Svilengrad

Svilengrad's coat of arms.

Svilengrad (Bulgarian: Свиленград) is a town in Haskovo Province, South-central Bulgaria, situated at the border of Turkey and Greece. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Svilengrad Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 18,132 inhabitants.^[1]

Svilengrad is close to the road borders of Greece and Turkey (supposedly one of the largest road customs in Europe). