Pazardzhik

Pazardzhik ( bg, Пазарджик ) is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, southern Bulgaria. It is the capital of Pazardzhik Province and centre for the homonymous Pazardzhik Municipality.

The Tatars founded Pazardzhik in the end of the XIV century, which they named it ''Tatar-Pazardzhik''. The population was predominantly muslim. That provoke an interest to christians, which would allow the first church in the small town in the XVII century and also create the first church ''St. Mary''. The economy grew over the centuries with the prosper trading of iron, leather and rice. During the 19th century, a brief siege was made during the Russo-Turkish War (1806–1812) and the Russians in the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) kicked the Ottomans from the area. Even though undefended, it was spared from massacres, because the Armenian Ovanes Sovadzhiyan prevented the Ottomans from carrying out their plan to burn down and murder the inhabitants the small town by that time. In the 20th century, the town grew by a lot.

It is located in the Upper Thracian Plain and in the Pazardzhik-Plovdiv Fields, a subregion of the plains. It is west of Plovdiv, about 37 kilometres, 112 kilometres southeastern of Sofia and 288 kilometres from Burgas.

Located in the Upper Thracian Plain, due to relatively flat and fertile lands, vegetation is also a big part of the economy of Pazardzhik. Industry is also important, as an industrial zone is located at right bank of the river Maritsa.

The population is around 65,671, as it has been growing around from the end of the 19th century to the end of the 20th century. The city reached its highest milestone, exceeding 80,000. After the Fall of Communism and the occurrence of emigration in Eastern Europe, including Bulgaria was affected by this cause. This allowed for Pazardzhiklians to emigrate from their homeland due to poor economic performance in many oblasts or okrugs by that time.

Geography

Location

The city is located in the southwestern parts of the Upper Thracian Plain, and also in the Pazardzhik-Plovdiv Fields, a subregion of the plains. Pazardzhik also lays on the both right and left banks of the Maritsa River, with an island named ''Svoboda'', which turned into a park in the beginning of the 20th century.

Terrain

Pazardzhik is one of the few cities to have a flat topography without any elevation increases. The average elevation is 205 m (673 ft) and engulfs the entirety of the city's territory. The only exception is an slight decrease in elevation in the riverbed of Maritsa.

Nearby is the Besaparski Ridge, where limestone deposits have been discovered. Nearby, near the village of Mokrishte there are many mounds from the time of the Thracians, which are artificial formations.

The nearest mountains are the Western Rhodopes - about 15 km south, the Eastern Rila - about 30 km southwest and the Sashtinskata Sredna Gora about 40 km north of the town.

Vegetation

The vegetation in and around the town is mainly broad-leaved species - oak, linden, poplar, chestnut, plane and less often coniferous species - mainly pine and fir. Willow, birch, ivy grow around the rivers.

From the 15th century until the 1980s, Pazardzhik was a centre of Bulgarian rice cultivation, which was practiced in the wet lowlands of the Upper Thracian Plain, the yellowish rice grains of Pazardzhik were well known and better regarded than the rice grown around Plovdiv or further south-east along the Maritsa. Western visitors were amazed by the intensive rice culture and already in the 18th century spoke of the area as "European Egypt" (in a travel diary from 1786). Today, rice cultivation in the Pazardzhik area no longer plays an important role. After 1989 production was shut down or (in most places) even abandoned in a few years because Bulgarian rice was no longer competitive on the world market.

Hydrography

One of the main rivers, Maritsa flows through the city and also Topolnitsa and Luda Yana, tributaries of Maritsa, adjoin the city from the east and the west.

Climate

Pazardzhik has a humid subtropical climate (''Cfa'') according to the Köppen climate classification and a substantial amount of humid continental climate and Mediterranean influence on the city.

Name

The name comes from the word , ultimately from the fa, bāzār, "market" + the Turkic diminutive suffix , "small". Called earlier in the town's history, its title thus signified, "small Tatar market".

History

15th-19th Century History

Pazardzhik was founded in 1485 by Tatars originating from what is today Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi. They sited it on the left bank of the river Maritsa, near the market of the region, an important crossroad at the center of this productive region. Thanks to this favourable location, the settlement quickly developed. Very small at the beginning of the 19th century, it became the administrative centre for the region by the end of that century and remained so until the dissolution of Ottoman Empire. During the following centuries the town continued to grow and strengthen 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".

By the mid-19th century Pazardzhik was an important centre of crafts and trade, with a population of about 25,000 people. It hosted two large annual fairs, and a substantial market on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. There was a post office with a telegraph. During this period, it also 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 in 1870.

