Vratsa ( bg, Враца ) is the largest city 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 ...

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. Situated at the foot of the Vrachanski Balkan, the town is near numerous caves, waterfalls and rock formations. The most famous of them are the Ledenika Cave, Skaklya Waterfall and the Vratsata Pass. The Vratsa History Museum holds the Rogozen treasure, which is the largest Thracian treasure. Botev Days are held annually in the city, culminating in the rally-dawn on June 1, held at Hristo Botev Square, as well as the national worship on June 2 at Mount Okolchitsa. Vratsa's motto is "A city like the Balkan - ancient and young".

Name

The name comes from the Vratsata Pass nearby, and derives from the Slavic word ''vrata'' ("gate") + the Slavic diminutive placename suffix ''-itsa'', "little gate", used to translate the Latin name ''Valve'' ("double door").

Geography

The city of Vratsa is located in the foothills of "Vrachanski Balkan" (Vratsa Mountain), on the banks of Leva River, 116 km from the national capital

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 ...

. The area has diverse natural features. Several protected natural attractions and historical monuments are located on the territory of the Vratsa State Forestry.

Climate

The climate is humid continental, similar to that of

. The average annual temperature is about . Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

subtype for this climate is " Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/

Oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

Population

The number of the residents of the city reached its peak in the period 1990-1991 when it exceeded 85,000. As of February 2011, the town has a population of 60,692 inhabitants.National Statistical Institute - Main Towns Census 2011
The following table presents the change of the population after 1887.

Ethnic, linguistic 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 understo ...

: 53,275 (97.3%) *

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 ...

: 1,045 (1.9%) *

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...

: 54 (0.1%) *Others: 185 (0.3%) *Indefinable: 216 (0.4%) **Undeclared: 5,937 (9.8%) Total: 60,692 The ethnic composition of

Vratsa Municipality 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. ...

is 64334 Bulgarians and 2215 Gypsies among others.

History

Vratsa is an ancient city found by ancient

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.. ...

. Vratsa was called ''Valve'' ("door of a fortress") by 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 ...

due to a narrow passage where the main gate of the city fortress was located. Nowadays, this passage is the symbol of Vratsa, and is shown on the town's Coat of arms. After the

fall of Rome The fall of the Western Roman Empire (also called the fall of the Roman Empire or the fall of Rome) was the loss of central political control in the Western Roman Empire, a process in which the Empire failed to enforce its rule, and its vas ...

, Vratsa became part of the

Eastern Roman Empire 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 ...

(Byzantium). At the end of the 6th century AD, Vratsa was populated by the South Slavic tribes. Even if they came from

Pannonia Pannonia (, ) was a province of the Roman Empire bounded on the north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia. Pannonia was located in the territory that is now wes ...

and

Dacia Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus r ...

on the north, the town remained under Byzantine rule. In the 7th century, the

Bulgars The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomad ...

and the Slavs found 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 Europ ...

and the Slavic Vratsa became part of it. The city grew into important strategic location because of its proximity to the South State border. Vratsa became famous for its goldsmiths and silversmiths production and trade, high-quality earthenware and military significance. In the 8th century, the Bulgarian army captured

, which led to the decreasing of Vratsa's importance because of the better strategic position of Sofia, its more developed economy and larger size. But Vratsa was again key for the resistance against the Byzantine, Serbian and Magyar invasions 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 ...

. On 1 May

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

in the village of Sgorigrad, a Mir-Plakanista mine tailings dam collapsed, causing a flood of mud and debris that killed 488 people. It remains one of the biggest disasters in Vratsa since the September 30, 1923 fire and the Anglo-American bombing of January 23, 1944.

Tourism

The mountains and forests are suitable for development of different types of tourism — hunting and fishing, skiing, speleology, delta-gliding, photo-tourism, etc. Good opportunities exist for exercising different sport activities such as mountaineering, bicycle sport and for those who enjoy being thrilled can go for hanggliding and paragliding, or set out for carting, buggy and motocross racing tracks. Conditions are provided for rest and entertainment — children's and adults' swimming pools, water cycles, discos, bars, restaurants, excellent hotel facilities and good service. To accommodate winter sports enthusiasts, there are rope lines near the Parshevitsa Chalet, and the skiing tracks are said to be well maintained. There are also a Museum of History and an Ethnographic and Revival Complex.

Climate

Vratsa has a humid continental climate (''Dfa'').

Main sights

Ledenika cave

Ledenika Ledenika ( bg, Леденика, English: icy or glacial) is a cave in the Northwestern parts of the Balkan Mountains, 16 km away from the Bulgarian city of Vratsa. Its entrance is approximately 830 m above sea level. The cave features an abu ...

is the most frequently visited Bulgarian cave.
Ledenika is located in the Stresherski part of the Vratsa mountain. Its entrance being at 830m above sea level. It features an abundance of galleries and impressive karst formations including stalactites and stalagmites, dating back a thousand years. The cave is about 300m long and contains ten separate halls. The cave is part of the 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria

Vratsata Gorge

Vratsata Gorge – the highest cliffs on the Balkan Peninsula (400 meters high).
Vratsata Gorge is situated in Vratsa Mountain. The area is easily accessible from Vratsa. The limestone of Vratsata Central Wall and the other rocks offer many possibilities for climbing and alpinism, connected by more than 70

alpine route An alpine route is a trail or climbing route through difficult terrain in high mountains such as the Alps, sometimes with no obvious path. In the Alps, the Alpine clubs define and mark an ''alpine route'', also called ''alpinweg'' or ''alpinwande ...

s of all categories of difficulty.

