Sofia Province
42°40′N 23°40′E / 42.667°N 23.667°E
Sofia Province
Софийска област | |
---|---|
UTC+3 (EEST) | |
License plate | CO |
Sofia Province (Bulgarian: Софийска област, romanized: Sofiyska oblast) is a province (oblast) of Bulgaria. The province does not include Sofia in its territories, but Sofia remains its administrative center. The province borders on the provinces of Pernik, Kyustendil, Blagoevgrad, Pazardzhik, Plovdiv, Lovech, Vratsa, Montana and "Sofia City Province" (which is in a separate oblast, see Sofia Administration), and borders with Serbia to the northwest.
History
Prehistory and antiquity
Felix Philipp Kanitz, the first person to study the Iskar Gorge area thoroughly, identified eight Roman castella, which he considered proof of the great strategic importance the Romans placed on the gorge. The road passing through it connected Roman lands from Thessaloniki all the way to Dacia.[2] However, up until modern times, the gorge was poorly accessible because of its rugged terrain. As a result, the inhabitants were partially isolated from the rest of the world, self-reliant, but also safe from wars and invasions.[2] Some of the population of Moesia thus found the Iskar river area an appealing safe haven later in the 5th century, when the province was threatened by Hunnic and Gothic raids[2] (see also Collapse of the Western Roman Empire in 476).
Middle Ages
Gothic assaults were followed by large-scale settlement of
Churches and monasteries in the area flourished during the
Crusader presence was also attested around Bov, which is believed to have been established by an eponymous Fourth Crusade knight who became a vassal of Tsar Kaloyan.[12]Ottoman rule
The modern territory of Sofia Province has been part of three of the four revolutionary districts during the
Under the Third Bulgarian State
After some initial success, the group was ambushed, and Thompson was captured near Eleshnitsa along with a dozen Bulgarian partisans. After being shown the severed heads of other partisans on pikes, they were tortured by government troops and their paramilitary aides, the Gendarmerie.[17] Because of his Communist sympathies and fluent Bulgarian and Russian, Thompson and the other resistance fighters were executed by a firing squad.[16][18] Several villages in the area were merged after the war into what is now a single village, Thompson, named after the British officer.[19]
Geography
With a territory of 7 020 km², Sofia Province is the second-largest in Bulgaria.[20] It also has the highest number of municipalities, 22, and borders nine other provinces as well as Serbia to the northwest. The lowest areas stand at 350 metres above sea level, whereas the highest rise above 2,900 metres, resulting in diverse terrain, soil and climatic factors.[20]
A
The precise height of Musala was only measured in 1932 by an expedition of the State Geographic Institute of the Ministry of War. Previously, Vihren in southwest Bulgaria was imprecisely measured and proclaimed to be the country's highest peak. This made Mytikas on Mount Olympus in Greece, which rose only three metres higher than Vihren, the highest on the Balkan Peninsula. Locals in Bulgaria supposedly began piling up rocks on Vihren over time to restore its status, but the 1932 military expedition measured both Vihren and Musala with a margin of error of only 15 centimetres and thus put an end to the rivalry.[21]
Rila is also the source of the Iskar,[22] the longest river that runs entirely within Bulgarian territory.[23] It is a tributary to the Danube and forms part of the Black Sea river basin. The 23 km (14 mi) long Cherni (black) Iskar is considered the main stem of the river,[22] taking its source from the Chamovsko Lake (2,500 m) to the north-east of Damga Peak (2,669 m) and from there the river flows in north-eastern direction through the Govedartsi Valley, filled by the waters of the Chanakgyolski, Malyovishki and Urdini Lakes.[22] The river enters the Balkan Mountains at the town of Novi Iskar and forms a long and spectacular gorge, whose slopes reach a height of 200 m up to 500 m at some points.[24] The Iskar Gorge reaches a length of 70 km (43 mi) between its beginning at Kurilo, a neighbourhood of Novi Iskar, and the village of Lyutibrod where it ends.[24] Other rivers flowing through the province s territory are
Demographics
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1946 | 319,045 | — |
1956 | 313,906 | −1.6% |
1965 | 306,913 | −2.2% |
1975 | 310,975 | +1.3% |
1985 | 305,358 | −1.8% |
1992 | 289,962 | −5.0% |
2001 | 273,240 | −5.8% |
2011 | 247,489 | −9.4% |
2021 | 231,989 | −6.3% |
Source: pop-stat.mashke.org[25] |
Sofia Province has 247,489 inhabitants according to the 2011 Bulgarian Census.
