Stara Zagora (Bulgarian: Стара Загора, pronounced[ˈstarɐ zɐˈɡɔrɐ]) is the sixth-largest city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province located in the historical region of Thrace.
This article is about the Bulgarian city. For Bulgarian province of the same name, see Stara Zagora Province.
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City in Bulgaria
Stara Zagora
Стара Загора
City
View of the city from the monument "The Defenders of Stara Zagora"
The name comes from the Slavic root star ("old") and the name of the medieval region of Zagore ("beyond the [Balkan] mountains" in Slavic)[2]
The walls of Ulpia Augusta Traiana over a modern map
The original name was Beroe, which was changed to Ulpia Augusta Traiana by the Romans. From the 6th century the city was called Vereja and, from 784, Irenopolis (Greek: Ειρηνούπολις) in honour of the Byzantine empress Irene of Athens. In the Middle Ages it was called Boruj by the Bulgarians and later, Železnik. The Turks called it Eski Hisar (old fort) and Eski Zagra, from which its current name derives, assigned in 1871.
History
Auditorium of the Antique Forum
The original Thracian settlement dates from the 5-4th century BC when it was called Beroe or Beroia.
The city was founded by Philip II of Macedon in 342 BC.[3][4][5][6]
Under the Roman Empire, the city was renamed Ulpia Augusta Traiana in honour of emperor Trajan.
The city grew to its largest extent under Marcus Aurelius (161-180) and became the second most important city in the Roman province of Thrace after Philippopolis (Trimontium). Its status and importance is evidenced by the visits of several emperors including Septimius Severus (193-211), Caracalla (211-217), and Diocletian (294-305).
The Battle of Beroe was fought near the city in 250 resulting in a Gothic Victory.[7] It was probably after this event that the city walls were doubled like other cities in the region (e.g. Diocletianopolis, Serdica).
In the 2nd-3rd century the city had its own coin mint showing its importance.
In 377, in the Gothic War (376-382), the Goths marched on Beroe to attack the Roman general Frigiderus but his scouts detected the invaders and he promptly withdrew to Illyria.[8] The city was destroyed but rebuilt by Justinian.[9]
John's Byzantine army, and many of the captives, were settled as foederati within the Byzantine frontier.
In 1208 the Bulgarians defeated the Latin Empire in the battle of Boruy, also fought nearby.
The Ottomans conquered Stara Zagora in 1371. A grade school was built in 1840 and the city's name was changed to Zheleznik (Железник; a Slavic translation of Beroe) in 1854 instead of the TurkishEskizağra (Also called Zağra-i Atik), but was renamed once again to Stara Zagora in 1870. It was an administrative centre in Edirne Vilayet before 1878 as "Zağra-i Atik".[10] After the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule in 1878, it became part of autonomous Eastern Rumelia as a department centre before the two Bulgarian states finally merged in 1886 as a result of the Unification of Bulgaria.
Ancient monuments
Model of south west quarter showing double walls and Antique forum with "auditorium"Main street of Augusta Traiana“Dionysus’s Procession” mosaic from 4th century house
Many of the monuments from the Roman city have been excavated and are visible in situ today and include:[11]
City walls
The "Antique" Forum
Roman city streets and buildings
The Roman Baths
4th-6th c. public building with mosaics
4th c. private house with mosaics of Silenus with Bacchantes and of Dionysus's Procession[12]
South city gate
Thracian Tomb
Overlooking the "antique" forum is an unusual building in the form of a monumental auditorium in the shape of a theatre.
Geography and climate
Stara Zagora is the administrative centre of its municipality and the Stara Zagora Province. It is about 231 kilometres (144mi) from Sofia, near the Bedechka river in the historic region of Thrace.
The city is in an area of a Mediterranean climate that is near humid subtropical climate.[citation needed] The average yearly temperature is about 14°C (57°F).
Climate data for Stara Zagora (2002-2014)
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Average high °C (°F)
6.5 (43.7)
8.7 (47.7)
14.1 (57.4)
18.6 (65.5)
24.5 (76.1)
28.0 (82.4)
31.5 (88.7)
31.2 (88.2)
26.7 (80.1)
20.5 (68.9)
13.8 (56.8)
7.8 (46.0)
19.3 (66.7)
Daily mean °C (°F)
2.0 (35.6)
3.5 (38.3)
8.0 (46.4)
13.4 (56.1)
18.7 (65.7)
23.0 (73.4)
25.2 (77.4)
25.0 (77.0)
21.0 (69.8)
15.3 (59.5)
9.5 (49.1)
3.9 (39.0)
13.0 (55.4)
Average low °C (°F)
−1.5 (29.3)
−0.8 (30.6)
3.1 (37.6)
8.2 (46.8)
13.0 (55.4)
17.1 (62.8)
18.9 (66.0)
18.8 (65.8)
14.5 (58.1)
10.2 (50.4)
5.8 (42.4)
1.0 (33.8)
9.0 (48.2)
Average precipitation mm (inches)
47 (1.9)
35 (1.4)
37 (1.5)
51 (2.0)
71 (2.8)
66 (2.6)
57 (2.2)
48 (1.9)
32 (1.3)
45 (1.8)
57 (2.2)
52 (2.0)
598 (23.6)
Source: [Stringmeteo.com]
Population
Stara Zagora in the 1930s
Stara Zagora was possibly the biggest city in today's Bulgarian territory before liberation from Ottoman rule. But the city was burned and destroyed by Turkish army during the Liberation war in 1877–1878. During the first decade after the liberation of Bulgaria, in the 1880s the population of Stara Zagora decreased and numbered about 16,000.[13] Since then it started growing decade by decade, mostly because of the migrants from the rural areas and the surrounding smaller towns, reaching its peak in the period 1989-1991 exceeding 160,000.[14] After this time, the population has started decreasing mostly because of the migration to the capital city of Sofia or abroad.
