Targovishte
Търговище
City
Coat of arms of Targovishte
Coat of arms
Targovishte is located in Bulgaria
Targovishte
Targovishte
Location of Targovishte
Coordinates: 43°15′N 26°35′E / 43.250°N 26.583°E / 43.250; 26.583
CountryBulgaria
Province (Oblast)Targovishte
MunicipalityTargovishte
Government
 • MayorDarin Dimitrov (GERB)
Area
 • City87.427 km2 (33.756 sq mi)
Elevation
170 m (560 ft)
Population
 (2021)[1]
 • City34,793
 • Density400/km2 (1,000/sq mi)
 • Urban
53,041
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal Code
7700
Area code0601
License PlateT
WebsiteOfficial website

Targovishte (Bulgarian: Търговище, also transliterated Tǎrgovište, pronounced [tɐrˈɡɔviʃtɛ], Turkish: Eski Cuma) is a city in Bulgaria, the administrative and economic capital of Targovishte Province.

It is situated at the northern foot of the low mountain of Preslav on both banks of the Vrana River. The town is 335 kilometres (208 miles) north-east of the capital Sofia and about 125 km (78 mi) west of the city of Varna and the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. Targovishte is known as an old market settlement.

Name

The name comes from the Slavic root targ ("trade") + the Slavic placename suffix -ishte, "market town" (a calque of the Ottoman Turkish Eski Cuma, "old Friday", though the Turkish name may be derived from the earlier Bulgarian Sborishte "gathering place"). The name is etymologically and semantically the same as that of the city Târgoviște in Romania and Trgovište in Serbia.

City

Archaeological studies prove that in these places there were people in the Copper-Stone Age (Chalcolithic) – between the 5th and the 4th millennium BC. In the city's vicinity are the remains of Thracian settlements (5th–3rd century BC), a Roman settlement (2nd–4th century AD) and a fortress from the early Byzantine period (5th–6th century). A Bulgarian settlement was founded in the 10th century during the First Bulgarian Empire, however due to its proximity to the capital Preslav, it did not develop until the 12th century. In the 12th century, due to its location on a main road from the new capital Veliko Turnovo, a fortress by the name "Сборище" (Sborishte) was built.

In the 18th and 19th centuries it became a famous market for animals and craft products called Eski Cuma ("old bazaar" in Turkish).[2][3][4][5][6] A monastical school was opened in the 18th century and a secular one, called the Slaveykov School and situated in the old Varosha Quarter was established in 1846, with Petko Slaveykov being a teacher there; a chitalishte was also built. Industrial development began after the Second World War. Factories producing car batteries and machines for the food industry were opened; later, furniture and textile industries developed. One of Bulgaria's largest wine production factories is located there. Targovishte is home to one of the largest glass factories in Europe. The investment in the factory was $380,000,000 and employs 1,500 people.[7]

The town is a cultural centre. In 2000, ruins of an Ancient Roman town called Missionis (Мисионис) were unearthed near Targovishte. The town art gallery named after the eminent Bulgarian artist Nikola Marinov, who was born here, has a considerable collection of his works.

The local football team is called PFC Svetkavitsa ("lightning") and plays in the B PFG. The city is also noted for its shooting sports traditions. There is also a drama theatre and a puppet theatre.

A panoramic view of the city

Population

In January 2012, Targovishte was inhabited by 37,341 people within the city limits, while the Targovishte Municipality with the legally affiliated adjacent villages had 56,868 inhabitants.[8] The number of the residents of the city (not the municipality) reached its peak in the period 1980-1990 when exceeded 45,000 with a highest rate in 1989 numbering 47,798.[9] The following table presents the change of the population after 1887.

Targovishte
Year 1887 1910 1934 1946 1956 1965 1975 1985 1992 2001 2005 2009 2011 2021
Population 8,519 9,388 10,343 10,561 14,193 25,588 38,875 46,043 42,988 40,659 38,390 37,375 37,611 34,793
Highest number 47,798 in 1989
Sources: National Statistical Institute,[9][10][1] citypopulation.de,[11] pop-stat.mashke.org,[12] Bulgarian Academy of Sciences[13]

Ethnic, linguistic and religious composition

According to the latest 2011 census data, the individuals declared their ethnic identity were distributed as follows:[14][15]

  • Bulgarians: 27,825 (79.4%)
  • Turks: 6,222 (17.8%)
  • Roma: 633 (1.8%)
  • Others: 138 (0.4%)
  • Indefinable: 235 (0.7%)
    • Undeclared: 2,558 (4.2%)

Total: 37,611

The ethnic composition of Targovishte Municipality is 33,229 Bulgarians, 14,883 Turks and 3,902 Roma among others.

Municipality

Targovishte is the administrative centre for the Targovishte Municipality, one of five municipalities of the Targovishte Province. In addition to Targovishte, which has the status of town (in Bulgarian: град, transliterated as grad), the municipality contains 51 other localities with the status of village (in Bulgarian: село, transliterated as selo).

The following list shows the names of localities transliterated in Latin alphabet,[16][17] followed in parentheses by the name in the Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet (which links to the corresponding Bulgarian Wikipedia article).

Honour

Targovishte Glacier on Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Targovishte.

Churches

Schools

  • Sveti Sedmochislenitsi High School
  • Profesor Nikola Marinov High School
  • Mitropolit Andrey High School
  • Hristo Botev Comprehensive School
  • P.R.Slaveykov Comprehensive School
  • John Atanasov Vocational School
  • Nikola Simov Vocational(Sport) School
  • St. John of Rila School for children with hearing problems

Notable people

International relations

Twin towns – sister cities

Targovishte is twinned with:[18]

References

  1. 1 2 "Население по области, общини, местоживеене и пол | Национален статистически институт". nsi.bg. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  2. ↑ (in Bulgarian)Николай Мичев, Петър Коледаров. „Речник на селищата и селищните имена в България 1878-1987“, София, 1989.
  3. ↑ "NTV Haber - Haberler, En Son Güncel Haberler". www.ntv.com.tr. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  4. ↑ "Hürriyet Arama". HÜRRİYET - ARAMA. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  5. ↑ "Градовете" (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  6. ↑ "ZAMAN Gazetesi Yazarlar" (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  7. ↑ "Shishedzham inauguration". Archived from the original on 6 March 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  8. ↑ "Cities". Archived from the original on 13 November 2012.
  9. 1 2 (in Bulgarian)National Statistical Institute - Towns population 1956-1992
  10. ↑ "Statistika". Archived from the original on 13 November 2010.
  11. ↑ "Bulgaria: Major Cities - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  12. ↑ "Cities of Bulgaria". pop-stat.mashke.org. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  13. ↑ (in Bulgarian) Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Archived July 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ "Population by age". Archived from the original on 8 September 2013.
  15. ↑ "Population by etnos". Archived from the original on 21 May 2013.
  16. ↑ Geonames Search Archived 2010-03-07 at the Wayback Machine at National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) - reference for location names
  17. ↑ Targovishte Municipality at Guide-Bulgaria.com - reference for location names
  18. ↑ "Международни контакти". targovishte.bg (in Bulgarian). Targovishte. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
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