Mezdra ( bg, Мездра ) is a town 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

Vratsa Province Vratsa Province ( bg, Област Враца ''Oblast Vraca'', former name Okrug, Vraca okrug) is a Bulgarian province located in the northwestern part of the country, between Danube river in the north and Stara Planina mountain in the south. I ...

. It is located on the left bank of the

Iskar River The Iskar ( bg, Искър, ; la, Oescus) is a right tributary of the Danube. With a length of 368 km it is the longest river that runs entirely within Bulgaria.Balkan Mountains The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border betw ...

History

Although the area around it has been inhabited continuously since

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 use of ...

times, Mezdra remained a small village of 86 residents (1881 census) and continued to decline (76 residents in 1888) until 1893, when the construction of the

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 ...

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

railway began, with workers from all around the country arriving to update the infrastructure. As the village became an important railway junction with the opening of the railway on 20 February 1897, its population grew substantially. Mezdra had a population of 311 in 1900 and 1,015 in 1920. Although it formally remained a village until proclaimed a town on 31 August 1950, Mezdra acquired the appearance of a small town through the work of architects who studied in

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...

and established the Western European style in the village. Today, Mezdra is a town of approximately 10,896 residentsBulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian towns in 2009
and serves as a vital rail link between Sofia and northern/western regions of Bulgaria (including the Sofia-Varna route, linking the capital with Bulgaria's 3rd largest city and popular Black Sea destination). Industries include stone cutting, brickmaking and beer production.

Mezdra Point Mezdra Point ( bg, нос Мездра, ‘Nos Mezdra’ \'nos 'mez-dra\) is the ice-free northeast entrance point of Brauro Cove on the northwest coast of Snow Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. It is situated 1.41 km southw ...

on Snow 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 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 Mezdra.

Geography

Municipality

Mezdra is also the seat of Mezdra municipality (part of Vratsa Province), which includes the following 27 villages: * Bodenets * Brusen * Darmantsi *

Dolna Kremena Dolna Kremena is a village located in Mezdra Municipality, within Bulgaria's Vratsa Province, and is located approximately 4 kilometers from the town of Mezdra. Places of interest include one medieval church, now in ruins, and one more recently co ...

Eliseyna Eliseina ( bg, Елисейна) is a village in Mezdra Municipality in Vratsa Province, northwestern Bulgaria. it has 390 inhabitants. :bg:ЕСГРАОН The village is situated on the northern slopes of Stara Planina in a region rich in coppe ...

* Gorna Beshovitsa * Gorna Kremena * Ignatitsa *

Kalen Kalen is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Kalen Ballage (born 1995), American football player *Kalen Damessi (born 1990), Togolese international footballer *Kalen DeBoer, American football coach and former player *Kalen Porter ( ...

* Krapets * Kreta * Lik *

Lyutibrod Lyutibrod ( bg, Лютиброд) is a village in Mezdra Municipality in Vratsa Province, western Bulgaria. As of 2007 it has a population of 452. The village is situated in the northern end of the Iskar Gorge, on the right bank of the river of t ...

* Lyutidol * Moravitsa * Oselna * Oslen Krivodol * Ochindol * Rebarkovo *

Ruska Bela Ruska Bela ( bg, Руска Бела) is a village in northwestern Bulgaria, part of Mezdra Municipality, Vratsa Province Vratsa Province ( bg, Област Враца ''Oblast Vraca'', former name Vraca okrug) is a Bulgarian province located ...

* Staro Selo * Tipchenitsa * Tsakonitsa * Tsarevets * Varbeshnitsa * Zlidol * Zverino

Twin towns – sister cities

Mammola Mammola is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria in the Italian region Calabria, located about southwest of Catanzaro and about northeast of Reggio Calabria. Mammola borders the following municipalities: Agna ...

, Italy

Gallery

File:Mezdra-church-St-George-1.jpg, Church of St George File:Mezdra-fortress-1.jpg, Ruins of the ancient and medieval Mezdra Fortress File:Mezdra-war-memorial-1.jpg, War memorial File:Mezdra-Railway-station.jpg, Railway station

References

External links

Mezdra municipality website
Populated places in Vratsa Province {{Vratsa-geo-stub