Botevgrad ( ) is a town in western

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

. It is located in Sofia Province and is close to Pravets. Botevgrad lies 47 km from

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

History and name

The village was called Samundzhievo (Самунджиево) until it was elevated to town status at the end of 1865 under the name of Orhanie (

Bulgarian language Bulgarian (; , ) is an Eastern South Slavic, Eastern South Slavic language spoken in Southeast Europe, primarily in Bulgaria. It is the language of the Bulgarians. Along with the closely related Macedonian language (collectively forming the ...

: Орхание;

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish (, ; ) was the standardized register of the Turkish language in the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extensively, in all aspects, from Arabic and Persian. It was written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet. ...

: اورخانيه). On 1 December 1934 the town was named Botevgrad (Ботевград) after Hristo Botev.

Geography

Botevgrad and its hinterland are located in an elliptical valley with a total area of 5,066 km². The municipality covers parts of the Western

Stara Planina The Balkan mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula in Southeastern Europe. It is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. It then runs for about , first ...

mountain — Razhana, Murgash, Bilo and Golyama Planina and some parts of the Northern Balkan.

Vitinya Pass Vitinya Pass () is a mountain pass in the Balkan Mountains (Stara Planina) in Bulgaria. It connects Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Vall ...

connecting Northern Bulgaria with Southern Bulgaria and the proximity of the capital contribute to its strategic location. Botevgrad municipality borders the following municipalities: Pravets, Etropole, Gorna Malina, Elin Pelin, Svoge,

Mezdra Mezdra ( ) is a town in northwestern Bulgaria, part of Vratsa Province. It is located on the left bank of the Iskar River, just north of its gorge through the Balkan Mountains. History Although the area around it has been inhabited continuously s ...

and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Climate

Nature

The region of Botevgrad municipality is quite rich in

natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

. The geographic landscape is remarkable for its variety. The municipality covers the following geographic areas: a part of Botevgradska Kotlovina (the valley of Botevgrad), some parts of Botevgradski Predbalkan and four of the Balkan shoulders — Razhana, Golyama Planina, Murgash and Bilo. Kotlovinata Zhleba (''Fillet Hollow'') is situated between the main Balkan Range and the Northern Balkan. The bottom of the hollow is the accumulative river terrace of Bebresh river and its tributaries. The low oval hills inside the hollow contribute to the countryside variety. Mount Murgash — 1687 m tall is the highest point of the highest mountain range to the south and south-west. Many rivulets run down the slopes of the heights. Prohoda Vitinya or Vitinya Pass connecting South Bulgaria with North Bulgaria is located on the territory of Botevgrad municipality.

Economy

Sensata Technologies group, which specialises in the design and production of added value electronics and electromechanical systems used in the automotive and consumer electronics industry, operates one large production plant in the town. GE Pharmaceuticals operates a drugs factory and in 2006 Siemens opened a plant for the production of high voltage transformers. Integrated Micro-Electronics, Inc., also known as IMI, is a provider of electronics manufacturing services (EMS) and power semiconductor assembly and test services (SATS). APS Advanced Printing Systems is a company involved in production of thermal printer mechanisms, controller boards and thermal printers. Mikroak Ltd, Chavdar many other companies in and around the area of Botevgrad.

Sport

Botevgrad has one of the leading

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

teams in the country,

BC Balkan Botevgrad BC Balkan Botevgrad () is a Bulgarian professional basketball club based in Botevgrad.Team profile at ''Bgbasket.co ...

, who play at the Arena Botevgrad and have won 6 national championships and 4 national cups. The local

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club is called PFC Balkan Botevgrad and plays at the Hristo Botev Stadium. The city has many sports fields - both for football and basketball. Other sports are also very popular -

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

acrobatics Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance (ability), balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sports, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most ...

and

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

Religion

The religious buildings in Botevgrad are: * Church of the Ascension of Christ * Dormition of the Mother of God Church * Monastery "Nativity of the Mother of God" in the Zelin village zone * United Methodist Church

Twin towns

Botevgrad is twinned with: *

Saransk Saransk (, ); ; is the capital city of Mordovia, Russia, as well as its financial and economic centre. It is located in the Volga River, Volga drainage basin, basin at the confluence of the Saranka and Insar Rivers, about east of Moscow. Sar ...

, Russia *

Holbæk Holbæk () is a town in Denmark and the County seat, seat of Holbæk municipality with a population of 30,903 (1 January 2025).Clock Tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure that house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another building ...

Image:Fire trucks of the fire service in Botevgrad.jpg, Fire trucks of the fire service Image:Botevgrad house of science.jpg, Botevgrad house of science Image:Библиотека „Иван Вазов“, Ботевград 02.jpg, Library Ivan Vazov

References

External links

Botevgrad directory

Botevgrad's Municipal Site

News About Botevgrad

Botevgrad's Portal Site

Pictures from Botevgrad

360 degree virtual Botevgrad picture of the centre
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