Stara Zagora ( bg, Стара Загора, ) is the sixth-largest city in

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 capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province.

Name

The name comes from the Slavic root ''star'' ("old") and the name of the medieval region of

Zagore Zagore may refer to: * Zagore (region) (also Zagora, Zagorie, Zagoriya), a region in medieval Bulgaria * , a village Mošćenička Draga Municipality, Primorje-Gorski Kotar County, Croatia * , a village Stara Zagora Municipality, Stara Zagora Prov ...

("beyond the alkanmountains" in Slavic) Ulpia Augusta Traiana - en

The original name was Beroe, which was changed to Ulpia Augusta Traiana by the Romans. From the 6th century the city was called Vereja and, from 784, Irenopolis (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Ειρηνούπολις) in honour of the Byzantine empress Irene of Athens. In the Middle Ages it was called Boruj by the Bulgarians and later, Železnik. The Turks called it Eski Hisar (old fort) and Eski Zagra, from which its current name derives, assigned in 1871.

History

The original Thracian settlement dates from the 5-4th century BC when it was called Beroe or Beroia. The city was founded by

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 382 – 21 October 336 BC) was the king ('' basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

in 342 BC. Under the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

, the city was renamed ''Ulpia Augusta Traiana'' in honour of emperor

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

. The city grew to its largest extent under

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

(161-180) and became the second most important city in the Roman province of

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...

after Philippopolis (Trimontium). Its status and importance is evidenced by the visits of several emperors including

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa (Roman province), Africa. As a young man he advanced thro ...

(193-211),

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...

(211-217), and

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

(294-305). The

Battle of Beroe The Battle of Beroe was a conflict near Stara Zagora, ancient ''Ulpia Augusta Traiana'', between the Romans and Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) w ...

was fought near the city in 250 resulting in a Gothic Victory. It was probably after this event that the city walls were doubled like other cities in the region (e.g. Diocletianopolis,

Serdica Serdika or Serdica ( Bulgarian: ) is the historical Roman name of Sofia, now the capital of Bulgaria. Currently, Serdika is the name of a district located in the city. It includes four neighbourhoods: "Fondovi zhilishta"; "Banishora", "Orlandov ...

). In the 2nd-3rd century the city had its own coin mint showing its importance. In 377, in the Gothic War (376-382), the Goths marched on Beroe to attack the Roman general Frigiderus but his scouts detected the invaders and he promptly withdrew to Illyria. The city was destroyed but rebuilt by

Justinian Justinian I (; la, Iustinianus, ; grc-gre, Ἰουστινιανός ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565. His reign is marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovat ...

. John's Byzantine army, and many of the captives, were settled as

foederati ''Foederati'' (, singular: ''foederatus'' ) were peoples and cities bound by a treaty, known as ''foedus'', with Rome. During the Roman Republic, the term identified the ''socii'', but during the Roman Empire, it was used to describe foreign stat ...

within the Byzantine frontier. In 1208 the Bulgarians defeated the

Latin Empire The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzant ...

in the

battle of Boruy The battle of Beroia ( bg, Битка при Боруй) took place in June 1208 near the city of Stara Zagora, Bulgaria between the Bulgarians and the Latin Empire. It resulted in a Bulgarian victory. Origins of the conflict In the summer o ...

, also fought nearby. The Ottomans conquered Stara Zagora in 1371. A grade school was built in 1840 and the city's name was changed to ''Zheleznik'' (; a Slavic translation of ''Beroe'') in 1854 instead of the Turkish (Also called Zağra-i Atik), but was renamed once again to ''Stara Zagora'' in 1870. It was an administrative centre in

Edirne Vilayet The Vilayet of Adrianople or Vilayet of Edirne ( ota, ولايت ادرنه; ''Vilâyet-i Edirne'') was a first-level administrative division (vilayet) of the Ottoman Empire. This vilayet was split between Turkey and Greece in 1923, culminating i ...

before 1878 as "Zağra-i Atik". After the

Liberation of Bulgaria The Liberation of Bulgaria is the historical process as a result of the Bulgarian Revival. In Bulgarian historiography, the liberation of Bulgaria refers to those events of the Tenth Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) that led to the re-establishme ...

from Ottoman rule in 1878, it became part of autonomous

Eastern Rumelia Eastern Rumelia ( bg, Източна Румелия, Iztochna Rumeliya; ota, , Rumeli-i Şarkî; el, Ανατολική Ρωμυλία, Anatoliki Romylia) was an autonomous province (''oblast'' in Bulgarian, ''vilayet'' in Turkish) in the Otto ...

as a department centre before the two Bulgarian states finally merged in 1886 as a result of the

Unification of Bulgaria The Unification of Bulgaria ( bg, Съединение на България, ''Saedinenie na Balgariya'') was the act of unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and the province of Eastern Rumelia in the autumn of 1885. It was co-ordinated ...

