Haskovo ( bg, Хасково ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

in the region of

Northern Thrace Northern Thrace or North Thrace ( bg, Северна Тракия, as opposed to Western Thrace and East Thrace to the south; tr, Kuzey Trakya; el, Βόρεια Θράκη), also called Bulgarian Thrace, constitutes the northern and largest pa ...

in southern

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

and the administrative centre of the

Haskovo Province Haskovo Province ( bg, Област Хасково - ''Oblast Haskovo'', former name ''Haskovo okrug'') is a province in southern Bulgaria, neighbouring Greece and Turkey to the southeast, comprising parts of the Thracian valley along the river ...

, not far from the borders with

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

and

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

. According to Operative Program Regional Development of Bulgaria, the urban area of Haskovo is the seventh largest in Bulgaria and has a population of 184,731 inhabitants. The number of inhabitants of Town of Haskovo is 67,086 people, according to the 2021 census.https://nsi.bg/bg/content/2975/%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%81%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B5-%D0%BF%D0%BE-%D0%BE%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B0%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8-%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%89%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B8-%D0%BC%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%B6%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%B5-%D0%B8-%D0%BF%D0%BE%D0%BB The first settlement found in Haskovo is from circa 5000 BC. Haskovo celebrated its 1,000th anniversary as a town in 1985. To mark the event, a new clock tower was erected in the centre of the town. Haskovo Cove in Greenwich Island in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1 ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

, is named after the city of Haskovo.

Climate

Due to its relative proximity to the

Aegean sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi ( Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

the climate in summer is very similar to

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

, whilst in winter, especially with the winds coming from the north, the temperatures drop to the level of

continental climate Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing so ...

. The average yearly temperature is about . Winters are cold but not as snowy as the western and northern parts of the country. Summer in Haskovo begins around mid-May and lasts until October.

Etymology

The name of the town is derived from its earlier Ottoman-era name ''Hasköy'', which is a hybrid Arabic-Turkish compound meaning "special village" (Turkish ''has'' "special" via Arabic خَاصّ‎ + Turkish ''köy'' "village"). It was so named after it became the centre of an Ottoman administrative district in the region.Sahin, İlhan.
Hasköy (TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi)
'. 1997. The

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cov ...

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

name of the settlement was ''Marsa'', by which it was known until as late as 1782. By 1830, it was known by its Turkish name, ''Hasköy''. The Bulgarian (and common Slavic) placename suffix " -ovo" replaced the Turkish "köy" after the city switched to Bulgarian from Ottoman rule.

History

According to the archeologists, the area of Haskovo was originally settled about seven thousand years ago. In and around Haskovo, evidence has been preserved that confirms its long history during the

prehistoric Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The us ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

, and

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

periods. In the 9th century – during the

First Bulgarian Empire The First Bulgarian Empire ( cu, блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ, blagarysko tsesarystviye; bg, Първо българско царство) was a medieval Bulgar- Slavic and later Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Eur ...

– a fortress was built in Haskovo that soon was transformed into a town. The town was located at the centre of a sizable region between the Klokotnitsa, Harmanliyska, and

Maritsa Maritsa or Maritza ( bg, Марица ), also known as Meriç ( tr, Meriç ) and Evros ( ell, Έβρος ), is a river that runs through the Balkans in Southeast Europe. With a length of ,Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

shortly after the conquest of

Edirne Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis ( Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders ...

in 1361. During the time of

Mehmed the Conqueror Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

, Hasköy, as it was then known, was settled by around 750 people, consisting of 150 Muslim families spread across 12 neighbourhoods: Hacı Mahmud, Îsâ Fakih, Sofular, Saraç İnebey, Saraç Musa, Hacı Kayalı, Cüllâh, Hacı İsmâil, Kadı, Debbâğlar, Hacı Bayezid and Dervişan. The village acquired a largely agricultural character during most of the Ottoman period; there was also a thriving

cottage industry The putting-out system is a means of subcontracting work. Historically, it was also known as the workshop system and the domestic system. In putting-out, work is contracted by a central agent to subcontractors who complete the project via remote ...

and craftsmen such as saddlers, tanners, shoemakers, furriers and soapmakers, dyers, and chandlers made their home in Hasköy. In 1515 the population increased to 1400 people in 274 households, and in 1530 it was recorded that there was one Friday mosque (''cami'') as well as six smaller mosques in the village. In 1592, the Ottoman

Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

Koca Sinan Pasha commissioned the building of two caravanserais, two baths, shops, a mosque and an almshouse at the request of the people. According to the Austrian historian and orientalist Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall, Sinan Pasha also inaugurated the nearby Uzuncaova ( Uzundzhovo) fair, which would become famous in all of Ottoman Bulgaria. The town's importance increased in the 19th century. With its markets and fairs Hasköy became a significant centre of commerce in the

Sanjak Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ) * Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province") * Bulgarian: окръг (''okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region") * el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...

