Vetren ( ) is a small town in the

Pazardzhik Province Pazardzhik Province ( ''Oblast Pazardzhik'', former name Pazardzhik okrug) is a province in Southern Bulgaria, named after its administrative and industrial centre: the city of Pazardzhik. The territory is that is divided into 12 municipaliti ...

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 ...

. It is one of the newest towns in the country, as it gained its town status in 2003. The population is 2,844.

Geography

The town is situated at an altitude of 360 m on the southeastern foothills of the Vetren Ridge of the

Sredna Gora Sredna Gora ( ) is a mountain range in central Bulgaria, situated south of and parallel to the Balkan Mountains and extending from the river Iskar (river), Iskar to the west and the elbow of river Tundzha north of the city of Yambol to the east. ...

mountain range, facing the westernmost reaches the

Upper Thracian Plain The Upper Thracian Plain (, ''Gornotrakiyska nizina'') constitutes the northern part of the historical region of Thrace. It is located in southern Bulgaria, between Sredna Gora mountains to the north and west, a secondary mountain chain parallel ...

. It is strategically located on the eastern exit of the important

Gate of Trajan The Gate of Trajan or Trajan's Gate () is a historic mountain pass near Ihtiman, Bulgaria. In antiquity, the pass was called Succi. Later it was named after Roman Emperor Trajan, on whose order a fortress by the name of ''Stipon'' was constructe ...

mountain pass. It lies about 4–5 km north of river the

Maritsa Maritsa or Maritza ( ), also known as Evros ( ) and Meriç ( ), is a river that runs through the Balkans in Southeast Europe. With a length of ,

of the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

basin. Vetren falls within the transitional continental climatic zone. The soils are cinnamon forest soils. Administratively, Vetren is part of

Septemvri Municipality Septemvri Municipality () is a municipality in the Pazardzhik Province of Bulgaria. Demography At the 2011 census, the population of Septemvri was 25,794. Most of the inhabitants (76.5%) were Bulgarians, and there were significant minorities of ...

, located in the central–western part of

. It has a territory of 64.545 km². It is located some 27 km northwest of the provincial center

Pazardzhik Pazardzhik ( ) is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, southern Bulgaria. It is the centre of Pazardzhik Province and Pazardzhik Municipality. It is located in the Upper Thracian Plain and in the Pazardzhik-Plovdiv Field, a ...

, 12 km northwest of the municipal seat of

Septemvri Septemvri (, , ) is a town in Pazardzhik Province, southern Bulgaria. It is the administrative center of homonymous Septemvri Municipality. As of 2024 the town had a population of 8,071. Geography The town is situated at an altitude of about ...

, and 12 km north north of the town of Belovo. The nearest settlements are the villages of Slavovitsa to the north, Vinogradets to the east, and Akandzhievo to the south. It is served by the third class III-3704 road and is very close to the

Trakiya motorway The Trakia motorway (, ) or Thrace motorway, designated A1, is a motorway in Bulgaria. It connects the capital city of Sofia, the city of Plovdiv and the city of Burgas on the Black Sea coast. The motorway is named after the historical region of ...

History and culture

The remains of the Ancient Greek trade center

Pistiros Pistiros (, Ancient Greek, ''Πίστιρος'') was an inland Ancient Greek emporion, or trade center, in Ancient Thrace. It is located near the modern city of Vetren, in the westernmost part of the Maritsa River valley. The identification of ...

are located near the town. In the vicinity of Vetren are the ruins of a medieval fortress. The modern settlement was established in the early 15th century as a station along the ancient road

Via Militaris Via Militaris or Via Diagonalis was an ancient Roman road, starting from Singidunum (today the Serbian capital Belgrade), passing by Danube coast to Viminacium (near modern Kostolac), through Naissus (modern Niš), Serdica (modern Sofia), Phil ...

. It was mentioned in Ottoman registers of 1479 and 1576. Vetren participated in the preparation of the anti-Ottoman

April Uprising of 1876 The April Uprising () was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876. The rebellion was suppressed by irregular military, irregular Ottoman bashi-bazouk units that engaged in indiscriminate slaught ...

and had three representatives at the assembly in the Oborishte locality, which took the decision to begin the revolt. During the uprising its inhabitants took arms, and in the aftermath of its suppression, the settlement was burnt down by the regular Ottoman army. The first school of Vetren was founded before 1840. There is a church dedicated to St Nikolas. The local cultural center, known in Bulgarian as a ''

chitalishte A ''chitalishte'' (, ) is a traditional Bulgarian public institution and building that fulfills several functions at once, such as a community centre, public library, and a theatre. It is also used as an educational institution, where people o ...

'', was established in 1904 and was named after the Bulgarian poet Hristo Smirnenski. It contains a small museum.

Economy

Vinograd lies in a fertile area and has well-developed agriculture. The main crops include grapes, fruits and vegetables. Livestock breeding is also developed, mainly cattle and sheep. There are several small industrial establishments.

Citations

References

* * {{Authority control Populated places in Pazardzhik Province Towns in Bulgaria