Skaklya waterfall

Skaklya waterfall - highest temporary waterfall in Bulgaria and the Balkans - 141 meters.

Regional historical museum

Regional historical museum in Vratsa preserves the Rogozen Treasure - the biggest Thracian treasure that was ever discovered on the territory of Bulgaria
The main building of the museum houses several exhibitions. * Prehistory Hall * Antiquity Hall * The Middle Ages Hall * The Thracian Treasures Hall * The Rogozen Treasure Hall * Hristo Botev exhibition Hall * New History Hall * Stone arc Hall * Lapidarium.

Panoramic Views

Transport

The strategic location of Vratsa is determined by the major rail and road corridors. Its geographical position became even more important with the construction of the

Danube Bridge 2 The New Europe Bridge ( bg, Мостът Нова Европа, Mostŭt Nova Evropa; ro, Podul Noua Europă) is a road and rail bridge between the cities of Vidin, Bulgaria, and Calafat, Romania. It is the second bridge on the shared section o ...

at the town 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 ...

(providing the most direct land access from the

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...

port and

towards Western Europe). Vratsa connects to the villages and city within the region and throughout the country by bus and railway transport. There are regular bus lines to Sofia, Pleven, Vidin, Montana, Kozloduy, Oryahovo, Mezdra (at short intervals), as well as to the smaller villages, scattered around the city. The bus station is located on the way between the railway station and the centre of the city. Vratsa is an important railway station along the railway route

—

( Lom).

Honour

Vratsa Peak on

Greenwich Island Greenwich Island (variant historical names ''Sartorius Island'', ''Berezina Island'') is an island long and from (average ) wide, lying between Robert Island and Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands. Surface area . The name Greenwic ...

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 Vratsa.

In popular culture

Vratsa is the home of a professional

Quidditch Quidditch is a fictional sport invented by author J.K. Rowling for her fantasy book series ''Harry Potter''. It first appeared in the novel ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' (1997). It is a dangerous but popular sport played by witc ...

team operating within the fictional

Harry Potter universe The Wizarding World (previously known as J. K. Rowling's Wizarding World) is a fantasy media franchise and shared universe, shared fictional universe centred on the ''Harry Potter'' novel series by J. K. Rowling. A series of Film, films have b ...

. The

Vratsa Vultures 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. ...

have won the European Cup seven times.

Economy

Industry

In the area of Vratsa are developed many branches of industry: textile (production of cotton fabrics and silk), tailoring, food processing (bakery, confectionery, meat processing, dairy processing, soft drinks production, etc.) mining of rock lining materials from the Vratsa region - limestone), furniture, light, machine-building (production of lathes and mills), metal casting and metalworking, etc.

Sport

FC Botev Vratsa Botev ( bg, Ботев) is a Bulgarian professional football club based in Vratsa, that competes in the First League, the top division of Bulgarian football. The club was founded in 1921. Since 1948, Botev have played their home games at Sta ...

Twin towns - sister cities

Vratsa is twinned with: * Bor, Serbia *

Craiova Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...

, Romania *

Kičevo Kičevo ( mk, Кичево ; sq, Kërçovë) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, located in a valley in the south-eastern slopes of Mount Bistra, between the cities of Ohrid and Gostivar. The capital Skopje is 112 km away. The ...

, North Macedonia *

Kobryn Kobryn ( be, Кобрын; russian: Кобрин; pl, Kobryń; lt, Kobrynas; uk, Кобринь, Kobryn'; yi, קאָברין) is a city in the Brest Region of Belarus and the center of the Kobryn District. The city is located in the southwest ...

, Belarus *

Serpukhov Serpukhov ( rus, Серпухов, p=ˈsʲɛrpʊxəf) is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Oka and the Nara Rivers, south from Moscow ( from Moscow Ring Road) on the Moscow—Simferopol highway. The Moscow— T ...

, Russia *

Sumy Sumy ( uk, Суми ) is a city of regional significance in Ukraine, and the capital of Sumy Oblast. The city is situated on the banks of the Psel River in northeastern Ukraine with a population of according to the 2021 census, making it the 2 ...

, Ukraine *

Villeneuve-le-Roi Villeneuve-le-Roi () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. The early 19th-century French orientalist Jean-Baptiste Rousseau (1780–1831) was born in Villeneuve-le-Roi on the boat that arr ...

, France

Gallery

File:Ledenika_TodorBozhinov_(5).JPG, Ledenika cave File:Vratsa-by-night.jpg, Vratsa by night File:Vratsata gorge.JPG, Vratsata gorge Image:Vratsa 16.jpg, Street scene Image:Vratsa 17.jpg, Ethnographic complex File:Teatur vratsa.jpg, Theatre Image:Vratsa 13.jpg, Medieval Tower of Kurt Pasha Image:Vratsa 12.jpg, Medieval tower Image:Vratsa 14.jpg, Tourist centre Image:Vratsa 11.jpg, School File:Str Kozloduiski Brjag Vratsa.JPG, Street in Vratsa File:Vratsa_in_the_winter-2.jpg, Vratsa in the winter

References

External links

Vratsa Municipality website

Hotels in Vratsa (map)

Vratsa Historical Museum

“Vrachanski Balkan” Nature Park

local tourism website www.visitvratsa.com.
{{Authority control Populated places in Vratsa Province