(District) of

Filibe Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...

. At the same time, an increasing number of Bulgarians and other minorities came to settle in the town. By the second half of the century the population had grown to about 6000 people, of whom 3500 were non-Muslims and only 2500 were Turks. In the 1870s Hasköy was a hotbed of revolutionary activity during the Bulgarian National Revival and subsequent Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, after which the Ottoman control of the town came to an end.

Modern era

Haskovo was part of

Eastern Rumelia Eastern Rumelia ( bg, Източна Румелия, Iztochna Rumeliya; ota, , Rumeli-i Şarkî; el, Ανατολική Ρωμυλία, Anatoliki Romylia) was an autonomous province (''oblast'' in Bulgarian, '' vilayet'' in Turkish) in the Ott ...

from 1878–1885, and was then incorporated into the autonomous

Principality of Bulgaria The Principality of Bulgaria ( bg, Княжество България, Knyazhestvo Balgariya) was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. After the Russo-Turkish War end ...

, which declared full independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1908. It was renamed Haskovo after Bulgarian independence. After the liberation from Ottoman rule in 1878, the Haskovo region became popular for high-quality tobacco production. However, presently there is no cigarette production in the region anymore after the once big

Tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

company "Haskovo-BT" closed in 2005. Currently, the biggest enterprises produce food, machinery, and textiles.

Population

The population of Haskovo was 14,191 in 1887. Since then it started growing decade by decade, mostly because of the migrants from the rural areas and the surrounding smaller towns. It reached its peak in the period 1987–1991, when the population exceeded 90,000. In December 2017, Haskovo's population was 71,214 people within the city limits. The Haskovo Municipality, with the legally affiliated adjacent villages, had a population of 87,780.National Statistical Institute - 2012

Ethnic and religious composition

According to the latest 2011 census data, the individuals declared their ethnic identity were distributed as follows: *

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely underst ...

: 54,869 (79.3%) * Turks: 12,507 (18.1%) *

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...

: 691 (1.0%) *Others: 400 (0.8%) *Indefinable: 709 (0.7%) * Undeclared: 7,221 (9.5%) Total: 76,397 In Haskovo Municipality 63,963 declared as Bulgarians, 16,890 as Turks, 3859 as Roma and 8,984 did not declare their ethnic group. Most of the 28,444 Turks (12.5%) in

are concentrated within the city and the municipality, while the Bulgarians have a higher proportion in the province than the city, numbering 180,541 (79.4%). According to the 2001 census, the Orthodox Christians are around 80% vs. around 20%

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

Culture

The most notable cultural landmarks in Haskovo are the ''Ivan Dimov'' drama theater, renovated in 2004, the Museum of History, and an art gallery. The annual Colourful Thrace Sings and Dances folk festival takes place in the nearby park Kenana. A 32-metre-high monument of the

Mother of God ''Theotokos'' ( Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or '' Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations ar ...

and the Infant

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

was erected on the Hill of Youth near Haskovo in 2003. The monument was inaugurated on 8 September on the occasion of the Nativity of Holy

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

, when the day of the town of Haskovo is celebrated. It was entered into the

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing worl ...

as the highest monument to the

in the world. Haskovo has recently invested in renovating its town center, with a variety of new sculptures and fountains erected. Municipal landmarks include the Thracian Aleksandrovo tomb as well as Uzundzhovo's Church of the Assumption, built originally as a mosque during Ottoman times. In 1395 the ''Eski cami'' (the Old Mosque) was built as one of the first in the Balkans. Its

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

is slightly inclined.

Notable natives

* Tane Nikolov (1873–1947), revolutionary * Asen Zlatarov (1885–1936),

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosop ...

* Anyu Angelov (1942), acting Minister of Defence *

Stanimir Stoilov Stanimir Stoilov ( bg, Станимир Стоилов; born 13 February 1967) is a former Bulgarian footballer and current head coach of Levski Sofia. He was the manager of Litex Lovech, the Bulgarian national team, FC Astana and the national ...

(b. 1967),

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

and football manager *

Grigor Dimitrov Grigor Dimitrov ( bg, Григор Димитров, ; born 16 May 1991) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved o ...

(b. 1991), tennis player; 2008 Wimbledon and US Open junior champion * Georgi Andreev (b. 1969), director of the National Folk Ensemble "Filip Kutev" * Ciguli (1957–2014), Turkish-romani singer and musician *

Yuri Yunakov Yuri Yunakov is a Turkish- Bulgarian Roma musician, who is famous for participating in the development of Bulgarian wedding music, and introducing it to the United States. He grew up in a Muslim family in Thrace, and started playing music as a ...

