Gabrovo
Gabrovo [ ɡabrovo ] ( Bulgarian Габрово ) is a city in Bulgaria with 60 748 inhabitants (as of 15 September 2010), in the valley of the Yantra River and its tributaries, industrial and cultural center of the country with a university, open-air museum Etar and Festival of Humour and Satire. It is the administrative center of the oblast Gabrovo.
- 3.1 Town twinning
- 4.1 Economics
- 4.2 traffic
- 6.1 theater
- 6.2 Museums
- 6.3 Structures
- 6.4 Regular events
- 8.1 Sons and daughters of the town
Geography
Geographical Location
The city lies on the River Yantra, on the northern slopes of the Balkan Mountains, almost in the geographical center of the country, 390 meters above sea level. The distances are in the south west to the capital Sofia and 220 km to Plovdiv 150 km in the north- east to Varna and 274 km by 46 km Veliko Tarnovo, Kazanlak in the south to 48 km and 28 km north-west to Sevlievo.
Boroughs
The urban area of Gabrovo is divided into the following 19 districts:
- Center
- Most Schiwarow
- Palausowo
- Open-air museum Etar
- Novo machala
- Jabalka
- Tscharkowo
- Djado Djanko
- Chadschizonew most
- Borowo
- Sirmani
- Mladost
- Rusewzi
- Trendafil 1
- Trendafil 2
- Lakata
- Garata
- Koleloto
- Wojnowo
History
Legend has it that the city was founded by the smith Racho Kowatscha. Saved evidence does not exist. The town was founded in the 12th century from a settlement with the fortress. The fort was in the Second Bulgarian Kingdom of importance. They protected the road that led from the south of Thrace over the passes of the Balkan Mountains to the Bulgarian capital Tarnovo.
The town was conquered in 1390 by the Ottoman Turks. In the Ottoman Empire, the population was further used as guards of the passes in the Balkan Mountains ( Derwendschi ). For this, she was exempted from certain taxes ( in blood, tithe ), had the right to bear arms and enjoyed a certain freedom of religion. In 1479 the city was first mentioned under the name Gabrova. Here lived at that time 96 families. Until 1545 the number of local families rose by 500
In the 17th century Gabrovo is already known as a center of crafts and had approximately 3000 inhabitants. In the late 18th century 26 crafts were practiced here, among them were smiths, knife manufacturers, Drechsler, furriers, potters, silkworm rearers. Each craft was united in a guild ( Efnafi ).
The merchants of Gabrovo had their counting from Odessa to Vienna. Thanks to its wealth was founded in 1835 here with the establishment of " total primary school Gabrovo " the first secular school early Bulgarian by the educators and school reformers Neophyte Rilski. Financed and launched it was by merchants as Wasil Aprilov (1789-1847), whose name it bears to this day. The school was a model for other educational institutions that have emerged in the towns and villages of Bulgaria. 1872 School Class School (Gymnasium) was expanded. Since 1889, it bears the name Aprilov High School.
1860 got Gabrovo granted town rights. In the 1870s, the Austrian scholar Felix Kanitz visited the town and reported Gabrovo was one big workshop. 1882 founded here by the merchant Ivan Kalpasanow the first textile factory in Bulgaria. In the 20th century, the city became an important textile center, and hence received the name " Bulgarian Manchester ".
The city had a population of 2007 or 67 012.
Policy
Twinning
Gabrovo maintains partnerships with the following cities:
- Aalst, Belgium
- Kumanovo, Macedonia
- Mogilev, Belarus
- Mitt Weida, Germany
- Mytischtschi, Russia
- Nowy Sacz, Poland
- Panevėžys, Lithuania
- Prešov, Slovakia
- Şəki, Azerbaijan
- Sisak, Croatia
- Thun, Switzerland
- Chernihiv, Ukraine
Economy and infrastructure
Economy
The city is a major industrial center of the country in textile, leather, electrical and chemical engineering and mechanical engineering.
In the city in 2009 and 2010 two large shopping malls were opened.
Traffic
Gabrovo is the terminus of the railway line Tsareva liwada - Gabrovo, a branch line from Russian Gorna Oryahovitsa - Stara Zagora - Podkowa.
Education
The city is the seat of the Technical University of Gabrovo ( Технически университет Габрово ).
Culture and sights
Theater
Gabrovo has three theaters - the Dramatic Theatre " Racho Stoyanov ", a puppet theater and an experimental theater for satire and vaudeville.
Museums
In the city center there are the Historical Museum, the Postal Museum and the National Education Museum. The art gallery " Christo Zokew " is home to numerous domestic and foreign works.
The House of Humour and Satire in the Brijanska -Str. 64 represents an area of 800 m2 of various forms of humor of artists from 153 countries.
Eight kilometers south of the city, the Ethnographic Open Air Museum Etar, a complex of historically valuable old houses can be here shifted in 1963 from the environment Gabrowos, with cobblestone streets and over 20 workshops where work master craftsmen in the 19th century. Nearby there is also the open-air museum Boschenzi.
Structures
Important buildings are the clock tower from 1835, the Baiow Bridge of 1855, St. Mary's Church with masterfully carved iconostasis and the Aprilov High School in the town center.
A monument in the middle of the river Yantra is reminiscent of the legendary founder of Gabrovo, Racho the Blacksmith ( Racho Kowatscha = Racho the Blacksmith ).
Five kilometers south of the museum Etar is the monastery was built in 1832 Sokolski ( Sokolski manastir ), slip angle Bulgarian freedom fighters, as Vasil Levski ( 1837-1873 ), Nikola Djado and Zanko Djustabanow.
Regular events
- International Biennial of Satire in Art
- September Days of Culture
- International Crafts Fair
Sports
Gabrovo is home of the volleyball clubs CHP Gabrovo.
Personalities
Sons and daughters of the town
- Wasil Aprilov (1789-1847), reconnaissance
- Ran Bosilek (1886-1958), writer
- Christo Burmow (1869-1936), Officer
- Chariton Chalatschew (1835-1876), freedom fighter
- Christo Jawaschew, artists
- Zanko Djustabanow (1844-1876), freedom fighter
- Mincho Mintschew, musicians
- Ivan Wuzow former football player, football coach
- Nikolai Kazakow, architectural photographer
- Lazar Pajakow (1860-1910), financier, Minister
- Boshidar Petkov ( born 1940 ), composer
- Josif Sokolski (1786-1879), founder of the Sokolski Monastery
- Stanislaw Stanilow (* 1943), archaeologist and politician
- Ivan Kolev Wuzow ( b. 1939 ), football player