Vitosha ( ), the ancient ''Scomius'' or ''Scombrus'', is a

mountain massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of a ...

, on the outskirts of

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 capital of

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 ...

. Vitosha is one of the symbols of Sofia and the closest site for

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

alpinism Mountaineering, mountain climbing, or alpinism is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas that have become mounta ...

and

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

. Convenient bus lines and rope ways render the mountain easily accessible. Vitosha has the outlines of an enormous dome. The territory of the mountain includes Vitosha

nature park A nature park, or sometimes natural park, is a designation for a protected area by means of long-term land planning, sustainable resource management and limitation of agricultural and real estate developments. These valuable landscapes are pres ...

that encompasses the best known and most frequently visited parts. The foothills of Vitosha shelter resort quarters of Sofia; Knyazhevo quarter has

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid substance with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2011): Mi ...

springs. Vitosha is the oldest nature park in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

. The mountain emerged as a result of

volcanic activity Volcanism, vulcanism, volcanicity, or volcanic activity is the phenomenon where solids, liquids, gases, and their mixtures erupt to the surface of a solid-surface astronomical body such as a planet or a moon. It is caused by the presence of a he ...

and has been subsequently shaped by the slow folding of the granite rock layers and a series of gradual uplifts of the area. It appears dome shaped at first sight, but the mountain, 19 km long by 17 km wide, actually consists of concentric denudational plateaus rising in tiers one above the other. Vitosha is separated into four main parts whose main ridges gather at a crown known as '' Cherni Vrah'' ('Black Peak', Bulgarian: ). This is the highest point of the mountain at 2290 m and is one of 12 peaks of Vitosha over 2000 m in height. It is the highest

massif A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, ''massif'' is frequently used to denote the main mass of an ...

of the Srednogorie mountain chain system, together with

Sredna gora Sredna Gora ( ) is a mountain range in central Bulgaria, situated south of and parallel to the Balkan Mountains and extending from the river Iskar (river), Iskar to the west and the elbow of river Tundzha north of the city of Yambol to the east. ...

, Plana (mountain), Lyulin Mountain,

Greben (mountain) Greben (Cyrillic: Гребен, meaning "ridge" or literally "comb") is a mountain in southeastern Serbia, with a small section of the southwestern ridge in Bulgaria. It is named after a large karst ridge that runs along its spine. Greben rises n ...

, Viskyar Mountain, etc. They all are a result of the folding of the earth layers through the Mesozoic, causing also magma sheet-like intrusion (or concordant

pluton In geology, an igneous intrusion (or intrusive body or simply intrusion) is a body of intrusive igneous rock that forms by crystallization of magma slowly cooling below the surface of the Earth. Intrusions have a wide variety of forms and com ...

) that has been injected between layers of

sedimentary rock Sedimentary rocks are types of rock (geology), rock formed by the cementation (geology), cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or de ...

. The laccolithic domed form of Vitosha is a typical example. Bulgaria's longest cave, Duhlata, with a total length of 18,200 m, is situated in Vitosha in the

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 ...

ic region near the village of Bosnek. Since the ancient times of the

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 ...

a large population has always existed at the base of Vitosha. For the last four thousand years the

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

of this large settlement has always been connected, in one way or another, with the neighboring mountain. The name Vitosha comes from the two-peaked, twin ridge mountain, which rises above the Sofia field and has acquired its present shape in stages over many millennia. A

meteorological station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include tempera ...

was built at the top in 1935, and is still operating. The station also serves as a rest shelter for hikers and is the headquarters for the mountain rescue team. Historical documents show that several centuries ago Vitosha mountain was still covered by the remains of the inaccessible " Great Bulgarian Forest" (''Magna Silva Bulgarica''). Today, the natural

conifer Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

ous forests of Vitosha remain only in the reserve Bistrishko Branishte and around Zlatnite Mostove (The Golden Bridges). The Golden Bridges is a stone river consisting of a ribbon of huge boulders running down the mountainside. This scenic spot is located along the Vladayska River in an area of mixed deciduous and evergreen forest. However, this is only one of the stone rivers found in Vitosha and they were once the moraines of ancient glaciers. Their further formation occurred due to the spherical erosion of the sienite rocks and their gradual movement to down stream valleys by the forces of gravity and moving water. At a time when nature conservation ideas were a long way from the present understanding, some enlightened noblemen took the first step in 1934 by declaring 66 km² of Vitosha a

, hence Vitosha became the first park of this kind in the

. During the following year, some of the early Bulgarian reserves,

Bistrishko Branishte Bistrishko Branishte () is a nature reserve in the Vitosha Nature Park on Vitosha Mountain in Bulgaria. It was established in 1934, together with Vitosha Nature Park. Since 1977 it has been a biosphere reserve under the ''Man and the Biospher ...

