Targovishte ( bg, Търговище, also

transliterated Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus ''trans-'' + '' liter-'') in predictable ways, such as Greek → , Cyrillic → , Greek → the digraph , Armenian → or L ...

''Tǎrgovište'', , tr, Eski Cuma) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

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 ...

, the administrative and economic capital of Targovishte Province. It is situated at the northern foot of the low mountain of Preslav on both banks of the Vrana River. The town is north-east of the 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 h ...

and about west of the city of Varna and the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Targovishte is known as an old market settlement.

Name

The name comes from the Slavic root targ ("trade") + the Slavic placename suffix -ishte, "market town" (a calque of the Ottoman Turkish Eski Cuma, "old Friday", though the Turkish name may be derived from the earlier Bulgarian ''Sborishte'' "gathering place"). The name is etymologically and semantically the same as that of the city

Târgoviște Târgoviște (, alternatively spelled ''Tîrgoviște''; german: Tergowisch) is a city and county seat in Dâmbovița County, Romania. It is situated north-west of Bucharest, on the right bank of the Ialomița River. Târgoviște was one of ...

in Romania and Trgovište in Serbia.

City

Archaeological studies prove that in these places there were people in the

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 ...

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with ...

(

Chalcolithic The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "Rock (geology), stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin ''wikt:aeneus, aeneus'' "of copper"), is an list of archaeologi ...

) – between the 5th and the 4th millennium BC. In the city's vicinity are the remains of

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

settlements (5th–3rd century BC), a

Roman 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 lett ...

settlement (2nd–4th century AD) and a fortress from the early

Byzantine 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 ...

period (5th–6th century). A Bulgarian settlement was founded in the 10th century during 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 Eur ...

, however due to its proximity to the capital Preslav, it did not develop until the 12th century. In the 12th century, due to its location on a main road from the new capital Veliko Turnovo, a fortress by the name "Сборище" (''Sborishte'') was built. In the 18th and 19th centuries it became a famous market for animals and craft products called ''Eski Cuma'' ("old bazaar" in Turkish). A monastical school was opened in the 18th century and a secular one, called the Slaveykov School and situated in the old Varosha Quarter was established in 1846, with Petko Slaveykov being a teacher there; a ''

chitalishte A ''chitalishte'' (, . Derives from the verb "чета" - "to read" or "читател" - "reader") is a typical Bulgarian public institution and building that fulfills several functions at once, such as a community centre, library, and a theat ...

'' was also built. Industrial development began after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Factories producing car batteries and machines for the food industry were opened; later, furniture and textile industries developed. One of Bulgaria's largest wine production factories is located there. Targovishte is home to one of the largest glass factories in Europe. The investment in the factory was $380,000,000 and employs 1,500 people. The town is a cultural centre. In 2000, ruins of an

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–50 ...

town called ''Missionis'' (Мисионис) were unearthed near Targovishte. The town art gallery named after the eminent Bulgarian artist

Nikola Marinov Nikola Marinov Abadzhiev ( bg, Никола Маринов Абаджиев) was a Bulgarian painter and teacher. Marinov was born in the town of Targovishte in 1879. His interest in painting began in the high school. After that he continued his ...

, who was born here, has a considerable collection of his works. The local football team is called PFC Svetkavitsa ("lightning") and plays in the

B PFG The Bulgarian Second Professional Football League ( bg, Втора професионална футболна лига, Vtora Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as Second League ( bg, Втора Лига) or Vtora liga, is the second level ...

. The city is also noted for its

shooting sports Shooting sports is a group of competitive and recreational sporting activities involving proficiency tests of accuracy, precision and speed in shooting — the art of using ranged weapons, mainly small arms (firearms and airguns, in forms such ...

traditions. There is also a drama theatre and a puppet theatre. Targovishte1panorama

Population

In January 2012, Targovishte was inhabited by 37,341 people within the city limits, while the Targovishte Municipality with the legally affiliated adjacent villages had 56,868 inhabitants.National Statistical Institute - 2012
The number of the residents of the city (not the municipality) reached its peak in the period 1980-1990 when exceeded 45,000 with a highest rate in 1989 numbering 47,798. 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 underst ...

: 27,825 (79.4%) * Turks: 6,222 (17.8%) *

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 ...

: 633 (1.8%) *Others: 138 (0.4%) *Indefinable: 235 (0.7%) **Undeclared: 2,558 (4.2%) Total: 37,611 The ethnic composition of Targovishte Municipality is 33,229 Bulgarians, 14,883 Turks and 3,902 Roma among others.

Municipality

Targovishte is the

administrative centre An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located. In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...

for the Targovishte Municipality, one of five municipalities of the Targovishte Province. In addition to Targovishte, which has the status of

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an o ...

(in Bulgarian: град, transliterated as ''grad''), the municipality contains 51 other localities with the status of

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...

(in Bulgarian: село, transliterated as ''selo''). The following list shows the names of localities transliterated in

Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet or Roman alphabet is the collection of letters originally used by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language. Largely unaltered with the exception of extensions (such as diacritics), it used to write English and the ...

, followed in parentheses by the name in the Bulgarian

Cyrillic alphabet , bg, кирилица , mk, кирилица , russian: кириллица , sr, ћирилица, uk, кирилиця , fam1 = Egyptian hieroglyphs , fam2 = Proto-Sinaitic , fam3 = Phoenician , fam4 = Gr ...