Ancient monuments

Unique Mosaic “Dionysus’s Procession” 4th century AD

Many of the monuments from the Roman city have been excavated and are visible ''in situ'' today and include: * City walls * The "Antique" Forum * Roman city streets and buildings * The Roman Baths * 4th-6th c. public building with mosaics * 4th c. private house with mosaics of Silenus with Bacchantes and of Dionysus's Procession * South city gate * Thracian Tomb Overlooking the "antique" forum is an unusual building in the form of a monumental auditorium in the shape of a theatre.

Geography and climate

Stara Zagora is the administrative centre of its municipality and the Stara Zagora Province. It is about from

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 ...

, near the Bedechka river in the historic region of

. The city is in an area of a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

that is near

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a zone of climate characterized by hot and humid summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between latitudes 25° and 40° ...

. The average yearly temperature is about .

Population

Stara Zagora was possibly the biggest city in today's Bulgarian territory before liberation from Ottoman rule. But the city was burned and destroyed by Turkish army during the Liberation war in 1877–1878. During the first decade after the

liberation of Bulgaria The Liberation of Bulgaria is the historical process as a result of the Bulgarian Revival. In Bulgarian historiography, the liberation of Bulgaria refers to those events of the Tenth Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) that led to the re-establishme ...

, in the 1880s the population of Stara Zagora decreased and numbered about 16,000. Since then it started growing decade by decade, mostly because of the migrants from the rural areas and the surrounding smaller towns, reaching its peak in the period 1989-1991 exceeding 160,000. After this time, the population has started decreasing mostly because of the migration to the capital city of Sofia or abroad. ImageSize = width:750 height:280 PlotArea = left:50 right:20 top:25 bottom:30 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = late Colors = id:linegrey2 value:gray(0.9) id:linegrey value:gray(0.7) id:cobar value:rgb(0.2,0.7,0.8) id:cobar2 value:rgb(0.6,0.9,0.6) DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:0 till:200 ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:100 start:0 gridcolor:linegrey ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:50 start:0 gridcolor:linegrey2 PlotData = color:cobar width:19 align:left bar:1875 from:0 till:25 bar:1880 from:0 till:11 bar:1887 from:0 till:16 bar:1910 from:0 till:22 bar:1934 from:0 till:30 bar:1946 from:0 till:38 bar:1956 from:0 till:55 bar:1965 from:0 till:89 bar:1975 from:0 till:122 bar:1985 color:cobar2 from:0 till:151 bar:1992 from:0 till:150 bar:2001 from:0 till:143 bar:2011 from:0 till:138 PlotData= textcolor:black fontsize:S bar:1875 at: 25 text: 25,6 shift:(-8,5) bar:1880 at: 11 text: 10,7 shift:(-8,5) bar:1887 at: 16 text: 16,0 shift:(-11,5) bar:1910 at: 22 text: 22,0 shift:(-11,5) bar:1934 at: 30 text: 29,8 shift:(-11,5) bar:1946 at: 38 text: 38,3 shift:(-11,5) bar:1956 at: 55 text: 55,1 shift:(-14,5) bar:1965 at: 89 text: 88,9 shift:(-14,5) bar:1975 at: 122 text: 122,5 shift:(-11,5) bar:1985 at: 151 text: 151,2 shift:(-14,5) bar:1992 at: 150 text: 150,5 shift:(-14,5) bar:2001 at: 143 text: 143,4 shift:(-14,5) bar:2011 at: 138 text: 138,3 shift:(-14,5)

Ethnic linguistic and religious composition

According to the latest 2011 census data, individuals who 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 ...

: 117,963 (93.2%) *

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

: 5,430 (4.3%) *

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 ...

