Madan ( ) is a town in

Smolyan Province Smolyan Province (, ''Oblast Smolyan''; former name Smolyan okrug) is a province in Southern-central Bulgaria, located in the Rhodope Mountains, neighbouring Greece to the south. It is named after its administrative and industrial centre — the ...

, the very south of

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

in the Yellow Share of the

Rhodope Mountains The Rhodopes (; , ; , ''Rodopi''; ) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in Greece. Golyam Perelik is its highest peak ...

. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous

Madan Municipality Madan may refer to: Places Armenia *Kapan, a city in Armenia, formerly ''Madan'' *Madan, a small village above Alaverdi in Lori Marz Bulgaria * Madan, Montana Province, a village in the Boychinovtsi municipality of northwestern Bulgaria *Madan ...

. In 2019, the town had a population of 6,597.Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - towns in 2009

Geography

Madan is a part of Ardino Ridge, sloping down to the northeast between the rivers

Arda Arda or ARDA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Arda (Middle-earth), fictional world in the works of J. R. R. Tolkien * Arda (band), a Russian heavy metal band People * Arda (name) Places *Arda (Maritsa), a river in Bulgaria and Greece *A ...

and Varbitsa. In the central part of the Yellow Share rise the peaks Buchovitsa (1404 m), Veternitsa (1372 m) and Petrovitsa (1309 m). The end of the ridge is Alada Peak (1241 m). From all sides the Yellow Share is separated by mountain-spurs, whose segmentations gradually slope down and vanish into the valleys of the rivers. The river system of the region is presented by the basins of the upper reaches of some of the longer rivers – to the north the basin of the Arda River with the headers Elhovska and Chepinska Rivers.

History and population

Madan is an ancient ore-miners' settlement, the extraction of lead ore having begun around 5th-4th century BC. Most of the town's population consists of local

Pomaks Pomaks (; Macedonian: Помаци ; ) are Bulgarian-speaking Muslims inhabiting Bulgaria, northwestern Turkey, and northeastern Greece. The strong ethno-confessional minority in Bulgaria is recognized officially as Bulgarian Muslims by th ...

and a minority of

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, otherwise known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity or Byzantine Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism ...

Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...

Honour

Madan Saddle Madan Saddle (, ‘Madanska Sedlovina’ \ma-'dan-ska se-dlo-vi-'na\) is a saddle of elevation 1046 mI.M. Howat, C. Porter, B.E. Smith, M.-J. Noh and P. Morin. Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA). Polar Geospatial Center. University of ...

on Smith Island,

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands located in the Drake Passage with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the n ...

is named after Madan.

References

External links

Official site of the Municipality of Madan

Other site for the Municipality of Madan

Pictures from Madan
{{Authority control Towns in Bulgaria Cities and towns in the Rhodopes Populated places in Smolyan Province