(subsequently expanded to 10.61 km²) and Torfeno Branishte (7.84 km² respectively), were designated within its boundaries. The park boundaries fluctuated over many years and today it encompasses the entire mountain; an area of 266.06 km².

Ecology

Due to a great variability in

elevation The elevation of a geographic location (geography), ''location'' is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational equipotenti ...

, a rich diversity of climates,

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

and

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

can be found within the park. Research has revealed that on the comparatively small area of the mountain there are 1,500 species of higher plants, 500 species of

fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...

, 500 species of

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

, 326 species of

mosses Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta ('' sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and ho ...

, and 200 species of

lichen A lichen ( , ) is a hybrid colony (biology), colony of algae or cyanobacteria living symbiotically among hypha, filaments of multiple fungus species, along with yeasts and bacteria embedded in the cortex or "skin", in a mutualism (biology), m ...

s. The forests are mainly composed of

Norway spruce ''Picea abies'', the Norway spruce or European spruce, is a species of spruce native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe. It has branchlets that typically hang downwards, and the largest cones of any spruce, 9–17 cm long. It is very clo ...

and

Bulgarian fir Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

, with some

Macedonian pine ''Pinus peuce'' (Macedonian pine or Balkan pine) (Serbo-Croatian and Macedonian: молика, molika; Bulgarian: бяла мура, byala mura) is a species of pine native to the mountains of North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Montenegro, Kos ...

Scots pine ''Pinus sylvestris'', the Scots pine (UK), Scotch pine (US), Baltic pine, or European red pine is a species of tree in the pine family Pinaceae that is native to Eurasia. It can readily be identified by its combination of fairly short, blue-gr ...

, and at the tree-line,

mountain pine ''Pinus mugo'', known as dwarf mountain pine, mountain pine, scrub mountain pine, Swiss mountain pine, bog pine, creeping pine, or mugo pine, is a species of conifer, native to high elevation habitats from southwestern to Central Europe and So ...

, and mixed

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and botany, the term deciduous () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

forest at lower altitudes, mainly

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 3 ...

aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

and

alder Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...

. Regarding herbaceous plants, well-established populations of '' Veratrum album'' are present on the mountain, as well as other species commonly called 'lilies'. There are also

orchids Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Earth ...

, such as the East European green-winged orchid ('' Orchis morio'') that grows in the higher parts. Lungwort ('' Pulmonaria officinalis'') is another widespread herbaceous plant on Vitosha; it develops in dank sites under the shade of the forest.

Honours

Vitosha Saddle,

Rezen Knoll Rezen Knoll (, ) is a knoll rising to 433 m in eastern Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The knoll is bounded to the east, north and west by Perunika Glacier, and linked to Burdick Ridge by Rezen Saddle. The fea ...

, Komini Peak, and Kikish Crag 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 ...

in 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 ...

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. ...

are named respectively for Mount Vitosha, and for the Vitosha peaks of Malak Rezen and Golyam Rezen, Kominite Peak, and Kikish site. Image:Vitosha and Sveta Nedelya.jpg, Vitosha seen from Sofia Image:View_from_Vitosha_Montain,_Sofia_03375.jpg, East

seen from Vitosha Image:View_from_Vitosha_Mountain_Sofia_03378.jpg, Another view Image:Arbres givrés sur le Vitocha (février 2009).JPG, Snow-covered trees in February, northern side Image:Boyana waterfall.jpg, Boyana waterfall, highest in Vitosha Image:Mountain-1.JPG, View of the Vitosha Mountain from the South Park of Sofia Image:Vitosha seen from the center of Sofia.jpg, Vitosha seen from

National Palace of Culture The National Palace of Culture (, ; abbreviated as , NDK), located in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, is one of the largest multifunctional conference and cultural centers in the world. It was opened in 1981 in celebration of Bulgaria's 1300th ...

Vitosha is also the name of: * Radio Vitosha *

Vitosha Boulevard Vitosha Boulevard (, often called just , Vitoshka) is the main commercial street in the centre of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, which has stores, restaurants and bars. It extends from the St Nedelya Square to the Southern Park. Many high-end fa ...

- a popular main street in Sofia; with shops, boutiques and restaurants.

References

External links

Photo Gallery

Mountain Vitosha Gallery

Nature Park Vitosha Web Site

Mountain & Ski resort Vitosha - info, hotels, properties

Hiking in Vitosha Mountains

History of the park, travelling information, photographs

Vast Image Gallery of Vitosha
{{Authority control Mountain ranges of Bulgaria Landforms of Sofia City Province Nature parks in Bulgaria Geography of Sofia City Province Ski areas and resorts in Bulgaria Tourist attractions in Sofia Parks in Sofia Extinct volcanoes Geology of Bulgaria

Ecology

Honours

See also

References

External links