: 1,965 (1.6%) *Others: 579 (0.5%) *Indefinable: 617 (0.5%) *Undeclared: 11,718 (8.5%) Total: 138,272

Sports

PFC Beroe Stara Zagora Beroe ( bg, Берое) is a Bulgarian professional association football club based in Stara Zagora, that competes in the First League, the top division of the Bulgarian football league system. The club was founded in 1916 under the name ''Vere ...

is a football club in Stara Zagora. It was established in 1916 and plays at

Beroe Stadium Stadion Beroe ( bg, Стадион „Бeрое“, en, 'Beroe Stadium') (also nicknamed The Temple) is a multi-purpose stadium in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria. It is located in the north-western part of the city, near the park Ayazmoto. Currently, th ...

. The team is a member of the

First Professional Football League The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...

. Beroe has won the

Bulgarian Cup The Bulgarian Cup ( bg, Купа на България, Kupa na Bulgaria) is a Bulgarian annual football competition. It is the country's main cup competition and all officially registered Bulgarian football teams take part in it. The tournament ...

two times (2009-2010 and 2012-2013).

Education

The foundations of higher education in Stara Zagora were laid on October 30, 1974. Today in the western part of the city is located the Thracian University. Its structure includes the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the Faculty of Economics, the Faculty of Pedagogy and the Faculty of Agriculture. A Student City was built for the needs of the students.

Main sights

* Regional Historical Museum * The Antique Forum * Thracian Tomb * The Roman Baths * Roman mosaics of “Silenus with Bacchantes" (4th century) and of Dionysus's Procession * The Samarsko Zname Monument * Ayazmoto Park * Defenders of Stara Zagora Memorial Complex * Memorial House of

Geo Milev Geo Milev (born Georgi Milev Kasabov; , in Radne mahle – 15 May 1925, in Sofia) was a Bulgarian communist poet, translator and journalist. Geo Milev is perhaps best known for his epic communist poem ''Septemvri'', written during the Bulgar ...

* The South Gate of Augusta Trajana * The

Opera House An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically for o ...

, built in 1925 *

Stara Zagora Transmitter The Stara Zagora Transmitter was a high power mediumwave broadcasting station near Stara Zagora in Bulgaria. It had at least 3 guyed masts. One of these masts was a Blaw-Knox Tower. It was one of the few Blaw-Knox towers in Europe, along with ...

with one of the few Blaw-Knox Towers in Europe * Neolithic Dwellings Museum

Districts

* Bedechka - Gradinski (''Бедечка - Градински'', named at river Bedechka) * Central City Part (includes Supercentre, Chayka & Zagorka) (''Централна градска част (Суперцентър, Чайка и Загорка)'' - Chayka - Sea-gull, Zagorka - named after

Zagorka Zagorka is a Bulgarian beer brand from the city of Stara Zagora. It is brewed at the Zagorka Brewery. The company was founded in 1902, in the Czech beer, Czech tradition, by a doctor who returned from Prague. The current brewery was opened in 195 ...

brewery) * Makedonski (''Македонски'' - Macedonian) know also as Chumleka (''Чумлека'') * Dabrava (''Дъбрава'' - former village of Dabrava) * Eastern Industrial Zone (''Източна индустриална зона'') * Geo Milev (''Гео Милев'' - named after the Bulgarian poet) * Golesh (''Голеш'') * Industrial Zone (''Индустриална Зона'') * Kazanski (''Казански'') * Kolyo Ganchev (''Кольо Ганчев'' - named after the famous Bulgarian revolutionary) * Lozenets (''Лозенец'' - from ''лозе'' -

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

) * Mitropolit Metodiy Kusev (''Митрополит Методий Кусев'' - named after a famous Starozagorian bishop) * Opalchenski (''Опълченски'' - Volunteer's district named after Bulgarian voluntary army units) also known as Chaika (''Чайка'' - Sea-Gull) * Samara 1, 2 & 3 - (''Самара 1, 2 и 3'' - named after the sister city of

Samara, Russia Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara rivers, with a population of ...

) * Slaveykov (''Славейков'' - named after the famous Bulgarian poet

Petko Slaveykov Petko Rachov Slaveykov ( bg, Петко Рачов Славейков) (17 November 1827 OS – 1 July 1895 OS ) was a Bulgarian poet, publicist, politician and folklorist. Biography Early years and educational activity Slaveykov was born in ...

