Elena Municipality () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

('' obshtina'') in Veliko Tarnovo Province, Central-North

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 ...

, located on the northern slopes of the central

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 in the area of the so-called Fore-Balkan. It is named after its administrative centre, the town of Elena. It includes a territory of with a population of 10,407 inhabitants, as of December 2009.Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian provinces and municipalities in 2009
The area is best known for its

Bulgarian National Revival The Bulgarian Revival (, ''Balgarsko vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and ), sometimes called the Bulgarian National Revival, was a period of socio-economic development and national integration among Bulgarian pe ...

atmosphere preserved in its main town. Chumerna peak, above sea level, in the Elena-Tvarditsa range is the highest point in the province.

Geography

Elena Municipality is situated in the Elena Balkan, West of Varna, South of

Veliko Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo (, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. It is the historical and spiritual capital of Bulgaria. Often referred to as the "''City of the Tsars''", Velik ...

and East of

's capital -

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 ...

. The city of Elena is situated in the valley of the Elena river. The rivers Veselina, Elena, Miykovska, and Bebrovska spring from the area.

Flora

The flora and fauna are varied, with the most common trees being beech, oak, maple, linden, and hornbeams. Other trees often found in the area are elm, ash, cherries, pear, and sorrel.

Fauna

There is a large diversity of animals living in the area. Widespread deer, Red deer, and wild boar are the most common, followed by predators like foxes, jackals and less often wolves. Smaller animals are also quite common - rabbits, partridge, snipe, and doves.

Settlements

(towns are shown in bold): Population (December 2009)Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian towns in 2009
Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian villages under 1000 inhabitants - December 2009
/ref>Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian Settlements 1000-5000 inhabitants - December 2009
/ref> * Elena - Елена - 5,665 * Aplatsi - Аплаци - * Bagalevtsi - Багалевци - * Badevtsi - Бадевци - * Baevtsi - Баевци - * Bazhdari - Баждари - * Balutsi - Балуци - * Bebrovo - Беброво - * Beykovtsi - Бейковци - * Berkovtsi - Берковци - * Blaskovtsi - Блъсковци - * Bogdansko - Богданско - * Boykovtsi - Бойковци - * Bosevtsi - Босевци - * Brezovo - Брезово - * Brachkovtsii - Бръчковци - * Buynovtsi - Буйновци - * Byalkovtsi - Бялковци - * Chavdartsi - Чавдарци - * Chakali - Чакали - * Chervenkovtsi - Червенковци - * Cherni Dyal - Черни дял - * Daveri - Давери - * Daynovtsi - Дайновци - * Debeli Rat - Дебели рът - * Dobrevtsi - Добревци - * Dolni Maryan - Долни Марян - * Dolni Tanchevtsi - Долни Танчевци - * Donkovtsi - Донковци - * Draganovtsi - Драгановци - * Dragiytsi - Драгийци - * Dragnevtsi - Драгневци - * Drenta - Дрента - * Dukovtsi - Дуковци - * Darlevtsi - Дърлевци - * Gabarka - Габрака - * Ganev Dol - Ганев дол - * Glogovets - Глоговец - * Golemani - Големани - * Gorni Kray - Горни край - * Gorni Tanchevtsi - Горни Танчевци - * Gorska - Горска - * Gramatitsi - Граматици - * Gardevtsi - Гърдевци - * Harvalovtsi - Харваловци - * Hristovtsi - Христовци - * Hanevtsi - Хъневци - * Ivanivanovtsi - Иванивановци - * Ignatovtsi - Игнатовци - * Ilakov Rat - Илаков рът - * Iliyuvtsi - Илиювци - * Kamenari - Каменари - * Kantari - Кантари - * Karaivantsi - Караиванци - * Karandili - Карандили - * Kirevtsi - Киревци - * Kozhlyuvtsi - Кожлювци - * Kozya Reka - Козя река - * Kolari - Колари - *

Konstantin The first name Konstantin () is a derivation from the Latin name '' Constantinus'' ( Constantine) in some European languages, such as Bulgarian, Russian, Estonian and German. As a Christian given name, it refers to the memory of the Roman empe ...

- Константин - * Kosevtsi - Косевци - * Kostel - Костел - * Kotutsi - Котуци - * Krilyuvtsi - Крилювци - * Krumchevtsi - Крумчевци - * Lazartsi - Лазарци - * Lesiche - Лесиче - * Maysko - Майско - * Marafeltsi - Марафелци - * Marinovtsi - Мариновци - * Maryan - Марян - * Mahalnitsi - Махалници - * Miykovtsi - Мийковци - * Minevtsi - Миневци - * Mirchovtsi - Мирчовци - * Ruhovtsi - Руховци -

Demography

The following table shows the change of the population during the last four decades.

Religion

According to the latest Bulgarian census of 2011, the religious composition, among those who answered the optional question on religious identification, was the following:

References

External links

Official website
{{Veliko Tarnovo Province Municipalities in Veliko Tarnovo Province