The Sofia province (Област, oblast) contains 22 municipalities (singular: община, obshtina - plural: Общини, obshtini). The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and
Municipality | Cyrillic | Pop.[26] | Town/Village | Pop.[26] |
---|---|---|---|---|
Anton | Антон | 1,650 | Anton
|
1,650 |
Botevgrad | Ботевград | 36,183 | Botevgrad | 23,694 |
Bozhurishte | Божурище | 6,735 | Bozhurishte | 4,829 |
Chavdar | Чавдар | 1,252 | Chavdar | 1,252 |
Chelopech | Челопеч | 1,571 | Chelopech | 1,571 |
Dolna Banya | Долна баня | 4,917 | Dolna Banya | 4,917 |
Dragoman | Драгоман | 5,373 | Dragoman | 3,541 |
Elin Pelin | Елин Пелин | 22,015 | Elin Pelin | 7,293 |
Etropole | Етрополе | 13,773 | Etropole | 12,078 |
Godech | Годеч | 5,670 | Godech | 4,783 |
Gorna Malina | Горна Малина | 5,668 | Gorna Malina | 1,357 |
Ihtiman | Ихтиман | 18,903 | Ihtiman | 14,571 |
Koprivshtitsa | Копривщица | 2,547 | Koprivshtitsa | 2,547 |
Kostenets | Костенец | 14,154 | Kostenets | 7,762 |
Kostinbrod | Костинброд | 16,145 | Kostinbrod | 11,523 |
Mirkovo | Мирково | 2,534 | Mirkovo | 1,707 |
Pirdop | Пирдоп | 9,217 | Pirdop | 8,361 |
Pravets | Правец | 7,919 | Pravets | 4,440 |
Samokov | Самоков | 41,544 | Samokov | 30,085 |
Slivnitsa | Сливница | 9,511 | Slivnitsa | 7,790 |
Svoge | Своге | 22,557 | Svoge | 8,741 |
Zlatitsa | Златица | 6,274 | Zlatitsa | 5,529 |
The province had a population of 273 252 (also given as 273,240) according to a 2001 census, of which 49.2% were male and 50.8% were female.[27]
Ethnic groups
Total population (2011 census): 247 489
Ethnic groups (2011 census):[28] Identified themselves: 230 781 persons:
- Bulgarians: 210 974 (91,42%)
- Romani: 17 079 (7,40%)
- Others and indefinable: 2 728 (1,18%)
Ethnic groups in the province according to 2001 census:[29]
253 536 Bulgarians (92.8%),
16 748 Romani (6.1%)
and 2956 others and unspecified (1.1%).
Religion
Religious adherence in the province according to 2001 census:[31]
Census 2001 | ||
---|---|---|
religious adherence | population | % |
Orthodox Christians | 261 996 | 95.9% |
Muslims
|
3 368 | 1.2% |
Protestants | 2 320 | 0.8% |
Roman Catholics
|
186 | 0.1% |
Other | 1027 | 0.4% |
Religion not mentioned | 4 343 | 1.6% |
total | 273,240 | 100% |
Economy
Mondelez Bulgaria (formerly Kraft Foods Bulgaria) is the largest confectionery producer nationally,[38] largely owing to the production capacity of its chocolate factory in Svoge. The factory was established in 1901, privatised in 1993,[39] and upgraded in 2008 to produce up to 365,000,000 chocolate bars annually.[40] Beverages are manufactured near Kostinbrod, where the largest instant coffee factory in Southeast Europe,[40] as well as the main Coca-Cola bottling facility in Bulgaria, are located.[41]
Bulgaria's oldest ski resort, Borovets, is located near Samokov.[48] Its high annual influx of tourists has given a boost to the local property market[49] and has drawn foreign investment in hospitality and recreation.[50]
See also
- Provinces of Bulgaria
- Municipalities of Bulgaria
- List of cities and towns in Bulgaria
- List of villages in Sofia Province
References
- ^ "Topolnitsa Archeological Park: a glimpse into the Neolithic world". Bulgarian National Radio. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f "Исторически контекст". Svoge Heritage Program. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ISBN 0-521-22717-8, 1992, page 600: "In the place of the vanished Treres and Tilataei we find the Serdi for whom there is no evidence before the first century BC. It has for long being supposed on convincing linguistic and archeological grounds that this tribe was of Celtic origin"
- ^ Fine 1991, p. 31.