In the course of the Tanzimat reforms in 1834, a Bulgarian community was able to form, which in 1837 had the Church of the Dormition built with its carved altar wall, a work by masters of the famous ''Debar School''. Stefan Zahariev reports that in the 1860s it was divided into 33 mahallas . At that time there were 3420 houses, 1200 shops, 19 mosques, 6 churches, 1 synagogue and 4 public baths. There were also 8 Turkish and 6 Bulgarian schools, as well as one Jewish, one Vlach and one Armenian school.

During the Ottoman period Pazardzhik had 18 mosques but only Kurshumlu Mosque, built in 1667, survives.

During the Russo-Turkish War

The Russians under Count Nikolay Kamensky took the city after a brief siege in 1810, during the Russo-Turkish War of 1806–1812.

At the close of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, areas of Bulgaria which had been wrested from Ottoman rule had a continuing Russian Imperial Army presence, commanded by Lt. Gen. Iosif Gurko. The detachment of Russian troops stationed in Pazardzhik were withdrawn on 14 January 1878 (new style). Unlike many other Bulgarian towns, where there were massacres during the course of the war or its aftermath, the unprotected Pazardzhik was spared from planned depredations. Elsewhere along the Maritsa, the Ottoman commander, Süleyman Hüsnü Pasha, had burnt multiple settlements, killing or mistreating the inhabitants. The Armenian-born telegraph operator, Ovanes Sovadzhiyan, saved the town from total annihilation. The ciphered order arrived at the railway station telegraph when there were Turkish military leaders in the office of Sovadzhiyan. Putting his life to risk, he interpreted the telegram in the opposite sense. Namely, that the city and its inhabitants should be spared. To avoid any checking, Sevadjian swallowed the printed text of the original message. After some time, the Russian troops entered the city saved from destruction by the courage and resourcefulness of an Armenian.

Modern History

From the early 20th century, on people built factories, stores and houses, and thus the industrial quarter of the town. The notable British travel writer, Patrick Leigh Fermor, visited Pazardzhik in the late summer of 1934. From 1959 to 1987 Pazardzhik was again an administrative centre for the region, and is again since the 1999 administrative division of Bulgaria.

Population

In the 1880s the population of Pazardzhik numbered about 15,000 and it was one of the largest of Bulgaria. 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 1985–1992 exceeding 80,000. After this time, the population has started decreasing in consequence of the poor economic situation in the Bulgarian provinces during the 1990s that led to a new migration in the direction of the country capital Sofia and abroad. As of February 2011, the city has a population of 71,979 inhabitants, while the Pazardzhik Municipality of 114,817 inhabitants.Bulgarian National Statistical Institute – towns in 2009

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Ethnic linguistic and religious composition

According to the latest 2011 census data, the individuals declared their ethnic identity were distributed as follows:

According to some reports, as of the middle of the 19th century the city was composed by 33 neighborhoods – 18 Turkish, 12 Bulgarian and 3 Gypsy. Although the Bulgarian neighborhoods were numerically smaller they were more densely populated, while there were Bulgarians in the Turkish neighborhoods too. In 1865 the population of the city was 25.000, Bulgarians comprised 57% of it and the Turks 28,5%. As a trading town the city was attractive for other peoples and sizable minorities of Jews, Armenians and other peoples remained for decades, they are currently present although in much smaller numbers. Some Aromanian families inhabit Pazardzhik too.

Politics

The mayor of Pazardzhik is the head of the administration in the city. The incumbent mayor is Todor Popov, who won his first election in 2007, then subsequently in 2011, 2015 and 2019 concluding a second, third and a current fourth mandate.

Economy

In Pazardzhik, there are many branches of retail chains scattered across the city. There are sporting goods, electronics and other.
* For sporting Goods - Adidas, Nike
* For textile - KiK
* For lectronics - Technopolis, Technomarket
* For food - LIDL, Kaufland, BILLA, Tarita
* For kids - Hippoland
* For furniture - Yavor, Brilyant, Iveli, Mebeli Mondo
* For building materials - Praktiker, Krez
Central Mall (formerly GUM) is a shopping and entertainment complex has been built in the city centre.

There are numerous wholesale warehouses that are located in the industrial zone.

Transport

The main transportation for the city are trolleybuses, buses, taxis and trains.

The city transport network in Pazardzhik consists of 16 bus lines (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 13A, 14, 14A) and 6 trolleybus lines (1, 1E, 2, 2E, 4, 5) covering the most important areas of the city.

