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Burgas

Coordinates: 42°30′N 27°28′E / 42.500°N 27.467°E / 42.500; 27.467
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Burgas
Бургас
City
From top left: View of "Lazur" and "Izgrev" districts, the Sea Casino, Central Railway Station, the Clock downtown, the Pantheon in the Sea Garden, complex "the Pantheon", Sand sculpture festival, the square "Queen Ioanna", temple "St. St. Cyril and Methodius", the compass on the Main street, the bay of Burgas
From top left: View of "Lazur" and "Izgrev" districts, the Sea Casino, Central Railway Station, the Clock downtown, the Pantheon in the Sea Garden, complex "the Pantheon", Sand sculpture festival, the square "Queen Ioanna", temple "St. St. Cyril and Methodius", the compass on the Main street, the bay of Burgas
Coat of arms of Burgas
Coat of arms
Nickname: 
Градът на мечтите (The city of the dreams)
CountryBulgaria
Province (Oblast)Burgas
MunicipalityBurgas
Government
 • MayorDimitar Nikolov
Elevation
30 m (100 ft)
Population
 (Census February 2011)[1]
 • CityIncrease 197,301
 • Urban
Increase 209,615
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal Code
8000
Area code056
Aleko Bogoridi Boulevard
Burgas as seen from space.

Burgas (Template:Lang-bg, sometimes transliterated as Bourgas) is the second-largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast with a population of 197,301 inhabitants according to Census 2011.[1] It is also the fourth-largest by population in Bulgaria, after Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna. It is the capital of Burgas Province and an important industrial, transport, cultural and tourist centre.

Surrounded by the coastal Burgas Lakes and located at the westernmost point of the Black Sea, the large Burgas Bay, Burgas has the largest and most important Bulgarian port. Today, it is a key economic, cultural and tourist centre of southeastern Bulgaria, with the Burgas Airport serving the resorts of the southern Bulgarian coast.

Name

The name Burgas comes from the Greek word "pyrgos" (Template:Lang-el), meaning "tower" or "fortress".[2]

Geography

Burgas is situated in the westernmost point of the bay of the same name and in the eastern part of the Burgas plain which is located to the east of the Upper Thracian Plain. Burgas is located at 389 km of Sofia, 272 km of Plovdiv and 350 km of Istanbul. To the west, south and north the city is surrounded by the Burgas Lakes - Vaya, Atanasovsko and Mandrensko which are home to several hundred bird species. Pan-European corridor 8 passes through the city.[3]

Climate

Burgas has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), with considerable maritime and continental influences.

Climate data for Burgas
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 6.1
(43.0) 		7.5
(45.5) 		10.9
(51.6) 		16.1
(61.0) 		21.0
(69.8) 		25.4
(77.7) 		27.7
(81.9) 		27.2
(81.0) 		24.3
(75.7) 		18.8
(65.8) 		13.3
(55.9) 		8.3
(46.9) 		17.2
(63.0)
Daily mean °C (°F) 2.1
(35.8) 		3.4
(38.1) 		6.3
(43.3) 		10.8
(51.4) 		15.9
(60.6) 		20.1
(68.2) 		21.9
(71.4) 		22.1
(71.8) 		18.9
(66.0) 		13.9
(57.0) 		9.1
(48.4) 		4.7
(40.5) 		12.4
(54.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) −0.9
(30.4) 		0.3
(32.5) 		2.9
(37.2) 		7.3
(45.1) 		12.2
(54.0) 		16.2
(61.2) 		18.0
(64.4) 		17.0
(62.6) 		14.7
(58.5) 		13.7
(56.7) 		5.8
(42.4) 		2.1
(35.8) 		9.1
(48.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 41
(1.6) 		43
(1.7) 		40
(1.6) 		54
(2.1) 		42
(1.7) 		49
(1.9) 		33
(1.3) 		30
(1.2) 		37
(1.5) 		47
(1.9) 		56
(2.2) 		48
(1.9) 		520
(20.6)
Source: Climate-Charts.com [4]

Administrative division

Burgas is divided into the following neighbourhoods:

With a Decision from the Counsel of Minister in 2009 the villages Banevo and Vetren were incorporated to Burgas.

Currently a new city plan is considered which will open the city to the sea and includes several residential neighbourhoods and a new highway junction.