(b. 1958), Roma musician, known for participating in the development of

Bulgarian wedding music Bulgarian wedding music is a genre of ''Svatbarska muzika'' ( bg, сватбарска музика) or a " wedding music" style that evolved in the late 1960s in Bulgaria. Its popularity has spread in Europe and North America. This style of musi ...

and introducing it to the United States
Asparuh Leshnikov
– Ari (b. 1897–1978), musician *

Asen Vasilev Asen Vaskov Vasilev ( bg, Асен Васков Василев; born 9 September 1977) is a Bulgarian politician, economist, and entrepreneur who is the current Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance since 13 December 2021. He is the co-l ...

(b. 1977) acting

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

Gabriela Stoeva Gabriela Stoeva ( bg, Габриела Стоева; born 15 July 1994) is a Bulgarian badminton player specializing in doubles. Her current partner is her younger sister, Stefani Stoeva. The pair is the three-time European Champion and European ...

(b. 1994) badminton player, three-time European Champion and

European Games The European Games is a continental multi-sport event in the Olympic tradition contested by athletes from European nations and several transcontinental countries. The Games were envisioned and are governed by the European Olympic Committees ...

gold medalist as well

Places to visit

Monuments

* Monument to Captain Petko Voivoda * Monument to the Unknown Warrior * Monument to the Haskovo Revivalists * Monument to the 10th Rhodope Infantry Regiment * Monument of Envy * Monument to the Haskovo Revivalists * Monument to the

Victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...

* Monument to Dimitar Ivanov-Litso

Sacred architecture

* The monument "Holy Mother of God" entered the

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

as the world's tallest statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary with the Infant. The monument was erected with respect, love and gratitude to the Mother of God. It was opened in 2003 with the consecration of water by Metropolitan Arseniy. In 2005 it was entered in the Guinness Book of World Records, and since 2009 it is in the list of the Hundred National Tourist Sites of Bulgaria. * The bell tower - with impressive dimensions and unforgettable views rises above the town of Haskovo. The almost 29-meter-high bell tower was erected in 2010 next to the Holy Mother of God monument and quickly took its place in the resulting architectural ensemble. * The Old Mosque (Eski Mosque) is the earliest mosque in the Bulgarian lands. It was built immediately after the invasion of the Ottoman Turks in Bulgaria, in the year 797 AH (1395 AD). In 1968 the Eski Mosque was declared a cultural monument. Currently, the mosque is significantly dug into the ground (probably due to the rising level of the surrounding streets). * The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin in the village of Uzundzhovo, near Haskovo, is unique not only in its architecture, but also in the history it tells. Created as a Christian temple, it was destroyed by the Ottoman Empire and a mosque was built in its place. At the beginning of the 20th century, Turkey returned the property to Bulgaria and then began the reconstruction of the mosque into a church. In 2007 the church was restored mainly by the Municipality of Haskovo. During the restoration, two medieval inscriptions in Arabic with religious and philosophical themes were found, which have not yet been precisely dated. In the last century, the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the village of Uzundzhovo was declared a cultural monument.

Twin towns – sister cities

Haskovo is twinned with: *

, Turkey * Enguera, Spain *

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Shatura Shatura (russian: Шату́ра) is a town and the administrative center of Shatursky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on Lake Svyatoye east of Moscow. Population: History A settlement on the site of modern Shatura has existed ...

, Russia * Veszprém, Hungary *

Viseu Viseu () is a city and municipality in the Centro Region of Portugal and the capital of the district of the same name, with a population of 100,000 inhabitants, and center of the Viseu Dão Lafões intermunipical community, with 267,633 inhabi ...

, Portugal

Economy

The branch structure of the economy of Haskovo municipality is diverse and consists of Bulgarian and international companies of different sizes. These companies sell their products in both foreign and domestic markets. The future development of the municipality is related to the full use of natural and climatic conditions in the field of agriculture - efforts to develop promising market-oriented agricultural production, creation of agricultural consulting centers and others. The historical features and the rich culture of the region, in combination with the well-developed transport and tourist infrastructure, are a favorable factor for the development of tourism. The partnership relations established by the municipality with cities from England, Austria, France, Greece, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Portugal, the US, Russia, Serbia, Belarus also have a valuable contribution in this respect.

Gallery

Image:Haskovo 37.JPG, New office building Image:Haskovo2.jpg, City centre Image:Haskovo_15.JPG, Building Image:Haskovo.jpg, Haskovo municipality hall Image:Haskovo as seen from Virgin Mary monument.jpg, View from Virgin Mary monument Image:Monument-of-Virgin-Mary-Haskovo.jpg, The Virgin Mary monument