Chirpan
Chirpan | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Chirpan Location of Chirpan | |
| Coordinates: 42°11′59.31″N 25°19′27.87″E / 42.1998083°N 25.3244083°E | |
| Country | Bulgaria |
| Province (Oblast) | Stara Zagora |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Ivaylo Kracholov |
| Elevation | 168 m (551 ft) |
| Population (31 December 2013)[1] | |
| • Total | 15,109 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal Code | 6200 |
| Area code | 0416 |
Chirpan (Bulgarian: Чирпан, pronounced [tʃirˈpan]) is a town on the Tekirska River in Stara Zagora Province of south-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Chirpan Municipality. As of December 2013, the town had a population of 15,109[1] down from 16,355 inhabitants in December 2009.[2]
Chirpan is located north of the Maritsa River on the Chirpan highlands, south-east of the Sredna Gora mountains. The town is a centre for wineries and viticulture.
History
The modern town is the successor of the Ancient Roman settlement of Sherampol and re-emerged in the beginning of the 15th century, its current name likely being derived from the Roman one. Upon his return from the Council of Sardica, Saint Athanasius established the first Christian monastery in Europe circa 344 near modern-day Chirpan in Bulgaria.
There has been extensive archaeological excavation at the Karasura (Carasura) site. During the Ottoman rule of Bulgaria, Chirpan (Turkish: Çırpan) was known for its craftsmen and agriculture. The town suffered badly from an earthquake on 18 April 1928.
Chirpan was the birthplace of Ottoman Turkish soldier Abdülkerim Nadir Pasha, and the Bulgarian poet Peyo Yavorov, whose native house is now a museum. Chirpan was the home of painter George Danchov. His house in the centre of the town is an excellent example of Bulgarian National Revival architecture.
Climate
| Climate data for Chirpan | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 2 (35) |
4 (39) |
11 (51) |
17 (63) |
23 (73) |
27 (80) |
30 (86) |
31 (87) |
28 (82) |
19 (67) |
11 (51) |
6 (42) |
17 (63) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −7 (20) |
−6 (22) |
−1 (31) |
4 (40) |
10 (50) |
15 (59) |
16 (60) |
16 (60) |
12 (54) |
8 (46) |
2 (36) |
−3 (26) |
6 (42) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 33 (1.3) |
25 (1) |
74 (2.9) |
81 (3.2) |
46 (1.8) |
46 (1.8) |
69 (2.7) |
51 (2) |
7.6 (0.3) |
58 (2.3) |
51 (2) |
13 (0.5) |
550 (21.8) |
| Source: Weatherbase [3] | |||||||||||||
Economy
There are 23,470 (2009)[4] people in the municipality, two thirds of whom live in the town. 53% of the land is in cultivation, with major crops from wheat, sunflowers, cotton, grapes, and fruit trees. There is a 139 hectare Natura 2000 Special Protection Area for preservation of avian habitat along the Tekirska River.[5]
Honour
Chirpan Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Chirpan.
Notable people
- Georgi Danchov, revolutionary
- Ivan Dimov, actor
- Ivan Kolev (wrestler)
- Peyo Yavorov, poet
- Stoyan Zaimov, revolutionary
Notes
- ^ a b "Population by towns and sex – Table data". Bulgarian National Statistical Institute. 2013. Archived from the original on 27 January 2015.
- ^ "Population by towns and sex – Table data". Bulgarian National Statistical Institute. 2009. Archived from the original on 13 November 2010.
- ^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Chirpan, Bulgaria". Weatherbase. 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
- ^ "Population by districts, municipalities, place of residence and sex – Table data". Bulgarian National Statistical Institute. 2009. Archived from the original on 13 November 2010.
- ^ "2000 Bulgaria Database: Текирска река" (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 8 November 2006.
References
- Diamante, Vincenzo (1975) Bulgaria: storia, vita, folclore e tutte le informazioni utili al turista Valmartina, Firenze, OCLC 3841667 (in Italian);
- Kondarev, Nikola (1987) Istoriia na Chirpan i Chirpansko Izd-vo na Otechestveniia front, Sofia, OCLC 19857260 (in Bulgarian);
- This article is based in part on material from the Bulgarian Wikipedia.
External links
Media related to Chirpan at Wikimedia Commons- "Visit to Bulgaria: Places by Region: Stara Zagora: Chirpan" Bulgaria Info Site at the Wayback Machine (archived 12 February 2007)
- "Chirpan: History and Landmarks" Virtual Bulgaria at the Wayback Machine (archived 28 September 2007)
- Археологическо дружество Чирпан (Archaeological Society of Chirpan) in Bulgarian at archive.today (archived 31 December 2012)
- N. Spassov, D. Geraads, L. Hristova, G.N. Markov, G. Merceron, T. Tzankov, K. Stoyanov, M. Böhme, A. Dimitrova. «A hominid tooth from Bulgaria: The last pre-human hominid of continental Europe» (Azmaka)
