Berkovitsa

Berkovitsa (Bulgarian: Берковица [bɛrˈkɔvit͡sɐ]) is a town and ski resort in northwestern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Berkovitsa Municipality, Montana Province and is close to the town of Varshets. As of December 2009, it has a population of 13,917 inhabitants.[1]

Not to be confused with Berkovica.
Berkovitsa
Berkovitsa is located in Bulgaria
Berkovitsa
Berkovitsa
Location of Berkovitsa
Coordinates: 43°14′N 23°7′E
CountryBulgaria
Province
(Oblast)		Montana
Government
 • MayorDimitranka Kamenova
Elevation
371 m (1,217 ft)
Population
 (01.02.2011)[1]
 • City13,463
 • Urban
18,822
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal Code
3500
Area code0953

Location and history

Berkovitsa is situated on the northern slope of Kom Peak of the Berkovska Stara Planina Mountain along the valley of the Berkovitsa River, which is a tributary to the Barziya River, at an altitude above sea level 405 m. The town was mentioned for the first time in Ottoman documents of 1488.[2] According to the 1831 Ottoman population statistics, 67.5% of the Christians were non-taxpayers in the kaza of Berkofça.[3] It is near the site of an old fortified settlement on the road from Sofia to Lom. The remains of the fortress and a church were discovered on high ground at Kaleto, just to the west of the present-day town. The former settlement was known as early as the reign of King Kaloyan and was mentioned as a border settlement in the period of the Vidin Kingdom.

Berkovitsa Glacier, on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, is named for Berkovitsa.

History

The region was involved in the Uprising of Konstantin and Fruzhin (1408 - 1413) and the Chiprovtsi Uprising (1688). At the end of August 1872, Vasil Levski arrived in Berkovitsa, together with the chairman of the Vratsa Revolutionary Committee, Mito Ankov.

Religion

Christianity

In the late antique fortress Kaleto, located on a hill north of Berkovitsa, a large bishopric complex was built during early Christianity.

  • Orthodox church of Nativity of Mary

Judaism

Until 1947, there was a significant Jewish community in Berkovitsa and there was a functioning synagogue.

Economy

Transportation
Berkovitsa railway station

Berkovitsa has a terminus railway station. It is connected to Montana and has access to the railway connecting Vidin and Vratsa. There are four trains per day.

International relations
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Bulgaria

Twin towns — Sister cities

Berkovitsa is twinned with:

  • Berkovitsa Square
    Berkovitsa Square
  • Clock tower
    Clock tower
  • peak Kom
    peak Kom
  • Orthodox Church
    Orthodox Church
  • Town museum
    Town museum
  • House-museum of Ivan Vazov
    House-museum of Ivan Vazov

Notable natives

References
  1. (in English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian towns in 2009 Archived November 13, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Nicoara Beldiceanu, Les actes des premiers sultans conservés dans les manuscrits Turcs de la Bibliothèque Nationale a Paris, II, Paris, La Haye, 1964, p. 218, note 2
  3. Kemal Karpat (1985), Ottoman Population, 1830-1914, Demographic and Social Characteristics, The University of Wisconsin Press, p. 36
  4. "Дзержинский О городе" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2018-10-09. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
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