Zlatograd (, , )
is a town in
Smolyan Province
Smolyan Province (, ''Oblast Smolyan''; former name Smolyan okrug) is a province in Southern-central Bulgaria, located in the Rhodope Mountains, neighbouring Greece to the south. It is named after its administrative and industrial centre — the ...
, southern-central
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 ...
. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous
Zlatograd Municipality. In December 2009, the town had a population of 7,110.
[Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - towns in 2009]
It is located 60
km from the province centre of
Smolyan
Smolyan () is a List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, town and ski resort in the south of Bulgaria near the border with Greece. It is the administrative and industrial centre of the Smolyan Province. The town is built along the narrow valley of t ...
. The
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
border is 5 km from the town. The cross-border Zlatograd - Thermes (Greece) road was inaugurated on 15 January 2010.
History
During the rule 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 ...
, the area was a township of the Ottoman
Sanjak of Gümülcine in
Adrianople Vilayet between 1867 and 1912 known as Darıdere. The town still retains its characteristic Ottoman-era architecture, with numerous old buildings as well as two 19th-century Orthodox churches and a mosque.
Geography
Zlatograd is located in a valley between the eastern and central massif of the
Rhodope mountains
The Rhodopes (; , ; , ''Rodopi''; ) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in Greece. Golyam Perelik is its highest peak ...
.
The municipality's climate is included in the transient-Mediterranean climate region.
Mineral resources include
lead
Lead () is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol Pb (from Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a Heavy metal (elements), heavy metal that is density, denser than most common materials. Lead is Mohs scale, soft and Ductility, malleabl ...
-
zinc
Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...
ore
Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically including metals, concentrated above background levels, and that is economically viable to mine and process. The grade of ore refers to the concentration ...
.
The territory of the municipality is crossed by Varbitza river which is 98.1 km long and its catchment basin is 1202.8 km. Nedelinska and Kushlenska rivers are tributaries of
Varbitza. There is a dam lake named "Zlatograd" with water capacity of 4,4.106 m . and a micro dam lake called "Hasidere" (0,4.106 m).
Forest covers an area of 144.60 km
2. Species including beech,
hornbeam
Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the family Betulaceae. Its species occur across much of the temperateness, temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Common names
The common English name ''hornbeam'' derives ...
, oak, birch and cornel-tree are mostly spread among the broad-leaved forests. Prevailing coniferous trees are spruce, fir-tree, white and black pine.
Agriculture covers 25 km
2 and the arable land is 12 km
2. The cultures grown in the municipality are tobacco, potatoes, vegetables and strawberries (representatives of perennial plants).
There is a tailings pond called "Erma Reka" which is 8 km away from the town of Zlatograd and 5 km away from the village of
Erma Reka. The municipality is rich in underground resources. In the surroundings of
Erma Reka there is a geothermal deposit of hot mineral water.
Soils are maroon forest leached (97.59 km
2); brown forest-dark (12 km
2); brown forest-transient (83.37 km
2); brown forest light (117.59 km
2); alluvial-delluvial (0.59 km
2); humus-carbonate (11.07 km
2).
Honour
Zlatograd Rock
Zlatograd Rock (Zlatogradski Kamak \zla-to-'grad-ski 'ka-m&k\) is a rocky 240 m peak forming the eastern extremity of Bowles Ridge, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The peak overlooks Struma Glacier to the northwest ...
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. ...
is named after Zlatograd.
Gallery
Image:20100213_Zlatograd_Bulgaria_1.jpg , Traditional architecture - Zlatograd.
Image:20100213_Zlatograd_Bulgaria_3.jpg , River - old town - Zlatograd.
Image:20100213_Zlatograd_Orthodox_Church.jpg , Orthodox church "Saint George
Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...
" - Zlatograd.
Image:20100214_Zlatograd_Mosque.jpg , Mosque - Zlatograd.
Image:20100214_Zlatograd_Ethnological_Complex_1.jpg , Ethnological complex - Zlatograd.
Image:20100214_Zlatograd_Ethnological_Complex_2.jpg , Ethnological complex - Zlatograd.
Image:20100214_Zlatograd_Ethnological_Complex_3.jpg , Ethnological complex - Zlatograd.
References
External links
Zlatograd.comEthnographic Area Complex ZlatogradNew Site Ethnographic Area Complex ZlatogradZlatograd Municipality Website15 January 2010: Thermes-Zlatograd Road Inaugurated
{{Authority control
Towns in Bulgaria
Cities and towns in the Rhodopes
Populated places in Smolyan Province
Bulgaria–Greece border crossings