Education

In Pazardzhik there are 2 higher educational institutions (University Agricultural College and College for Primary Pedagogues) and a branch of the Plovdiv University "Paisii Hilendarski", 4 elementary, 7 primary, 4 secondary schools, 10 specialized high schools, 1 interschool center for vocational training after 6th and 7th grade, and one children's complex for extracurricular forms.

Culture and pedestrian areas

Kurshumlu Mosque from 1667 is one of the oldest mosques in Europe. It is one of the highlights of Pazardzhik.

The Church of the Dormition 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 Pazardzhik Clock Tower, the ethnographic and history museums.

As with most Bulgarian cities, Pazardzhik has developed a significant pedestrian center, in which several central squares typify the European coffee house society and pedestrian culture. In Bulgaria the café culture is particularly prominent, with many downtown squares easily providing up to a half dozen cafés, with ample outside seating.

Pazardzhik has a level of pedestrian streets (or network of carfree 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 find a large number of people strolling about or sitting in cafés.

Island-park ''''Svoboda'''' is a pedestrian area, where people can walk freely. The park includes a football field, a basketball court in a stadium and also different sport areas. In 2009, a zoo was established, where various animals are kept. There is a lion, tigers, llamas, raccoons, horse and others. There is a monument of Aleko Konstantinov, and an iron cross which was built in 2005.

Pazardzhik Point on Snow Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Pazardzhik.

Sports

In the Pazardzhik History Museum, the items, documents and photos exhibited there tell about the development of the individual sports: cycling, football, swimming, weightlifting, wrestling, modern pentathlon, athletics, rhythmic gymnastics, volleyball, etc.

Museums and Theaters

Konstantin Velichkov Drama and Puppet Theatre

The city is home to one of the oldest theaters in the country, built with funds raised voluntarily by citizens. Today the theater is united with the puppet theater under the name Drama and Puppet Theater "Konstantin Velichkov".

The theatre has a big 470-seat auditorium and a 100-seat chamber hall. The theatre stages titles from world classic, from the Bulgarian classical literary heritage and from the contemporary national and foreign dramaturgy. It also presents its plays not only on home stage, but across the country.

The theatre was founded in 1870 first performance "''Mnogostradalna Genoveva''" takes place on the stage center "Videlina" situated in one of the rooms of class school. In 1899 a new building of the chitalishte was constructed - a new spacious lounge and theatre scene. In 1937 the theatre was professionalized. Funds are allocated for salaries of all artists are conducted training courses . In 1942 the theater was closed. Since 1945, the theatre in Pazardzhik again began to function and develop and strengthen one of the major cultural institutions in the city. In 1964, due to reorganization of the theater is closed again. On 1 August 1969, the theatre restores the status of a state theater.

133 years of theatrical tradition and over 40 years of state theater; 35 theatrical seasons. The first production of the State Drama Theater in Pazardzhik is '' Albena'' by Yordan Yovkov. From ''January'' by Radichkov, directed by Krikor Azaryan, to '' Epic Times'' again by Radichkov, directed by Petrinel Gochev, from ''As You Like It'' by Shakespeare directed by Leon Daniel to '' The Storm'' by Alexander Ostrovsky directed by Vladlen Alexandrov. From ''Vampire'' by Anton Strashimirov, directed by Vili Tsankov, through ''Roman Bath'' by Stanislav Stratiev, to '' The Backyard'' by Bilgesu Erenus, directed by Iskender Alton. Some of the greatest directors have worked on the Pazardzhik stage: Krikor Azaryan, Asen Shopov, Leon Daniel, Nikolay Polyakov, Zdravko Mitkov, Nikolay Lyutskanov and others, some of the most famous actors: Nevena Kokanova, Georgi Georgiev - Getz, Georgi Kaloyanchev, Katya Paskaleva, Ilka Zafirova, Zlatina Todeva, Leda Taseva, Georgi Cherkelov and more, and more... of text, theme, direction, with always spiritually young actors and directors.

Regional History Museum

The Pazardzhik History Museum is one of the leading and oldest museums in Bulgaria. It was established in 1911 by a decision of the management board of Chitalishte " Videlina". In 2000 it was transformed into a Regional Historical Museum with territory of activity in the towns of Pazardzhik and Plovdiv. The profile of the museum is general history and has the following main departments: Archeology; History of Bulgaria from the 15th - 19th century; Ethnography; Modern history; Funds and scientific archive; Public Relations. The historical expositions are housed in a specially built building with an area of 1200 m². The museum has its own specialized library, restoration studio and photo laboratory, has a stand for the sale of advertising materials and souvenirs and a cafe.

