Lom ( bg, Лом ) is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in northwestern
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 Macedon ...
, part of
Montana Province
Montana Province ( bg, Област Монтана, transliterated: ''Oblast Montana'') is a province in northwestern Bulgaria, bordering Serbia in the southwest and Romania in the north. It spreads its area between the Danube river and the Balka ...
, situated on the right bank of the
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
, close to the estuary of the
Lom River
The Lom ( , ) is a river in northwestern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the Danube flowing into it 1 km east of the town of Lom.
The river takes its source from the foot of Midzhur (2,168 m), the highest peak of western Stara Planina, on ...
. It is the administrative centre of the eponymous
Lom Municipality
Lom Municipality ( bg, Община Лом) is a frontier municipality ('' obshtina'') in Montana Province, Northwestern Bulgaria, located along the right bank of Danube river in the Danubian Plain. It is named after its administrative centre ...
. The town is north of
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
, southeast of
Vidin
Vidin ( bg, Видин, ; Old Romanian: Diiu) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as o ...
, north of
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
and west of
Kozloduy
Kozloduy ( ) is a town in northwest Bulgaria, located in Vratsa Province, on the Danube River. The city was liberated from Ottoman rule on 23 November 1877 by the Romanian Army under the command of the Imperial Russian Army. Kozloduy is best kno ...
. It is the second most important Bulgarian port on the Danube after
Ruse
Ruse may refer to:
Places
*Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria
**Ruse Municipality
** Ruse Province
** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency
*Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia
* Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...
.
Geography
The town of Lom is located near the mouth of the eponymous river Lom. Its development as a large river port center, second in importance to Bulgaria after
Ruse
Ruse may refer to:
Places
*Ruse, Bulgaria, a major city of Bulgaria
**Ruse Municipality
** Ruse Province
** 19th MMC – Ruse, a constituency
*Ruše, a town and municipality in north-eastern Slovenia
* Ruše, Žalec, a small settlement in east-ce ...
, is determined by the fact that it is the closest port to the capital.
History
Antiquity and Middle Ages
Lom was founded by the
Thracians
The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European languages, Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. ...
under the name of ''Artanes'' in Antiquity. After the
Romans
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 lette ...
called the fortress and the town ''Almus'', from where the name of the today's city and of the Lom River comes.
There are no reports proving that there existed a big settlement in the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
. It was not until
Ottoman rule
Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to:
Governments and dynasties
* Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924
* Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...
that it enlarged but for a long time it was under the shadow of the dominant towns of Vidin,
Nikopol and
Silistra
Silistra ( bg, Силистра ; tr, Silistre; ro, Silistra) is a town in Northeastern Bulgaria. The town lies on the southern bank of the lower Danube river, and is also the part of the Romanian border where it stops following the Danube. Sil ...
. It is assumed that the Ottoman village was founded in 1695 by
Kara Mustafa
Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha ( ota, مرزيفونلى قره مصطفى پاشا, tr, Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Paşa; "Mustafa Pasha the Courageous of Merzifon"; 1634/1635 – 25 December 1683) was an Ottoman nobleman, military figure and G ...
and
Murad Bey
Murad Bey Mohammed ( 1750 – 22 April 1801) was an Egyptian Mamluk chieftain ( Bey), cavalry commander and joint ruler of Egypt with Ibrahim Bey. He is often remembered as being a cruel and extortionate ruler, but an energetic courageous fighter ...
, who were defeated at
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
in 1683 and who came here sailing rafts along the Danube.
Ottoman rule and Bulgarian National Revival
The name ''Lom Palanka'' was mentioned for the first time in 1704. The settlement then called ''Palanka'' stood between village and town in size and importance. In 1798 Lom suffered from brigand raids. With the development of shipping along the Danube after 1830, the importance of the town grew. The road to Sofia contributed to its progress and turned it into a main export port to Vienna (
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
). By 1869 there were 120 shops, 148 trade offices, 175 food shops, 34 coffee bars, six hotels and two mills. The town was centred on the old ''Kale'' (fortress), which was entered through three ''kapii'' (gates) — Vidinska, Belogradchishka, Sofiyska. The tradesmen from Lom offered goods at the biggest fairs in the region and beyond. In 1880 there were 7,500 inhabitants in the town.
Lom is proud of its traditions from the period of the
Bulgarian National Revival
The Bulgarian National Revival ( bg, Българско национално възраждане, ''Balgarsko natsionalno vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and tr, Bulgar ulus canlanması) sometimes called the Bu ...
