Sliven Province (, former name Sliven

okrug An okrug is a type of administrative division in some Slavic-speaking states. The word ''okrug'' is a loanword in English, alternatively translated as area, district, county, or region. Etymologically, ''okrug'' literally means ' circuit', der ...

) is a

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

in southeastern

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 ...

, named after its administrative and industrial centre—the city of

Sliven Sliven ( ) is List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality in Northern Thrace. It is situated in the Sliven Valley at the foothills of th ...

. It has a territory of Bulgarian Provinces area and population 1999 — National Center for Regional Development — page 90-91
that is divided into four municipalities, with a total population, as of December 2009, of 204,887.Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian provinces and municipalities in 2009
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Municipalities

The Sliven province contains four municipalities. The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and

Cyrillic The Cyrillic script ( ) is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking countries in Southeastern Europe, Ea ...

, the main town or village (towns are shown in bold), and the population of each as of December 2009.

Main city

Sliven is situated in the Sliven Valley at the foothills of the unique rock massif "Sinite Kamani" (The Blue Rocks) in the

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

, very close to mineral springs. The town is famous for its clean fresh air, clean water sources, mild winters and cool summers. Sliven is though it is one of the oldest settlements in Europe.

Thracians The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European languages, 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 betwee ...

, Romans,

Slavs The Slavs or Slavic people are groups of people who speak Slavic languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout the northern parts of Eurasia; they predominantly inhabit Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, and ...

, and

Ancient Greeks Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically re ...

have all lived in the region. The first Roman settlement on this place, Tuida (3rd century BC), was a famous trade centre. Sliven was mentioned as a big town for the first time in 1153 by the Arab traveler

Muhammad al-Idrisi Abu Abdullah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani as-Sabti, or simply al-Idrisi (; ; 1100–1165), was an Arab Muslim geographer and cartographer who served in the court of King Roger II at Palermo, Sicily. Muhammad al-Idrisi was born in C ...

Demographics

As of the end of 2009, the population of the province, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 204,887 of which are inhabitants over 60 years old.Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Population by age in 2009

Ethnic groups

Total population (2011 census): 197 473
Ethnic groups (2011 census): Identified themselves: 173 206 persons: *Bulgarians: 132 697 (76.61%) * Romani: 20 478 (11.82%) * Turks: 16 784 (9.69%) *Others and indefinable: 3 247 (1.87%) A further 24,000 persons in Sliven Province did not declare their ethnic group at the 2011 census. According to the 2001 census, the province had a population of 218 474 inhabitants, of whom 163 188 were

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

, 26 777 Romani, 22 971 Turks, etc.

Religion

Religious adherence in the province according to 2001 census:Religious adherence in Bulgaria - census 2001
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Sinine Kamani Nature Park

The Sinite Kamani Nature Park is famous for its nature landmarks. Halkata — the arc-shaped rock garland, possessing, according to the legends, magic force — is one of the symbols of the town of Sliven. The forms that the nature has sculptured in the cave Zmeevi dupki – Zmeyat, Orelat and Vladishkiyat tron are amazing. The ancient beech forest in the vicinity of the Kushbunar spring in the region of Karandila is picturesque. The specific climate and lay conditions of the nature park determine the great diversity of flora and fauna. The plant species are more than 1000, about 900 of which are representative of high species. The vertebrate animals are represented by 235 species — eight species of fish, nine species of amphibians, nineteen species of reptiles, 165 species of birds and 34 species of mammals. The lay is of typical mountain type — steep and ravine slopes and between 290 and 1181 meters above sea level. The north and northwest winds, called bora, famous as the wind of the town of Sliven and the night breeze are typical for the region. Through the park flow many rivers and their beds form numerous shoots, pools and waterfalls.

References

External links

Photos of SlivenPhoto Reportages from Sliven
{{Authority control Provinces of Bulgaria