal production facility. Between 1934 and 1949, the province included parts of the present Kardzhali Province
.
of 370,665 (370,615 also given) according to a 2001 census
, of which were male
and were female
.
As of the end of 2009, the population of the province, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 350,925 of which are inhabitants aged over 60 years.
The following table represents the change of the population in the province after World War II
:
, subsequently Greek
, Roman
and Byzantine
metropolis
. The oldest Neolithic
remains were found in Stara Zagora. The famous film of BBC
The History of Europe starts with the Neolithic museum in Stara Zagora. It shows the remains of the first homes of the people in Europe. Stara Zagora is one of the oldest cities in Europe.
In October 2004, Stara Zagora Province was awarded for having the best quality of life in Europe, together with Greater Zürich
(Switzerland
), and ahead of Andalucia (Spain
), and Flanders
(Belgium
). The award was given by fDi Magazine
, produced by the renowned Financial Times Group, for the region's low-cost, newly built accommodation and rich cultural heritage.
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
of 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 named after its administrative and industrial centre—the city of Stara Zagora
Stara Zagora
Stara Zagora is the sixth largest city in Bulgaria, and a nationally important economic center. Located in Southern Bulgaria, it is the administrative capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province...
—the sixth-biggest town in the country. The province embraces a territory of 5,151.1 km² that is divided into 11 municipalities with a total population, as of December 2009, of 350,925 inhabitants.
In the southeastern part of the province on the edge of Radnevo Municipality there is a coal production facility. Between 1934 and 1949, the province included parts of the present Kardzhali Province
Kardzhali Province
Kardzhali Province is a province of southern Bulgaria, neighbouring Greece with the Greek prefectures of Xanthi, Rhodope and Evros to the south and east. Kardzhali Province area is 3209.1 km². Its main city is Kardzhali.-History:...
.
Municipalities
The Stara Zagora province (oбласт, oblast) contains 11 municipalities . The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and Cyrillic, the main town or village (towns are shown in bold), and the population of each as of December 2009.| Municipality | Cyrillic | Pop. | Town/Village | Pop. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bratya Daskalovi | Братя Даскалови | 9,724 | Bratya Daskalovi Bratya Daskalovi Bratya Daskalovi is a village in southern Bulgaria, part of Stara Zagora Province with a population of 750 inhabitants as of December 2009. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Bratya Daskalovi Municipality, which lies in the western part of Stara Zagora Province... |
750 |
| Chirpan | Чирпан | 23,470 | Chirpan Chirpan Chirpan is a town on the Tekirska River in Stara Zagora Province, South-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Chirpan Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 16,355 inhabitants.... |
16,355 |
| Gurkovo | Гурково | 5,273 | Gurkovo Gurkovo Gurkovo is a small town in the Stara Zagora Province, South-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Gurkovo Municipality... |
2,917 |
| Galabovo | Гълъбово | 14,269 | Galabovo Galabovo Galabovo is a town in south-central Bulgaria, part of Stara Zagora Province. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Galabovo Municipality... |
8,404 |
| Kazanlak | Казанлък | 76,447 | Kazanlak Kazanlak Kazanlak, formerly Kazanlık is a Bulgarian town in Stara Zagora Province, located in the middle of the plain of the same name, at the foot of the Balkan mountain range, at the eastern end of the Rose Valley... |
49,506 |
| Maglizh | Мъглиж | 12,267 | Maglizh Maglizh Maglizh is a town in Stara Zagora Province, South-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Maglizh Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 3,426 inhabitants.-Honour:... |
3,426 |
| Nikolaevo | Николаево | 4,840 | Nikolaevo Nikolaevo Nikolaevo is a small town in Stara Zagora Province, South-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Nikolaevo Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 2,872 inhabitants.- References :... |
2,872 |
| Opan | Опан | 3,501 | Opan Opan Opan is a village in southern Bulgaria, part of Stara Zagora Province. It is the administrative centre of Opan Municipality, which lies in the southern part of Stara Zagora Province. The village is located south of the provincial capital of Stara Zagora, in the Upper Thracian Plain, the historical... |
466 |
| Pavel Banya | Павел баня | 14,703 | Pavel Banya Pavel Banya Pavel Banya is a small town in Stara Zagora Province, South-central Bulgaria, located between the towns of Kalofer and Kazanlak. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Pavel Banya Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 2,918 inhabitants... |
2,918 |
| Radnevo | Раднево | 21,959 | Radnevo Radnevo Radnevo is a town in southern Bulgaria, part of Stara Zagora Province, located in the eastern Upper Thracian Lowlands close to the Maritsa Iztok Complex. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Radnevo Municipality... |
13,384 |
| Stara Zagora | Стара Загора | 164,472 | Stara Zagora Stara Zagora Stara Zagora is the sixth largest city in Bulgaria, and a nationally important economic center. Located in Southern Bulgaria, it is the administrative capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province... |
140,456 |
Demography
The Stara Zagora province had a populationPopulation
A population is all the organisms that both belong to the same group or species and live in the same geographical area. The area that is used to define a sexual population is such that inter-breeding is possible between any pair within the area and more probable than cross-breeding with individuals...
of 370,665 (370,615 also given) according to a 2001 census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
, of which were male
Male
Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
and were female
Female
Female is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces non-mobile ova .- Defining characteristics :The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male...
.
As of the end of 2009, the population of the province, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 350,925 of which are inhabitants aged over 60 years.
The following table represents the change of the population in the province after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
:
Religion
Religious adherence in the province according to 2001 census:| Census 2001 | ||
|---|---|---|
| religious adherence | population | % |
| Orthodox Christians | 329,628 | 88.94% |
| Muslim Muslim A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable... s |
21,423 | 5.78% |
| Roman Catholics | 522 | 0.14% |
| Protestants Protestantism Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the... |
4,094 | 1.10% |
| Other | 1558 | 0.42% |
| Religion not mentioned | 13,390 | 3.62% |
| total | 370,615 | 100% |
Main city
Stara Zagora is a cultural centre of particular significance for Bulgaria as it is an ancient ThracianThracians
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...
, subsequently Greek
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
, Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
and 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...
metropolis
Metropolis
A metropolis is a very large city or urban area which is a significant economic, political and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections and communications...
. The oldest Neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
remains were found in Stara Zagora. The famous film of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
The History of Europe starts with the Neolithic museum in Stara Zagora. It shows the remains of the first homes of the people in Europe. Stara Zagora is one of the oldest cities in Europe.
In October 2004, Stara Zagora Province was awarded for having the best quality of life in Europe, together with Greater Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
(Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
), and ahead of Andalucia (Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
), and Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
(Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
). The award was given by fDi Magazine
FDi magazine
fDi Magazine is an English-language bi-monthly news and foreign direct investment publication owned by The Financial Times Ltd and edited in London. The A4 glossy pages reach a circulation of 14, 768 ABC “senior decision-makers involved in overseas investment” across the world...
, produced by the renowned Financial Times Group, for the region's low-cost, newly built accommodation and rich cultural heritage.