Lukovit ( ) is a town in northern
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 ...
, part of
Lovech Province
Lovech Province (, former name Okrug, Lovech okrug) is one of the 28 provinces of Bulgaria, lying at the northern centre of the country. It is named after its main city: Lovech. As of December 2009, the population of the area was151,153. . It is situated on both banks of the
Zlatna Panega between the
Danubian Plain and the foot of
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 ...
. As of December 2009, the town had a population of 9,630.
[Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian towns in 2009]
The town was first mentioned in
Ottoman registers of 1430. In 1495, it had 47 households. Between 1683 and 1687, Lukovit was part of an Ottoman process of forceful
Islamization
The spread of Islam spans almost 1,400 years. The early Muslim conquests that occurred following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE led to the creation of the caliphates, expanding over a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted ...
, but was never completely converted as late as 1860 when it had 250
Muslim Bulgarian and 260
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...
households. After the
Liberation of Bulgaria
The Liberation of Bulgaria is the historical process as a result of the Bulgarian Revival. In Bulgarian historiography, the liberation of Bulgaria refers to those events of the Tenth Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) that led to the re-establishme ...
, all the Muslims left the town.
Buried artefacts from the 4th century BC
Thracian
The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared between north-eastern Greece, ...
culture, the
Lukovit Treasure (Bulgarian: Луковитско съкровище) comprising horse brasses made of silver, were found in 1953 near the town.
Honour
Lukovit Point on
Livingston Island
Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetland Islands, South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands north of the ...
,
South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands located in the Drake Passage with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the n ...
is named after Lukovit.
The local football team is
Botev Lukovit.
See also
*
Aglen
*
Lovech
Lovech (, ) is a city in north-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The city is located about northeast from the capital city of Sofia. Near Lovech are the towns of ...
*
Petrevene
*
Teteven
References
External links
Official municipal websiteA walk around the region of Lukovit, rivers Panega and Iskar, cave Prohodna (Проходна)
Towns in Bulgaria
Populated places in Lovech Province
{{Lovech-geo-stub