Chirpan ( bg, Чирпан, ) is a town on the Tekirska River in
Stara Zagora Province of south-central
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...
. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous
Chirpan Municipality. As of 2021, the town had a population of 13,391
down from 15,109 in 2013.
Chirpan is located north of the
Maritsa River on the Chirpan highlands, south-east of the
Sredna Gora mountains
Sredna is a former village in Gotse Delchev Municipality, in Blagoevgrad Province
Blagoevgrad Province ( bg, област Благоевград, ''oblast Blagoevgrad'' or Благоевградска област, ''Blagoevgradska oblast''), a ...
. The town is a centre for
wineries and
viticulture
Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...
.
History
The modern town is the successor of the
Ancient Roman
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...
settlement of Sherampol and re-emerged in the beginning of the 15th century, its current name likely being derived from the Roman one. Upon his return from the Council of Sardica, Saint Athanasius established the first Christian monastery in Europe circa 344 near modern-day Chirpan in Bulgaria.
There has been extensive archaeological excavation at the Karasura (Carasura) site. During the
Ottoman rule of Bulgaria, Chirpan ( tr, Çırpan) was known for its craftsmen and agriculture. The town suffered badly from an
earthquake on 18 April 1928.
Chirpan was the birthplace of
Ottoman Turkish soldier
Abdülkerim Nadir Pasha
Abdülkerim Nadir Pasha (1807–1883), also known as Çırpanlı Abdi Pasha or Abdul Kerim Pasha, son of Ahmed Ağa, was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman military commander, born in Chirpan, History of early Ottoman Bulgaria, Ottoman Bulgaria.
Career ...
, and the Bulgarian poet
Peyo Yavorov, whose native house is now a museum. Chirpan was the home of painter George Danchov. His house in the centre of the town is an excellent example of
Bulgarian National Revival architecture.
Climate
Economy
There are 18,859 (2021)
people in the municipality, two thirds of whom live in the town. 53% of the land is in cultivation, with major crops from wheat, sunflowers, cotton, grapes, and fruit trees. There is a 139 hectare
Natura 2000 Special Protection Area for preservation of avian habitat along the Tekirska River.
Honour
Chirpan Peak
Chirpan Peak ( bg, връх Чирпан, vrah Chirpan, ) is an ice-covered peak forming the western extremity of Bowles Ridge on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica overlooking Perunika Glacier to the west and south. Th ...
on
Livingston Island in the
South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 195 ...
,
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest co ...
is named after Chirpan.
Notable people
*
Georgi Danchov
Georgi Danchov ( bg, Георги Данчов) (1846–1908) was a Bulgarian Renaissance artist, photographer, illustrator, cartoonist, comics artist, caricaturist and a revolutionary.
He was one of the closest associates of Vasil Levski and t ...
, revolutionary
*
Ivan Dimov
Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulga ...
, actor
*
Ivan Kolev (wrestler)
*
Peyo Yavorov, poet
*
Stoyan Zaimov, revolutionary
Notes
References
* Diamante, Vincenzo (1975) ''Bulgaria: storia, vita, folclore e tutte le informazioni utili al turista'' Valmartina, Firenze
OCLC 3841667(in Italian);
* Kondarev, Nikola (1987) ''Istoriia na Chirpan i Chirpansko'' Izd-vo na Otechestveniia front, Sofia
OCLC 19857260(in Bulgarian);
::''This article is based in part on material from the
Bulgarian Wikipedia''.
External links
*
*
*
*
N. Spassov, D. Geraads, L. Hristova, G.N. Markov, G. Merceron, T. Tzankov, K. Stoyanov, M. Böhme, A. Dimitrova. «A hominid tooth from Bulgaria: The last pre-human hominid of continental Europe»(Azmaka)
Towns in Bulgaria
Populated places in Stara Zagora Province
{{StaraZagora-geo-stub