Kazanlak

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Kazanlak
Location of Kazanlak on a map of Bulgaria
Coordinates: 42°37′N 25°24′E / 42.617, 25.4
Government
- Mayor	Stefan Damyanov
Area
- City	36 km² (13.9 sq mi)
- Land	36 km² (13.9 sq mi)
- Water	0 km² (0 sq mi)  0%
Elevation	407 m (1,335 ft)
Population
- City	79,464
- Metro	90,855
- Metro Density	126/km² (326.3/sq mi)
Website: http://www.kazanlak.bg/

Kazanlak (Bulgarian: Казанлък) is a city located in the geographic center of Bulgaria. It is the 10th biggest industrial center in Bulgaria, with a population of 79,464 people as of 2007. Kazanlak is a capital city of the famous Rose Valley.

[edit] History

The region around Kazanlak has been inhabited for thousands of years, with traces of civilization going as far back as 2000 BC.

In the 4th century BC, near the ancient Thracian capital of Seuthopolis and close to the city, a magnificent Thracian tomb was built. Consisting of a vaulted brickwork "beehive" (tholos) tomb, it contains, among other things, painted murals representing a Thracian couple at a ritual funeral feast. The tomb was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.

The current city of Kazanlak was founded in the 1300s out of a strategic need to protect the Shipka Pass.

[edit] Culture

The cultural centre of Kazanlak is the Iskra chitalishte, founded in 1860. It contains a library, theatre, cinema, and museum. It was host to the first Bulgarian opera, Siromahkinya.^[1]

[edit] Sights

The city lies at the eastern end of the famous Rose Valley. It is flanked with mid-height mountain ranges on opposite sides, and is especially marvellous in May when rose fields blossom and the fragrance is unparalleled. The beautiful celebrations for the blossom of the roses there takes place in the first week of June. The whole week is filled with different attractions every day. That week is also interesting, because there is a beauty pageant and on the last day of the celebrations, the most beautiful girl in the city is chosen. They call her "The Queen Of Roses". According to The Ultimate Visual Encyclopedia, Bulgaria is the major supplier of a certain type of rose oil in the world and Kazanlak's rose gardens are the largest rose gardens in the whole world. It is the only place in the entire world that can grow this certain rose.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Industry

Prominent among Kazanlak's manufacturers is Arsenal Corp. Founded in 1924, it manufactures and develops a wide range of military equipment, including small arms (especially AK-47 models), anti-aircraft missiles, and heavy machine guns. Also located in the city are M+S Hydraulic and Caproni JSC, manufacturers of hydraulic components. Kazanlak has three textile factories, one for woolen cloth, the second producing thread of different types and the last producing cloth from synthetic materials. Finally, Kazanlak is home to a rose oil factory.

[edit] Famous people

• Chudomir, writer
• Emanuil Manolov, composer
• Petko Staynov, composer
• Dechko Uzunov, artist
• Svetla Ivanova, pop singer
• Elvira Georgieva, estrada and chalga singer
• Petko Orozov, philanthropist, Rose Oil industrialist and innovator

[edit] Sister cities

Country	City	Date
Egypt	Alexandria	2006
Egypt	Luxor	2006
France	Grasse	2004
France	Saint-Herblain	2008
Greece	Veria	2001
Russia	Tolyatti	1994
Japan	Fukuyama	1995
Macedonia	Kočani	2007
Hungary	Nagykanizsa	1970
Romania	Târgovişte	2004

[edit] Gallery

Mati Bolgaria High School	City centre	"Luvova Cheshma"-The Lion's Fountain in the city's center	Fresco in the 4th century BC Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak, an UNESCO World Heritage Site
Kazanlak 2.JPG Sevtopolis Plaza - Folklor Festival

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Kazanlak

• Official website for Kazanlak
• Kazanlak info
• Kazanlak.com
• Kazanlak.start.bg
• Official UNESCO description of the Kazanlak tomb
• Bulgarian World Heritage Sites; further professional links
• Pictures from Kazanlak Info
• Pictures from Kazanlak
• History of Kazanlak

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Coordinates: 42°37′N, 25°24′E