) * Studentski grad - (''Студентски град'' - Student town) * Tri Chuchura north, centre & south - (''Три чучура север, център и юг'' - "Three spouts") * Vasil Levski - (''Васил Левски'' - named after the famous Bulgarian revolutionary) * Vazrazhdane - (''Възраждане'' - Renaissance) * Zheleznik (small & big) (''Железник'' - like one of the former names of the city) * Zora (''Зора'' - Dawn) Future districts : * Atyuren (''Атюрен'' - future district of the city) * Bogomilovo (''Богомилово'' - village of Bogomilovo) * Hrishteni (''Хрищени'' - village of Hrishteni) * Malka Vereya (''Малка Верея'' - Vereya - old name of the city, Malka - small, village of Malka Vereya)

Notable people

* Anna Tomowa-Sintow, dramatic soprano opera singer *

Vesselina Kasarova Vesselina Kasarova ( bg, Веселина Кацарова; born 18 July 1965) is a Bulgarian operatic mezzo-soprano. Early life and education Kasarova was born in the central Bulgarian town of Stara Zagora. Under the communist regime she studie ...

, coloratura mezzo-soprano opera singer *

Edith Schönert-Geiß Edith Schönert-Geiß (7 August 1933, Dresden - 12 June 2012, Berlin) was a German numismatist, who specialised in the classical coinage of Thrace and was instrumental in the post-war re-establishment of the Corpus Nummorum. Biography Edith Sc ...

, numismatist who was awarded Freedom of the City *

Vesselin Stoykov Vesselin Stoykov (born 1 November 1973 in Stara Zagora) is a Bulgarian-German opera singer and manager, from Bulgarian origin. Education * New Bulgarian University – Doctor of Philosophy (Music sciences); * New Bulgarian University – M ...

, bass-bariton opera singer *

Stefan Kisyov Stefan Kisyov is a novelist, journalist, playwright and short story writer. Kisyov was born in Stara Zagora in 1963. He studied at Sofia and Plovdiv universities, and also at the Sorbonne in Paris. He has worked as an electrician at a tram depot, ...

, writer * Stefan Slivkov, revolutionary, mayor of Stara Zagora (1885-1886) and Bulgarian National Assemblyman *

Lenko Latkov Lenko Latkov ( bg, Ленко Латков; 1975 – September 13, 2003) was a Bulgarian rapist, pedophile and serial killer, responsible for killing three elderly women in the Haskovo Province from 1999 to 2000, as well as several rapes. He was ...

, Serial Killer

Other

* Beroe Hill on

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 ...

West Antarctica West Antarctica, or Lesser Antarctica, one of the two major regions of Antarctica, is the part of that continent that lies within the Western Hemisphere, and includes the Antarctic Peninsula. It is separated from East Antarctica by the Transant ...

is named after this city, in its previous incarnation as Beroe. * One of the two lighting factories Svetlina is situated here.

Twin towns and sister cities

Stara Zagora is twinned with: *

Barreiro Barreiro may refer to: People * Bruno Barreiro (born 1965), American politician * Gustavo Barreiro (1959–2019), American politician * Manu Barreiro (born 1986), Spanish footballer Places * Barreiro, Portugal ** Barreiro Municipality, a mu ...

, Portugal *

Kruševac Kruševac ( sr-cyr, Крушевац, , tr, Alacahisar or Kruşevca) is a city and the administrative center of the Rasina District in central Serbia. It is located in the valley of West Morava, on Rasina river. According to the 2011 census, t ...

, Serbia *

Radom Radom is a city in east-central Poland, located approximately south of the capital, Warsaw. It is situated on the Mleczna River in the Masovian Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously been the seat of a separate Radom Voivodeship (1975–1 ...

, Poland *

Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

, Greece *

Samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with ...

, Russia *

Yueyang Yueyang, formerly known as Yuezhou or Yochow, is a prefecture-level city on the eastern shores of Dongting Lake and Yangtze in the northeastern corner of Hunan Province in the People's Republic of China. Yueyang has an administrative area of a ...

, China

Stara Zagora official day

Every year October 5 is celebrated as the official day of Stara Zagora with multiple events, concerts, activities for kids and a fair.

References

External links

Stara Zagora Regional museum of history

Stara Zagora Tourist Information Centre

Stara Zagora Economic Development Agency

Maps, Population, Info & Facts about cities and villages in Stara Zagora municipality

Programata Stara Zagora — the free cultural guide of Stara Zagora

Information and links about Stara Zagora

Information from Visit Bulgaria

Real Photos from Stara Zagora

News and videos from Stara Zagora

{{Authority control Stara Zagora, Populated places in Stara Zagora Province Roman towns and cities in Bulgaria 340s BC establishments Ancient Greek archaeological sites in Bulgaria