Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park ( bg, Природен парк „Врачански Балкан“) is a Nature Park in

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 ...

with an area of 30129.9 ha established on 21 December 1989.

Park administration

Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park is administered by a directorate subordinated to the Executive Forest Agency of the Ministry of Environment and Water of Bulgaria.

Geography

Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park is situated in the municipalities

Vratsa Vratsa ( bg, Враца ) is the largest city in northwestern Bulgaria and the administrative and economic centre of the municipality of Vratsa and Vratsa district. It is located about 112 km north of Sofia, 40 km southeast of Montana. ...

Krivodol Krivodol ( bg, Криводол, ; "crooked ravine") is a town in northwestern Bulgaria, part of Vratsa Province. It is the administrative centre of Krivodol municipality, which lies in the western part of Vratsa Province, halfway between Vratsa a ...

Mezdra Mezdra ( bg, Мездра ) is a town in northwestern Bulgaria, part of Vratsa Province. It is located on the left bank of the Iskar River just north of its gorge through the Balkan Mountains. History Although the area around it has been inhabite ...

Varshets Varshets ( bg, Вършец, variously transliterated; ) is a spa town in Montana Province, northwestern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Varshets Municipality. As of December 2019, its population is 5,444. The town ...

, and

Svoge Svoge ( bg, Своге, ) is a town in western Bulgaria, part of Sofia Province. It is located in the gorge of the Iskar River, at the place where the mountains Mala planina, Golema planina and Ponor meet, 40 km north of the capital Sofia. Svoge is ...

Biology

Flora

The flora of Vranchanski Balkan Nature Park includes ca. 1100

vascular plant Vascular plants (), also called tracheophytes () or collectively Tracheophyta (), form a large group of land plants ( accepted known species) that have lignified tissues (the xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant. They al ...

s, which accounts for ca. 28% of Bulgarian flora. In the Nature Park live

endemic species Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

, among which are the scarcely disseminated in Bulgaria Campanula jordanovii,

Centranthus kellereri ''Centranthus'' is a flowering plant genus comprising herbs and subshrubs native to Southern Europe. It is in the family Caprifoliaceae. There are about twelve species in the genus. Some ''Centranthus'' are known as introduced species in other pa ...

, Chamaecytisus kovacevii, Silene velcevii, as well as

and Silene velcevii, which account for ca. 50% of their global population. Among the endemic species, which can be found also in other Balkan countries are

Acanthus balcanicus ''Acanthus balcanicus'', is an endemism, endemic herbaceous perennial plant in the genus ''Acanthus (plant), Acanthus'', native to the Balcans, Balkan peninsula, up to Dalmatia. This plant is also cultivated in many European and American gardens. ...

Achillea ageratifolia ''Achillea ageratifolia'', the Balkan yarrow or Greek yarrow, is a species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae, native to Greece and Bulgaria. Growing to tall and broad, it is a compact herbaceous perennial. It is a highly varia ...

Armeria rumelica ''Armeria'' is a genus of flowering plants. These plants are sometimes known as "lady's cushion", "thrift", or "sea pink" (the latter because as they are often found on coastlines). The genus counts over a hundred species, mostly native to the ...

, Centaurea chrysolepis, Cephalaria flava, Cerastium moesiacum, Crocus veluchensis, Dianthus cruentus, Digitalis viridiflora, Erysimum comatum,

Gentianella bulgarica ''Gentianella'' is a plant genus in the Gentianaceae, gentian family (Gentianaceae). Plants of this genus are known commonly as dwarf gentians. there were about 256 species in this genus. They are herbs that occur in alpine and arctic habitat t ...

Iris reichenbachii ''Iris reichenbachii'' is a perennial bearded iris species native to Bulgaria, Montenegro, Serbia, North Macedonia, and into northeast Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe ...

Lilium jankae ''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...

, Pedicularis grisebachii,

Peucedanum aegopodioides ''Peucedanum'' is a genus of flowering plant in the carrot family, Apiaceae. Species It contains the following species: * '' Peucedanum abbreviatum'' E. Mey. * '' Peucedanum acaule'' R.H.Shan & M.L.Sheh * '' Peucedanum achaicum'' Halácsy * '' ...

Sesleria latifolia ''Sesleria'' is a genus of perennial plants in the grass family. The are native to Eurasia and North Africa. They are found in Albania, Austria, Baleares, Baltic States, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Corsica, Czechoslovakia, East Aegean Islands, F ...

, Silene sendtneri, and Vicia truncatula. 13 species are included in the " Red book of Republic Bulgaria". The territory of the park is included in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

network of nature protection areas

Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectively ...

Fauna

In Vrachanski Balkan Nature Park there are around 1231 different

invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

. It is an important region for

butterflies Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

in Bulgaria. The

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

s in the Nature Park are 11, and the 15 reptiles. Among them 20 are protected by law, all are included in the Bern Convention. From the over 180

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

s species in the Nature Park, 157 are protected by law, and 38 are included in the "Red book of Republic Bulgaria". There are 36 mammals species in the Nature Park, among which 9 are protected on national level, 20 - on European level and 9 on international level. Some of them are

forest dormouse The forest dormouse (''Dryomys nitedula'') is a species of rodent in the family Gliridae found in eastern Europe, the Balkans and parts of western Central Asia. It is categorized as being of least concern in the ''IUCN List of Threatened Specie ...

southern white-breasted hedgehog The southern white-breasted hedgehog (''Erinaceus concolor''), sometimes referred to as white-bellied hedgehog or white-chested hedgehog, is a hedgehog native to Eastern Europe and Southwestern Asia. Description It is very similar in lifestyle an ...

European badger The European badger (''Meles meles''), also known as the Eurasian badger, is a badger species in the family Mustelidae native to almost all of Europe. It is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List as it has a wide range and a large stabl ...

European otter The Eurasian otter (''Lutra lutra''), also known as the European otter, Eurasian river otter, common otter, and Old World otter, is a semiaquatic mammal native to Eurasia. The most widely distributed member of the otter subfamily (Lutrinae) of th ...

European polecat The European polecat (''Mustela putorius''), also known as the common polecat, black polecat, or forest polecat, is a species of mustelid native to western Eurasia and North Africa. It is of a generally dark brown colour, with a pale underbelly ...

wildcat The wildcat is a species complex comprising two small wild cat species: the European wildcat (''Felis silvestris'') and the African wildcat (''F. lybica''). The European wildcat inhabits forests in Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus, while the ...

, and

roe deer The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

. In the Nature Park live 22 of the 33

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

species, which live in Bulgaria.

References

{{Protected areas of Bulgaria Balkan mountains Nature parks in Bulgaria Protected areas established in 1989 1989 establishments in Bulgaria Natura 2000 in Bulgaria