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Provadia ( ) is a town in northeastern
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
Varna Province Varna Province (), formerly known as Varna okrug, is a province in eastern Bulgaria, one of the 28 Bulgarian provinces. It comprises 12 municipalities with a population of 494,216 as of April 2016.karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...
gorge (Provadia
syncline In structural geology, a syncline is a fold with younger layers closer to the center of the structure, whereas an anticline is the inverse of a syncline. A synclinorium (plural synclinoriums or synclinoria) is a large syncline with superimposed ...
) along the Provadiya River not far from the
Bulgarian Black Sea Coast The Bulgarian Black Sea Coast (), also known as the Bulgarian Riviera, covers the entire eastern bound of Bulgaria stretching from the Romanian Black Sea resorts in the north to European Turkey in the south, along 378 km of ...
. It is the administrative centre of Provadia Municipality. As of December 2009, the town had a population of 12,901. Provadia served as a customs point since ancient times. It is well known for
salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
y
mineral water Mineral water is water from a mineral spring that contains various minerals, such as salts and sulfur compounds. It is usually still, but may be sparkling ( carbonated/ effervescent). Traditionally, mineral waters were used or consumed at t ...
s, its mild
climate Climate is the long-term weather pattern in a region, typically averaged over 30 years. More rigorously, it is the mean and variability of meteorological variables over a time spanning from months to millions of years. Some of the meteoro ...
and a total of 70 km of
cave Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...
s in the surrounding mountain walls. It can be reached by
train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...
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 ...
or
Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city ** Varna Province ** Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna ** Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis * Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy * Varna (Šabac), a village in Serbia Asia * Var ...
and there are also hourly buses from and to Varna, and a sophisticated road system.


History

Provadia is the site of
Solnitsata Solnitsata (, "The Saltworks") was a prehistoric town located in present-day Bulgaria, near the modern city of Provadia. It is the oldest salt production center in continental Europe (5500‑4200 BC). It was the first prehistoric urban center in ...
, Europe's oldest prehistoric town. Excavations on city walls that started in 2005 reveal a town that dates back to between 4,700 BC and 4,200 BC. It is believed to have been the site of salt trading. Historical names of the medieval fortress, the ruins of which have been preserved until today, include ''Provat'' (
Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic; Greek: ) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the F ...
), ''Ovech'' (Овеч, Bulgarian), ''Provanto'' (
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...
) and ''Pravadı'' (
Turkish language Turkish ( , , also known as 'Turkish of Turkey') is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, a member of Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch with around 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and one of two official languag ...
). The Greek name and its adaptations stem from the word πρόβατο, ''provato'', "sheep", and the medieval Bulgarian name corresponds directly (being derived from овца, ''ovtsa'', with the same meaning). The fortress is open for visitors. During the Middle Ages the town was a key centre of the
First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire (; was a medieval state that existed in Southeastern Europe between the 7th and 11th centuries AD. It was founded in 680–681 after part of the Bulgars, led by Asparuh of Bulgaria, Asparuh, moved south to the northe ...
with an important monastery at the modern village of Ravna, the church of which was consecrated on 23 April 897, and a major
scriptorium A scriptorium () was a writing room in medieval European monasteries for the copying and illuminating of manuscripts by scribes. The term has perhaps been over-used—only some monasteries had special rooms set aside for scribes. Often they ...
of the
Preslav Literary School The Preslav Literary School (), also known as the "Pliska Literary School" or "Pliska-Preslav Literary school" was the first literary school in the medieval First Bulgarian Empire. It was established by Boris I in 886 in Bulgaria's capital, Pli ...
. The rebel leader and subsequently emperor of Bulgaria Ivailo defeated a 10,000-strong Byzantine army near the city in 1279. During the
Second Bulgarian Empire The Second Bulgarian Empire (; ) was a medieval Bulgarians, Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1422. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan of Bulgaria, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II ...
it was the seat of a metropolitan in the 14th century. Ovech was captured by the Ottomans in 1388 after a long siege. In the 17th and 18th century Provadia was a commercial centre of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
and was inhabited by many
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
and Ragusan merchants. A 16th-17th-century
Dubrovnik Dubrovnik, historically known as Ragusa, is a city in southern Dalmatia, Croatia, by the Adriatic Sea. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, a Port, seaport and the centre of the Dubrovni ...
-style church still stands in the nearby village of
Dobrina Dobrina can refer to: * Dobrina Cristeva (b. 1968), Bulgarian-Mexican actor * Dobrina, Šentjur, settlement in eastern Slovenia * Dobrina, Žetale, settlement in eastern Slovenia See also * Dobrin (disambiguation) Dobrin may refer to: * Dobrin ...
.


