Madan ( bg, Мадан ) is a town in
Smolyan Province, the very south of
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 ...
in the Yellow Share of the
Rhodope Mountains. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous
Madan Municipality. In 2019, the town has a population of 6,597 inhabitants.
[Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - towns in 2009]
Geography
Madan is a part of Ardino Ridge, sloping down to the northeast between the rivers
Arda and
Varbitsa. In the central part of the Yellow Share rise the peaks Buchovitsa (1404 m), Veternitsa (1372 m) and Petrovitsa (1309 m).
The end of the ridge is Alada Peak (1241 m). From all sides the Yellow Share is separated by mountain-spurs, whose segmentations gradually slope down and vanish into the valleys of the rivers. The river system of the region is presented by the basins of the upper reaches of some of the longer rivers – to the north the basin of the Arda River with the headers Elhovska and Chepinska Rivers.
History and population
Madan is an ancient ore-miners' settlement, the extraction of lead ore having begun around 5th-4th century BC.
Most of the town's population consists of local
Pomaks
Pomaks ( bg, Помаци, Pomatsi; el, Πομάκοι, Pomáki; tr, Pomaklar) are Bulgarian-speaking Muslims inhabiting northwestern Turkey, Bulgaria and northeastern Greece. The c. 220,000 strong ethno-confessional minority in Bulgaria is ...
and a minority of
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
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 unders ...
.
Honour
Madan Saddle on
Smith Island,
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 ...
is named after Madan.
References
External links
Official site of the Municipality of MadanOther site for the Municipality of MadanPictures from Madan
{{Authority control
Towns in Bulgaria
Cities and towns in the Rhodopes
Populated places in Smolyan Province