(which links to the corresponding Bulgarian Wikipedia article). * Aleksandrovo ( Александрово) *

Alvanovo Alvanovo is a village in Northern Bulgaria. The village is located in Targovishte Municipality, Targovishte Province. Аccording to the numbers provided by the 2020 Bulgarian census, Alvanovo currently has a population of 166 people with a permane ...

( Алваново) * Bayachevo ( Баячево) * Bistra ( Бистра) * Bojurka ( Божурка) * Bratovo ( Братово) * Buhovtsi ( Буховци) * Buynovo ( Буйново) * Cherkovna ( Черковна) * Dalgach ( Дългач) * Davidovo ( Давидово) *

Draganovets Draganovets is a village in Northern Bulgaria. The village is located in Targovishte Municipality, Targovishte Province. Аccording to the numbers provided by the 2020 Bulgarian census, Draganovets currently has a population of 501 people with a per ...

( Драгановец) * Dralfa ( Дралфа) * Golyamo Sokolovo ( Голямо Соколово) * Golyamo novo ( Голямо Ново) * Gorna Kabda ( Горна Кабда) * Koprets ( Копрец) * Koshnichari ( Кошничари) * Kralevo ( Кралево) * Krashno ( Кръшно) * Lilyak ( Лиляк) * Lovets ( Ловец) * Makariopolsko ( Макариополско) * Makovo ( Маково) * Miladinovtsi ( Миладиновци) * Mirovets ( Мировец) * Momino ( Момино) * Nadarevo ( Надарево) *

Osen Osen is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Fosen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Steinsdalen. The municipality is the 240th largest by area out of the 356 municipalities i ...

( Осен) * Ostrets ( Острец) * Ovcharovo ( Овчарово) * Paydushko ( Пайдушко) * Pevets ( Певец) * Podgoritsa ( Подгорица) * Preselets ( Преселец) * Presian ( Пресиян) * Presyak ( Пресяк) * Probuda ( Пробуда) * Prolaz ( Пролаз) * Ralitsa ( Ралица) * Razboyna ( Разбойна) * Rosina ( Росина) * Ruets ( Руец) * Saedinenie ( Съединение) * Strazha ( Стража) * Tarnovtsa ( Търновца) * Tsvetnitsa ( Цветница) * Tvardintsi ( Твърдинци) * Vardun ( Вардун) * Vasil Levski ( Васил Левски) * Zdravets ( Здравец)

Honour

Targovishte Glacier on Greenwich 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 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 Targovishte.

Churches

* Sv. Uspenie Bogorodichno Church (Dormition of the Theotokos Church) * St. John of Rila Church

Schools

* Sveti Sedmochislenitsi High School * Profesor Nikola Marinov High School * Mitropolit Andrey High School * Hristo Botev Comprehensive School * P.R.Slaveykov Comprehensive School * John Atanasov Vocational School * Nikola Simov Vocational(Sport) School * St. John of Rila School for children with hearing problems

Notable people

* Andrey, Metropolitan of New York *

(artist) * (revolutionary) *

100 Kila Yavor Dimitrov Yanakiev ( bg, Явор Димитров Янакиев; born 16 May 1985), better known by his stage name 100 Kila ( bg, 100 Кила; also stylized as 100KILA), is a Bulgarian rapper, actor, songwriter and entrepreneur from Varn ...

(musician) * (conductor) * (financist) * Rosen Vladimirov, former National Assemblyman for Targovishte * Tunalı Hilmi, Turkish politician

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Targovishte is twinned with: *

Bolhrad Bolhrad ( uk, Болгра́д, Bolhrad, ; bg, Болград, Bolgrad; ro, Bolgrad, Gagauz: ''Bolgrad''), is a small city in Odesa Oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, in the historical region of Budjak. It is the administrative center ...

, Ukraine *

Cottbus Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. Situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree, Cottbus is also a major railway junction with exte ...

, Germany *

Kozani Kozani ( el, Κοζάνη, ) is a city in northern Greece, capital of Kozani regional unit and of Western Macedonia. It is located in the western part of Macedonia, in the northern part of the Aliakmonas river valley. The city lies above sea ...

, Greece *

Santa Maria da Feira Santa Maria da Feira () is a city and a concelho, municipality in Aveiro District in Portugal, 23 km from central Porto. The population in 2011 was 139,309,Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

, Russia *

Suresnes Suresnes () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. Located in Hauts-de-Seine, from the centre of Paris, it had a population of 49,145 as of 2016. The nearest communes are Nanterre, Puteaux, Rueil-Malmaison, Saint-Cloud a ...

, France * Târgovişte, Romania * Waterloo, United States

Gallery

File:Targovishte 017.JPG, Church of the Dormition of the Holy Mother (1851) File:targovishte_hub.jpg, Targovishte centre File:Old Building - Targovishte.jpg, Street scene File:Targovishte 054.JPG, Street scene File:TargovishteTheatre.jpg, Targovishte Theatre with the Statue of Orpheus File:HristoBotevSchool.jpg, Comprehensive School Hristo Botev File:TheOldChurchTargovishte.jpg, The Old Church File:Old Slaveykov School Targovishte.jpg, The Old Slaveykov School (Now Museum) File:VaroshaTargovishte1.jpg, The Old Quarter Varosha File:VaroshaTargovishte2.jpg, The Old Quarter Varosha File:TheOldChurchTargovishte2.jpg, The Old Church File:StJohnRilaChurch_Tshte1.jpg, St. John of Rila church

References

External links

Official website of Targovishte municipality

Info portal of Targovishte municipality

Targovishte the portal

Another info portal of Targovishte

Portal of Targovishte
{{Authority control Populated places in Targovishte Province