Today

South of Provadia lies the largest rock
salt mine Salt mining extracts natural salt deposits from underground. The mined salt is usually in the form of halite (commonly known as rock salt), and extracted from evaporite formations. History Before the advent of the modern internal combustio ...
in Bulgaria, which is believed to be virtually inexhaustible with a
salt dome A salt dome is a type of structural dome formed when salt (or other evaporite minerals) intrudes into overlying rocks in a process known as diapirism. Salt domes can have unique surface and subsurface structures, and they can be discovered us ...
up to 3900 m high, and has been sporadically exploited for some 7500 years but industrially, through leaching, only since the 1960s; now it is part of
Solvay Solvay may refer to: Companies and organizations * Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management, Brussels, Belgium * Solvay Institute of Sociology, Brussels, Belgium, part of the Université Libre de Bruxelles * Solvay Process Company (1880 ...
Sodi AD in
Devnya Devnya ( ) is a town in Varna Province, Northeastern Bulgaria, located about 25 km away to the west from the city of Varna and The Black Sea Coast. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Devnya Municipality. As of December 2009, ...
under the name Provadsol AD. Some of the leaching caverns are used for the storage of natural gas. Provadia is an important hub on both the Druzhba Gas Pipeline and as of 2015 abandoned
South Stream South Stream (; ; ; ; ; ) is a canceled pipeline project to transport natural gas of the Russian Federation through the Black Sea to Bulgaria and through Serbia, Hungary and Slovenia further to Austria. It was never finished. The project was f ...
. Other industrial facilities include a modern
biodiesel Biodiesel is a renewable biofuel, a form of diesel fuel, derived from biological sources like vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled greases, and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made from fats. The roots of bi ...
installation, a sunflower oil mill, a heavy earth-mover repair plant, shipbuilding machinery and textile factories. The town has a certain potential as a spa centre; its saline mineral water is allegedly similar in composition to the one at
Karlovy Vary Karlovy Vary (; , formerly also spelled ''Carlsbad'' in English) is a spa town, spa city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 49,000 inhabitants. It is located at the confluence of the Ohře and Teplá (river), Teplá ri ...
. Places of interest include the Lambova Kashta ethnographical complex and ethnographical collections in Dobrina and Manastir villages, as well as
cave monasteries A cave monastery is a monastery built in caves, with possible outside facilities. The 3rd-century monk St. Anthony the Great, known as the founder of Christian monasticism, lived in a cave. *Albania ** Qafthanë Cave Church, cave church near U ...
and the ruins of the 9-10th-century
Ravna Monastery Ravna may refer: ;Bosnia and Herzegovina: * Ravna, Jablanica - a city in Jablanica municipality, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina * Ravna (Maglaj) - a city in Maglaj municipality, Zenica-Doboj Canton, Federation of ...
, one of the most important centres of the Preslav Literary School, dubbed "language laboratory" by
Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian Medieval studies, medievalist, philosopher, Semiotics, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular ...
for its graffiti by common folks in several languages and alphabets.
Provadiya Hook Provadiya Hook (, ) is a gravel barrier spit separating the inner Yankee Harbour in Greenwich Island, Antarctica from the outer Shopski Cove and McFarlane Strait. Boomerang-shaped, extending 700 m northwestward from the southwest extremity of O ...
in
Greenwich Island Greenwich Island (variant historical names ''Sartorius Island'', ''Berezina Island'') is an island long and from (average ) wide, lying between Robert Island and Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The island's surface ...
,
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 ...
,
Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
is named for Provadia. The current mayor of the town is Dimo Dimov, elected in .


Municipality

Provadia is the seat of Provadia municipality (part of Varna Province), which also includes the following 24 villages:


References

*


External links


Official page (in Bulgarian)
{{Authority control Towns in Bulgaria Populated places in Varna Province