. During the
national revival
National revival or national awakening is a period of ethnic self-consciousness that often precedes a political movement for national liberation but that can take place at a time when independence is politically unrealistic. In the history of Eur ...
, the first community centre in Bulgaria (1856) was founded in the town, the first women's society in the country was also established in 1858 and one of the first theatre performances took place in the town.
Krastyu Pishurka, a noted educator, also worked in Lom.
Until the Second World War it was a major market town. In 1943, the Bulgarian government transported several thousand Jewish captives from Bulgarian-occupied territory in
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 with ...
and
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
to Lom to be embarked on boats bound for
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
in
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, from where they were taken to be exterminated in
Treblinka
Treblinka () was an extermination camp, built and operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland during World War II. It was in a forest north-east of Warsaw, south of the village of Treblinka in what is now the Masovian Voivodeship. The camp ...
. Lom was the main hub for the first deportations of victims of the Holocaust from the Axis-aligned Balkans. After 1944 the industry developed — sugar factory, can factory, grain industry. It became a port for the northwestern part of Bulgaria.
Neighbourhoods
Neighbourhoods of Lom include:
*Boruna
*Humata
*Kaletata
*Lyulyatsite
*Mladenovo
*Mladost
*Momin brod
*Stadiona
*Zornitsa
Landmarks
*Plazha ( bg, Плажа) - the 500 m. long pebbled beach at the bank of the Danube River, 3 km. from the centre of the city
*Town Museum of History, housed in the building of the old town-hall.
*Preserved foundations of the antique fortress Almus
*Postoyanstvo, the oldest community centre in Bulgaria
*Building of the former School of Pedagogy
*The Church of Boruna
*Monument of Tseko Voivoda (1807–1881), a participant in the battles for liberation of
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
and proclaimed by the Serbian government to be a
voyvoda
Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the ...
(revolutionary leader)
Religion
The majority of the population of Lom is
Christian Orthodox. The second biggest religious group is
Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
-
adventists
Adventism is a branch of Protestant Christianity that believes in the imminent Second Coming (or the "Second Advent") of Jesus Christ. It originated in the 1830s in the United States during the Second Great Awakening when Baptist preacher Wil ...
and
baptists
Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...
.
Notable people
Born in Lom
![Музей лом](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/87/%D0%9C%D1%83%D0%B7%D0%B5%D0%B9_%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%BC.jpg)
*
Alexander Belev (? – 1944), politician
*
Alexander Raichev
Alexander Raichev ( bg, Александър Райчев) (11 April 1922 – 28 October 2003) was a Bulgarian music educator and composer.
Raichev was born in Lom, Bulgaria, and studied with Pancho Vladigerov at the State Musical Academy in ...
, composer
*
Alexander Chirkov
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants li ...
(1938 – 2020), doctor, performed the first heart transplant in Bulgaria (1986)
*
Andrej Andreev (1943 –), doctor
*
Anton Tornjov
Anton may refer to: People
*Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name
*Anton (surname)
Places
*Anton Municipality, Bulgaria
**Anton, Sofia Province, a village
*Antón District, Panama
**Antón, a town and capital of th ...
(1868 – 1942), architect
*
Asen Parteniev
Asen may refer to:
Places
* Asen (state), a polity involved in late 17th-century wars in modern Ghana
* Asen, Stara Zagora Province, a village in Pavel Banya Municipality, Bulgaria
Other
* Asen dynasty, a dynasty which ruled the Second Bulgarian ...
(1876 – 1905), revolutionary
*
Bojcho Bojchev (1902 – 1971), doctor
*
Bojan Smilov
Bojan (Serbian Cyrillic and Macedonian Cyrillic alphabet, Macedonian: Бојан; Ukrainian Cyrillic alphabet, Ukrainian, Russian Cyrillic alphabet, Russian and Bulgarian Cyrillic: Боян, transcribed ''Boyan'') is a Slavic given name, derived f ...
(1885 – 1947), politician
*
Cvetan Minkov (1891 – 1967), writer
*
Cvetan Todorov (1899 – 1962), linguist
![Читалище лом](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/%D0%A7%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%89%D0%B5_%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%BC.jpg)
*
Cenko Tsvetanov (1904 – 1960), writer and bibliographer
*
Chavdar Chakarov Chavdar may refer to:
Places
* Chavdar Municipality, Sofia Province, Bulgaria
* Chavdar, Sofia Province, a village in Bulgaria
* Chavdar, Smolyan Province, a village in Bulgaria
* Chavdar Peninsula, Antarctica
People with the given name
* Chavdar ...
