Pirdop ( bg, Пирдоп ) is a town located in South-West

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 Pirdop Municipality of Sofia Province in the southeastern part of the Zlatitsa - Pirdop Valley at 670 m above sea level. It is surrounded by the

Balkan The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

Range (also known as the Stara Planina) to the north, Sredna Gora Mountain to the south, and Koznitsa and Galabets saddles to the east and west, respectively. The town has a population of 8,040. Some

Aromanians The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgaria, northern and ...

live in Pirdop.

Economy

The main economic activity is non-ferrous

metallurgy Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their inter-metallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are known as alloys. Metallurgy encompasses both the sc ...

. The Pirdop

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...

smelter Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a c ...

and refinery is the biggest in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

and whole of South-Eastern Europe. It was privatized in 1997 for $80,000,000 and is now owned by the German Aurubis. It has a capacity of 160,000 tons and additional capacity of 180,000 tons worth €82,000,000 is being built. The factory also produces 830,000 tons of

sulphuric acid Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid ( Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen, with the molecular for ...

and employs 1,420 workers. The main chimney of the factory is 325 metres tall and shares together with the chimneys of Maritza East Power Stations the title of tallest man-made objects of

Honour

Pirdop Gate Pirdop Gate (Pirdopska Porta \pir-'dop-ska 'por-ta\) is a 300-m wide pass between Maritsa Peak and Atanasoff Nunatak in eastern Bowles Ridge, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. It has an elevation of 376 m at its north ...

Livingston Island Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of Antarctic islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was the first land discovered south of 60 ...

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 1 ...

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 cont ...

is named after Pirdop.

Notes

Gallery

Image:Todor_Genchov_Vlaikov,_Bulgarian_writer.jpg, T. Vlaikov monument and Chitalishte Napreduk at the background in the city center Image:Church of the Assumption in Pirdop.jpg, Church of the Assumption Image:Railway station in Pirdop.jpg , Railway station in Pirdop Image:Sequoias on Pirdop railway platform.jpg, Sequoias on Pirdop railway platform File:Pirdop below Stara Planina.jpg

External links

My Bulgaria - Pirdop ValleyVirtual Bulgaria - Southwestern Bulgaria
{{Authority control Towns in Bulgaria Populated places in Sofia Province Aromanian settlements in Bulgaria