Pazardzhik Province
Capital
Pazardzhik
Population
319,358
Area
4,458 km²
Population density
68 persons/km²
Municipalities
11
License plate province code
PA
Pazardzhik is a province located in southern Bulgaria and covers 4,458 km². Ranging from 190 to 370 meters above sea level, Pazardzhik is home to 319,358 people (1998).The province is abundant with water resources, its main waterway is the river Maritsa and its catchments basin includes the Topolnitsa River and Luda Yana River.
Economy
The backbone of the economy in the region is industry. The "Batashki Vodnosilov Pat" is an important hydro complex consisting of three hydro power plants- "Batak", "Pes htera" and "Aleko" with combined capacity of around 250 MW. Copper extracting industry is of national and European importance with major mines located around Panagyurishte (Asarel and Medet), Elshitsa, Tsar Asen and Mina Radka. Machine building industry is developed in Pazardzhik (lead acid batteries), Panagyurishte (optical), Velingrad. There is a flourishing pharmaceutical industry in Peshtera with more than 1 000 employees in the plant. Paper industry is developed in Belovo. Timber industry is very important in the southern part of the region (the Rhodopes)- Batak, Peshtera, Rakitovo and Velingrad. The manufacturing of textiles in well developed in Pazardzhik, Panagyurishte and Velingrad; and there is a huge footwear plant in Peshtera. Food processing industry is developed in most of the towns. Agriculture is also important especially in the fertile central parts of the region, the most important crops are orchards (apples, plums and strawberries), grapes, wheat, barley, rye and rice. Livestock breeding is relatively well developed in the mountainous areas.
Tourism
The province has considerable opportunities to develop mountain and rural tourism, especially in the southern parts where the Rhodope mountains are located. The slopes are covered with dense deciduous and higher up, coniferous forests, dotted with numerous artificial lakes. The largest one is the Batak Dam, on whose shores are built two resorts: Tsigov Chark and Saint Konstantin as well as many villas and shrines. Fish is abundant in the dams, including Carp, Rudd, Roach, Perch and many others; the mountain streams are rich in Trout. There are spa resorts in Velingrad, Strelcha, Banya, Varvara. The most famous landmarks are located in Panagyurishte, Pazardzhik, Batak, Velingrad.
Impressive ruins of an ancient basilica rise in the hilly country, close to the town of Belovo. Numerous ruined fortresses are scattered around the province, the most famous of these are Tsepina, and the ramparts near Bata and Strelcha.
Major towns
Its principal city is Pazardzhik, and other municipalities are Batak, Belovo, Bratsigovo, Kostandovo, Lesichovo, Panagyurishte, Peshtera, Rakitovo, Septemvri, Strelcha, and Velingrad.
Pazardzhik City
History
Pazardzhik was founded by Tatars from what is today Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi in 1485 on the left bank of the river Maritsa, near the market of the region, an important crossroad at the middle of this productive region, and named Tatar Pazardzhik (Turkish Tatar Pazarcιk, "small Tatar market"). Thanks to this favourable location, the settlement quickly developed. While it was very small at the beginning of the 19th century, it became the administrative centre for the region at the end of the century and remained so until the Liberation from Turkish occupation. During the following centuries the town continued to grow and strengthened its position. Trade in iron, leather and rice prospered. The town impressed visitors with its beautiful houses and clean streets. In 1718 Gerard Kornelius Drish visited Pazardzhik and wrote "the buildings here according to construction, size and beauty stand higher than those of Niš, Sofia and all other places".
The Russians under Count Nikolay Kamensky took the city after a brief siege in 1810. By the mid-19th century Pazardzhik was a big, important centre of crafts and trade, with a population of about 25,000 people. It hosted two big annual fairs, and a big market Tuesdays and Wednesdays. There was a post office with a telegraph. In 1837 the Church of the Mother of God was built — an important national monument, famous for its architecture and woodcarving. In the mid-19th century Pazardzhik became an important cultural centre: a school was opened in 1847, a girls' school in 1848, a community centre in 1868, the women's union "Prosveta" in 1870. During the Liberation War in 1877-1878, the town was burned by retreating Turkish troops. It was liberated on 2 January 1878 by General Joseph Vladimirovich Gourko's platoon. Pazardzhik grew and spread to the right bank of Maritsa river; barracks and an agricultural school were built.
From the early 20th century onwards people built factories, stores and houses, and thus the industrial quarter of the town. From 1959 to 1987 Pazardzhik was again an administrative centre for the region, and is again since the 1999 administrative division of Bulgaria. The Church of the Theotokos preserves the most impressive icons in Bulgaria by master artists of the Debar School, wood-carvings of New and Old Testament scenes, and icons by Stanislav Dospevski. Among the town's landmarks are also the clock tower, the ethnographic and history museums.
As with most Bulgarian cities, Pazardzhik has developed a significant pedestrian centre, in which several central squares typify the European café society and pedestrian culture. In Bulgaria the café culture is particularly prominent, with many city squares easily providing up to a half dozen cafés, with ample outside seating. Pazardzhik has a level of pedestrian streets (or network of car free areas) even above the relatively high Bulgarian standard. There are several longer pedestrian streets, and at one point there is even an intersection where five different pedestrian streets converge. A few of these do not continue for very long, but most do, or are connected to the rest of the pedestrian areas of the city, and thus could be said to form the pedestrian network of the city. During the warmer seasons, most afternoons of the week and especially weekends there are a large number of people strolling about or sitting in cafés. There are both tourist and shopping attractions in this area as well, most people who live in Pazardzhik are proud of their city. It is an attraction that brings many villagers to the malls and even discos. Villagers can be often seen at the Pazardzhik disco "Largo".
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