(1977 – 2005), writer
*
Violeta Minkova
Violeta is the form of the female given name Violet (given name), Violet in use in several languages. It can mean:
People
* Violeta (given name), female given name
Movies
* Violeta Went to Heaven (Spanish: ''Violeta se fue a los cielos''), a 20 ...
(1932 – 1992), actress
*
Vladimir Shkodrov (1930 – 2010), astronomer
*
Georgi Ivanov, revolutionary
*
Georgi Chaushov Georgi may refer to:
* Georgi (given name)
* Georgi (surname)
See also
*Georgy (disambiguation)
*Georgii (disambiguation)
{{disambig ...
(1938 –), painter and animator
*
Dimitar Marinov (1846 – 1940), public figure
*
Ekaterina Blagoeva (1933 –) geographer and landscape scientist
*
Emil Andreev
Emil Andreev (Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: Емил Андреев) (born 1 September 1956, Lom, Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian people, Bulgarian author, playwright, and novelist.
Biography
Emil Andreev graduated from English Language Studies from ...
(1956 –), writer
*
![Църква Лом](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/%D0%A6%D1%8A%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B2%D0%B0_%D0%9B%D0%BE%D0%BC.jpg)
Emil Minkov
Emil or Emile may refer to:
Literature
*''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
*Émile (novel), ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life
*''Emil an ...
(1930 – 2003), musician
*
Igor Damjanov
Igor may refer to:
People
* Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name
* Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler
* Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling
* ...
(1953 –), politician
*
Iskra Fidosova
''Iskra'' ( rus, Искра, , ''the Spark'') was a political newspaper of Russian socialist emigrants established as the official organ of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP).
History
Due to political repression under Tsar Ni ...
(1971 –), politician
*
Jordan Gavrilov
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; Romanization of Arabic, tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; Romanization of Arabic, tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levan ...
(1904 – 1997), professor
*
Jana Jazova
Jana may refer to:
Entertainment
* Jana (film), ''Jana'' (film), a 2004 Tamil film by Shaji Kailas
* Jana (singer) (born 1974), Serbian singer
* Jana (Native American singer), née Jana Mashonee
* ''Jana of the Jungle'', animated series created b ...
(1912 – 1974), writer
*
Kiril Drangov
The male name Kiril (or Кирил or Кирилл) is a common first name in the Orthodox Slavic world, in particular in Bulgaria, North Macedonia, and Russia. It is also well known in Greece but in different forms like Kyriakos. (Note that in m ...
(1901 – 1946), revolutionary
*
Marion Koleva (1956 –), journalist
*
Marian Ognjanov (1988 –), footballer
*
Milko Bechev
Milko may refer to:
*Milkó, a commune in Vrancea County, Romania
*Milko (name)
*Milko (Swedish cooperative), Sweden's largest native producer of dairy products
* Somebody who operated a milk run
See also
*Milka (given name), the female form o ...
(1926 – 1988), architect
*
Milcho Goranov
Milcho Goranov ( bg, Милчо Горанов, 6 November 1928 – 28 July 2008) was a Bulgarian footballer who played as a defender, most notably for Slavia Sofia. Goranov also earned 21 caps for Bulgaria. He competed in the men's tourna ...
(1928 – 2008), footballer,
bronze medalist
A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...
*
Mihail Kantardzhiev (1910 – 2002), chess player
*
Mihail Lazarov, revolutionary
*
Nikola Logofetov
Nikola () is a given name which, like Nicholas, is a version of the Greek ''Nikolaos'' (Νικόλαος). It is common as a masculine given name in the South Slavic countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Monteneg ...
(1880 – 1945), politician and lawyer
*
Nikola Parvanov
Nikola () is a given name which, like Nicholas, is a version of the Greek ''Nikolaos'' (Νικόλαος). It is common as a masculine given name in the South Slavs, South Slavic countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedon ...
(1837 – 1872), bookman
*
Obreten Evstatiev (1891 – 1946), conductor
*
Petar Berkovski Petar ( sr, Петар, bg, Петър) is a South Slavic languages, South Slavic masculine given name, their variant of the Biblical name Petros (given name), Petros cognate to Peter (given name), Peter.