Population

During the first decade after the liberation of Bulgaria, in the 1880s the population of Burgas numbered about 6,000 inhabitants.[5] 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 1988-1991 exceeding 200,000.[6]

Burgas
Year 1887 1910 1934 1946 1956 1965 1975 1985 1992 2001 2005 2009 2011 2021
Population 5,749 14,897 36,230 44,449 72,526 106,185 144,755 182,856 195,986 192,390 189,245 193,765 209,615 ??
Highest number 211,587 in 1991
Sources: National Statistical Institute,[1][6][7] citypopulation.de,[8] pop-stat.mashke.org,[9] Bulgarian Academy of Sciences[5]

History

Alexander Severus coin celebrating the Flavian colony of Deultum.

During the rule of the Ancient Romans, near Burgas, Debeltum was established as a military colony for veterans by Vespasian. In the Middle Ages, a small fortress called Pyrgos was erected where Burgas is today and was most probably used as a watchtower. It was only in the 17th century that a settlement named Ahelo-Pirgas grew in the modern area of the city. It was later renamed to Bourgas and had only about 3,000 inhabitants. The city was a township in İslimye (Sliven) sanjak in at first Rumelia Eyalet, after that in the Silistre Province and Edirne Province before the liberation in 1878. It was a department centre in Eastern Rumelia before incorporated in the Principality of Bulgaria in 1885.

Later, it became a major centre on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and a city of well-developed industry and trade. A number of oil and chemical companies were gradually built. Salt and iron are also mined and traded abroad.

Street scene from the centre of Burgas.
File:Burgas2-ngruev.JPG
Architecture of Burgas.
Bustling street in Burgas, July 2006.
The Church of Saint Cyril and Methodius in Burgas.

In the early 19th century Burgas was depopulated after raids by kurzdhali bandits. By the mid-19th century it had recovered its economic prominence through the growth of craftsmanship and the export of grain.[10]

In the 19th century, with the increasing maritime trade in the Black Sea, Burgas became one of the most important port cities. However, it has lost some of its importance with the shift of the trade between Balkans-Istanbul-Trabzon to Southern port cities with the construction of Salonica-Istanbul railways. In 1903, the Burgas Central railway station opened, giving an additional boost to the city's expansion. Burgas, unlike many other Bulgarian cities, was not much affected by Communist-type urbanization and has kept much of its 19th- and early-20th-century architecture.

Today the local port is the largest in Bulgaria adding significantly to the regional economy. Burgas also holds annual national exhibitions and international festivals and has a vibrant student population of over 6,000 that add to the city's appeal. The historical society also maintains an open-air museum at Beglik Tash.

Several countries have consulates in Burgas, among them Turkey, Belarus, Romania, Russia and Ukraine.

Burgas Peninsula on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after the city of Burgas.

Main sights

  • Burgas Regional Historical Museum
  • Ethnographic Museum
  • Museum of Nature and Science
  • Art Gallery
  • Opera House
  • International Folklore Festival

Economy

Burgas is an important industrial center. The most notable industrial enterprise is LUKOIL Neftochim Burgas - the largest oil refinery in South-eastern Europe and the largest manufacturing plant in the Balkans.

Education

  • Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov University
  • Bourgas Free University

Notable natives

Twin cities

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Template:Bg icon National Statistical Institute - Main Towns Census 2011
  2. ^ Ward, Philip. Bulgaria, a travel guide. Pelican. p. 168.
  3. ^ Pan-European corridors
  4. ^ "Burgas, Bulgaria: Climate, Global Warming, and Daylight Charts and Data". Climate-Charts.com. July 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2011.
  5. ^ a b Template:Bg icon Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
  6. ^ a b Template:Bg icon National Statistical Institute - Towns population 1956-1992
  7. ^ Template:En icon Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - towns in 2009
  8. ^ Template:En icon Citypopulation.de
  9. ^ Pop-stat.mashke.org
  10. ^ Burgas, Bulgaria (Eyewitness Travel), Jonathan Bousfield and Matt Willis, Dorling Kindersley Limited, London, England, 2008, p. 210.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Burgas.
Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article "Burgas".

42°30′N 27°28′E / 42.500°N 27.467°E / 42.500; 27.467

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