- ^ Fine 1991, p. 29.
- ^ Fine 1991, pp. 38, 41.
- ^ Duychev 2017.
- ^ "Boyana Church". UNESCO. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ a b "About Sofia Sveta Gora". Credo Bonum Foundation. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ "Църквата св. Никола, село Буковец". Svoge Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ www.stnicholascenter.org
- ^ Minkov, E.; Dinkov, M.; Georgiev, M. (1961). По река Искър. p. 64.
- ^ a b "Serbo-Bulgarian War". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
- ^ "Pantheon of the Immortals". Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Institute of History. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
- ^ История на антифашистката борба в България (in Bulgarian). Vol. II 1943/1944 г. 1976. p. 39.
- ^ a b "Thompson, William Frank". Winchester College. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Кой е майор Томпсън и какво научи за смъртта му неговият брат проф. Томпсън". e-vestnik. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "A Very English Hero: The Making of Frank Thompson by Peter J Conradi – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Who was Frank Thompson?". Vagabond. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ a b c d e "Geography". Sofia Province Government. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
- ^ a b "Колко е висок връх Мусала?". Geography '21. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ a b c Geographic Dictionary of Bulgaria 1980, p. 537
- ^ Donchev & Karakashev 2004, p. 68
- ^ a b Geographic Dictionary of Bulgaria 1980, p. 225
- ^ "Divisions of Bulgaria" (in Czech). Czech Statistical Office. 2024-04-03.
- ^ a b (in Bulgarian) Population Chart as of 15 March 2009 from Directorate General: Civil Registration and Administrative Services
- ^ (in Bulgarian) Population to 01.03.2001 by Area and Sex from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001
- ^ Population by province, municipality, settlement and ethnic identification, by 01.02.2011; Bulgarian National Statistical Institute (in Bulgarian)
- ^ (in Bulgarian) Population to 01.03.2001 by District and Ethnic Group from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001
- ^ "Religious composition: 2011 census". pop-stat.mashke.org. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ (in Bulgarian) Religious adherence in Bulgaria - census 2001
- ^ "БВП - регионално ниво". National Statistical Institute. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Activity of non-financial enterprises in Sofia Province in 2016" (PDF). National Statistical Institute. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ a b "Current Operations - Chelopech, Bulgaria Overview". Dundee Precious Metals Inc. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Aurubis Bulgaria". Kapital. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Kapital 100 - Bulgaria's largest companies in 2017". Kapital. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Dundee Precious Metals gets permit for metals exploration in Bulgaria". SEENews. 2 March 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ ""Монделийз" е новото име на "Крафт фуудс България"". Kapital. 29 May 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Десет компании на върха на хранителната верига". Banker. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ a b "Kraft Foods Opens Expanded BGN 40 M Chocolate Factory in Bulgaria's Svoge". Novinite. 2 October 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ ""Кока-Кола ХБК" разширява производствения си център в Костинброд". Kapital. 10 December 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Най-динамичните/ В родния град на микроелектрониката". Kapital. 30 June 2014. Archived from the original on May 21, 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Презареждане за бившия завод Микроелектроника в Ботевград". Mediapool. 4 October 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ Information, Reed Business (11 February 1988). "Perestroika and Personal Computers". New Scientist: 29. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
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has generic name (help) - ^ "First Bulgarian laptop: the Pravetz legend braces for a comeback". Bulgarian National Radio. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Bulgarian PC Brand Pravetz to Start Selling Laptops in January". Novinite. 29 December 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Произведено в Правец. Oт Siemens". Manager. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "Bulgaria keen to impress ski world". Reuters. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "The Villages Around the Resorts in Bulgaria Attract with Cheap Properties". Novinite. 30 May 2018. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
- ^ "British entrepreneurs invest in Bulgaria". BBC News. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
Bibliography
- Мичев (Michev), Николай (Nikolay); Михайлов (Mihaylov), Цветко (Tsvetko); Вапцаров (Vaptsarov), Иван (Ivan); Кираджиев (Kiradzhiev), Светлин (Svetlin) (1980). Географски речник на България [Geographic Dictionary of Bulgaria] (in Bulgarian). София (Sofia): Наука и култура (Nauka i kultura).
- ISBN 0472081497.
- Duychev, Ivan (2017) [1960]. Greek Sources on Bulgarian History. Vol. III. Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. p. ( link). Retrieved 2018-06-29.