Derivative forms include Pero (given name) ...
(1852 – 1892), revolutionary
*
Parvan Draganov Parvan may refer to:
*Vasile Pârvan, Romanian historian and archaeologist
*Parvān Province, Afghanistan
* Parvan, Iran, a village in Qazvin Province
* Parvan, Targovishte Province, a village in Targovishte Province
Targovishte Province ( bg, ...
(1890 – 1945), officer and politician
*
Simeon Pironkov
Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical Hebrew, Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated as Shimon. In Greek it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon.
Meani ...
(1927 – 2000), compositor
*
Todor Borov (1901 – 1933), bibliographer
*
Todor Jonchov Todor (Bulgarian language, Bulgarian, and sr, Тодор/Todor) is a Bulgarian, Macedonian language, Macedonian and Serbian language, Serbian given name, a local rendering of the name Theodore (given name), Theodore. The Hungarian language, Hungari ...
(1859 – 1940), teacher and public figure
*
Todor Petrov
Todor Petrov (born 19 March 1960) is a Macedonian nationalist. He is president of the World Macedonian Congress (WMC). Petrov is a councillor in the electorate of Gazi Baba.
Early life and education
Petrov was born on 19 March 1960 in Gevgel ...
(1919 – 1992), painter
*
Todor Pironkov Todor (Bulgarian, and sr, Тодор/Todor) is a Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbian given name, a local rendering of the name Theodore. The Hungarian form of the name is rendered similarly as ''Tódor''. It is the most common name in Bulgarian vi ...
(1891 – 1962), artist
![Louis-Emil Eyer Balkan war](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e1/Louis-Emil_Eyer_Balkan_war.jpg)
*
Ralcho Trashliev (1930 – 2014), psychiatrist, pedagogy professor
Died in Lom
*
Krastjo Pishurka (1823 – 1875), national awakener
*
Miron Iliev
Miron or Mirón may refer to:
* Miron (name)
* Miron (surname)
* El Mirón, a municipality in Ávila, Castile and León, Spain
* El Mirón Cave, in the upper Asón River valley, Cantabria, Spain
* 17049 Miron, 1 minor planet
See also
* Miron ...
(? – 1914), icon painter
Others, connected with Lom
*
Louis-Emil Eyer (1865 – 1916), swiss, co-founder of the sport movement in Bulgaria, physical education teacher
*
Jonas Basanavičius
Jonas Basanavičius (, pl, Jan Basanowicz; 23 November 1851 – 16 February 1927) was an activist and proponent of the Lithuanian National Revival. He participated in every major event leading to the independent Lithuanian state and is often give ...
(1851 – 1927), Lithuanian popular figure
*
Dimitar Spisarevski
Dimitar Spisarevski ( bg, Димитър Списаревски) (19 July 1916 – 20 December 1943) was a Bulgarian fighter pilot known for taking down an American bomber by ramming it during the bombing of Sofia in World War II.
Born in Dobri ...
(1916 – 1943), flighter
Honour
Lom Peak
Lom Peak ( bg, връх Лом, vrah Lom, ) is a peak rising to 870 m in Friesland Ridge, Tangra Mountains, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica which overlooks Ruen Icefall to the north. It is named after the Bulgarian t ...
on
Livingston Island
Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of Antarctic islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was the first land discovered south of 60 ...
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 195 ...
,
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 contine ...
is named after Lom.
Municipality
The municipality of Lom consists of the following 9 villages plus the town of Lom itself, which is the administrative centre of the municipality.
Twin towns – sister cities
Lom is
twinned with:
*
Băilești
Băilești () is a city in Dolj County, Oltenia, Romania, with a population of 17,537. One village, Balasan, is administered by the city.
The Romanian actor and comedian Amza Pellea and Romanian actor and theatre actor Marcel Iureș were born he ...
, Romania
*
Debar
Debar ( mk, Дебaр ; Albanian: ''Dibër''/''Dibra'' or ''Dibra e Madhe;'' ) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, near the border with Albania, off the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality. Debar has an ...
, North Macedonia
*
Pantelej (Niš), Serbia
*
Moudania, Greece
References
External links
The Official Site of Lom
{{Authority control
Towns in Bulgaria
Populated places on the Danube
Populated places in Montana Province
Port cities and towns in Bulgaria