Topolovgrad ( bg, Тополовград , ; ) is a town in south-central
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
Haskovo Province, situated at the northern foot of the
Sakar Mountain
Sakar ( ; also ) is a mountain in southeastern Bulgaria, between the rivers Maritsa, Tundzha, Sokolitsa and Sazliyka and close to the borders with Greece and Turkey. The mountain's highest peak is Vishegrad at 856 m.
Sakar is one of the riches ...
. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous
Topolovgrad Municipality.
Etymology
Until 1934 the town was known as Kavakli, a name deriving from the
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
word ''kavak'', "poplar", under this name it was also known by its Greek inhabitants.
History
Topolovgrad and the surrounding area have been inhabited since ancient times, as evidenced by the
dolmen
A dolmen () or portal tomb is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of two or more upright megaliths supporting a large flat horizontal capstone or "table". Most date from the early Neolithic (40003000 BCE) and were somet ...
s found at Hlyabovo and the
Paleokastro fortress that may have been built 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.. ...
.
Until the early 20th century, the town was predominantly inhabited by Greeks (96 percent) and hosted Greek schools and churches. Although a Greek majority town, after 1906, the Bulgarian government appointed the first Bulgarian mayor.
[Theodora Dragostinova]
Between two motherlands : nationality and emigration among the Greeks of Bulgaria, 1900-1949; 2011
/ref> From 1906 to 1925, about 22,000 Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
left the town and its surroundings and settled in Greek Macedonia. They were replaced by groups of Bulgarian refugees from Western Thrace
Western Thrace or West Thrace ( el, υτικήΘράκη, '' ytikíThráki'' ; tr, Batı Trakya; bg, Западна/Беломорска Тракия, ''Zapadna/Belomorska Trakiya''), also known as Greek Thrace, is a Geography, geograp ...
, Eastern Thrace, Asia Minor
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
and Macedonia.
People
* Krum Krumov
Krum ( bg, Крум, el, Κροῦμος/Kroumos), often referred to as Krum the Fearsome ( bg, Крум Страшни) was the Khan of Bulgaria from sometime between 796 and 803 until his death in 814. During his reign the Bulgarian territory ...
- writer and philologist
* Delko Karadelkov
Delko () was a French UCI ProTeam that was founded in 1974. They became a Continental team in 2011 allowing them to ride UCI Europe Tour races. After financial difficulties, the team's operations were brought to a halt shortly before the end of ...
- chairman, Bulgarian Journalists' Union, 1976
* Evelin Banev "Brendo"
Evelin Banev ( Bulgarian: ''Евелин Банев''; October 8, 1964), also known by his nickname Brendo ( Bulgarian: ''Брендо'') is a real estate developer, published writer, and former wrestler.
Banev became known for his imprisonment ...
- self-made businessman, wrestler
Gallery
Image:Topolovgrad3.JPG , Holy Theotokos
''Theotokos'' (Greek: ) is a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, used especially in Eastern Christianity. The usual Latin translations are ''Dei Genitrix'' or ''Deipara'' (approximately "parent (fem.) of God"). Familiar English translations are " ...
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") ...
Church
Image:Topolovgrad2.jpg, Monastery Heights, close to the town
Image:Topolovgrad7.JPG , Town center, Osvobozhdenie Square
Image:Topolovgrad6.JPG , Town center, Bulgaria street
Image:Topolovgrad8.JPG , Saints Cyril and Methodius community center in Topolovgrad
References
Towns in Bulgaria
Populated places in Haskovo Province
{{Haskovo-geo-stub