Stara Zagora
Year
1887
1910
1934
1946
1956
1965
1975
1985
1992
2001
2005
2009
2011
2021
Population
16,039
22,003
29,825
38,325
55,094
88,857
122,454
151,163
150,451
143,420
141,597
140,710
138,272
124,599
Highest number 151,272 in 1985
Sources: National Statistical Institute,[14][15][16][17] citypopulation.de,[18] pop-stat.mashke.org,[19] Bulgarian Academy of Sciences[13]
Ethnic linguistic and religious composition
According to the latest 2011 census data, individuals who declared their ethnic identity were distributed as follows:[20][21]
Bulgarians: 117,963 (93.2%)
Romani: 5,430 (4.3%)
Turks: 1,965 (1.6%)
Others: 579 (0.5%)
Indefinable: 617 (0.5%)
Undeclared: 11,718 (8.5%)
Total: 138,272
Sports
PFC Beroe Stara Zagora is a football club in Stara Zagora. It was established in 1916 and plays at Beroe Stadium. The team is a member of the First Professional Football League. Beroe has won the Bulgarian Cup two times (2009-2010 and 2012-2013).[22][23]
Education
The foundations of higher education in Stara Zagora were laid on October 30, 1974. Today in the western part of the city is located the Thracian University. Its structure includes the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Pedagogy and the Faculty of Agriculture. A Student City was built for the needs of the students.
Main sights
A Communist era statue at a park in the centre of town.
Regional Historical Museum
The Antique Forum
Thracian Tomb
The Roman Baths
Roman mosaics of “Silenus with Bacchantes" (4th century) and of Dionysus's Procession
Bedechka - Gradinski (Бедечка - Градински, named at river Bedechka)
Central City Part (includes Supercentre, Chayka & Zagorka) (Централна градска част (Суперцентър, Чайка и Загорка) - Chayka - Sea-gull, Zagorka - named after Zagorka brewery)
Makedonski (Македонски - Macedonian) know also as Chumleka (Чумлека)
Dabrava (Дъбрава - former village of Dabrava)
Eastern Industrial Zone (Източна индустриална зона)
Geo Milev (Гео Милев - named after the Bulgarian poet)
Golesh (Голеш)
Industrial Zone (Индустриална Зона)
Kazanski (Казански)
Kolyo Ganchev (Кольо Ганчев - named after the famous Bulgarian revolutionary)
Lozenets (Лозенец - from лозе - vineyard)
Mitropolit Metodiy Kusev (Митрополит Методий Кусев - named after a famous Starozagorian bishop)
Opalchenski (Опълченски - Volunteer's district named after Bulgarian voluntary army units) also known as Chaika (Чайка - Sea-Gull)
Samara 1, 2 & 3 - (Самара 1, 2 и 3 - named after the sister city of Samara, Russia)
Slaveykov (Славейков - named after the famous Bulgarian poet Petko Slaveykov)
Studentski grad - (Студентски град - Student town)
Tri Chuchura north, centre & south - (Три чучура север, център и юг - "Three spouts")
Vasil Levski - (Васил Левски - named after the famous Bulgarian revolutionary)
Vazrazhdane - (Възраждане - Renaissance)
Zheleznik (small & big) (Железник - like one of the former names of the city)
Zora (Зора - Dawn)
Future districts:
Atyuren (Атюрен - future district of the city)
Bogomilovo (Богомилово - village of Bogomilovo)
Hrishteni (Хрищени - village of Hrishteni)
Malka Vereya (Малка Верея - Vereya - old name of the city, Malka - small, village of Malka Vereya)
"Стара Загора" (in Bulgarian). Верея Тур. Archived from the original on 2007-01-17. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
Women and slaves in Greco-Roman culture: differential equations by Sandra Rae Joshel, Sheila Murnaghan,1998,page 214,"Philip II founded cities at Beroe, Kabyle, and Philippopolis in 342/1, and Aegean-style urban life began to penetrate Thrace".
Late Roman villas in the Danube-Balkan region by Lynda Mulvin,2002,page 19,"Other roads went through Beroe (founded by Philip II of Macedon) "
Philip of Macedon by Louïza D. Loukopoulou,1980,page 98,"Upriver in the valley between the Rhodope and Haimos Philip founded Beroe (Stara Zagora) and Philippolis (Plovdiv)".
The cities in Thrace and Dacia in late antiquity: (studies and materials) by Velizar Iv Velkov,1977,page 128,"Founded by Philipp 11 on the site of an old Thracian settlement, it has existed without interruption from that time".
The History of Zonaras: From Alexander Severus to the Death of Theodosius, Thomas Banchich, Eugene Lane, ISBN1134424736, 9781134424733 p 94
Coombs-Hoar, Adrian (2015). Eagles in the Dust: The Roman Defeat at Adrianopolis AD 378. Pen and Sword. p 62-3
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