Ethnographic Museum

The ethnographical exhibition of the Pazardzhik History Museum is set up in the biggest Baroque house from the Bulgarian National Revival period in Pazardzhik constructed in 1850 by master builders from Bratsigovo. The house belonged to Nikola Hristovich, a rich merchant from Pazardzhik. It was declared a national monument of architecture and culture by virtue of publication in State Gazette, issue No 25 of 1998.

The building is declared monument of culture of national importance. The presented exhibition illustrates different aspects of the traditional national lifestyle (typical for Pazardzhik region) some of which were practiced up to the middle of the 20th century. Pazardzhik region covers parts of Rhodopes, the Upper Thracian Plain and Sredna Gora and is characterized by widely varied ethnographic and folklore traditions.

Stanislav Dospevski Art Gallery

The Gallery was established in 1963 as a department of the General People's Museum in the city. In 1966 it united with the Stanislav Dospevski House Museum with decision No 50 / 02.08.1966 of PNA in the gallery. The founder and first director of the gallery is the artist Tsvetan Radulov. It is named after the Samokov school artist and public figure Stanislav Dospevski (1823-1878), who worked in the field of the portrait genre. The current gallery building was opened in 1980. Later in 1911 it housed the Regional History Museum. The total exhibition area is 800 m². The art fund of the gallery exceeds 10,000 works.

The building was constructed by builders from Bratsigovo in 1864. Its a two-storey high, made of sun-dried bricks, with six rooms and a parlor, typical for the period of Revival.

The exposition presents the Bulgarian fine arts from the end of the last century to the present day. It consists of 731 works by 204 authors and is located in 5 exhibition halls. All genres (portrait, landscape and still life) are presented, as well as the different currents in the Bulgarian fine arts: Revival realism, romanticism, academism, realism, symbolism, impressionism, expressionism, socialist realism, abstractionism and others.

Stanislav Dospevski Art Gallery has two branches: Stanislav Dospevski House Museum and Georgi Gerasimov House Museum, as well as the open-air exhibition of Velichko Minekov.

Konstantin Velichkov House Museum

Birth house of Konstantin Velichkov (1855 - 1907) - a prominent Revival activist, active participant in the national liberation struggle, politician and statesman in post- liberation Bulgaria, poet, writer, translator and artist.

The house is located on Vl. Gyoshev ”4. One-storey and with a veranda, it was built around 1850 and is now declared architectural, artistic and historical monument of culture of national importance. In 1964 - 1965 the house was completely repaired and restored. Since 1967, the urban living conditions from the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century have been arranged in it. In the native house of Konstantin Velichkov in 1876 his sister Teofana sewed the flag of the Pazardzhik Revolutionary Committee. There is also kept an icon depicting the town of Jerusalem from 1856 that has been family heritage.

Vasil Petleshkov was the first to announce in Pazardzhik the outbreak of the April Uprising. The house is a branch of the Regional History Museum. It has been open for visits since 2 March 1967.

Twin towns – sister cities

Pazardzhik is twinned with:

* Aerodrom (Skopje), North Macedonia
* Chekhov, Russia
* Salerno, Italy
* Al-Salt, Jordan
* Stavropol, Russia
* Thái Bình, Vietnam
* West Bend, United States

Notable people

*Stefan Zahariev (1810–1871), revival, educationalist
*Konstantin Velichkov (1855–1905), enlightener, poet, politician
* Zaharina Dimitrova (1873-1940), Bulgarian doctor, Order of Civil Merit recipient, philanthropist.
* Ivan Batakliev (1891–1973), geographer, historian
*Nicolas Digests (1903–1968), poet
* Artine Artinian (1907–2005), scholar of French literature
* Violeta Gindeva (1946–2019), actress, deputy mayor of Pazardzhik in 2003–2007
* Ekaterina Mihaylova (born 1956), politician
* Serafim Todorov (born 1969), boxer
* Ekaterina Zakharieva (born 1975), politician
* Georgi Petkov (born 1976), footballer

Gallery

File:Old Post Office Tower - Pazardzhik.jpg, Old post building
File:Pazardzhik 032.JPG, Street scene
File:Pazardzhik Stanislav Dospevski House.jpg, Stanislav Dospevski's house
File:Dormition of the Theotokos Church - Pazardzhik.jpg, Dormition of the Theotokos Church

References

External links

Pazardzhik municipality
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{{Coord, 42, 12, N, 24, 20, E, region:BG_type:city, display=title

Populated places in Pazardzhik Province
1485 establishments in Europe
Populated places established in the 1480s
Place names of Turkish origin in Bulgaria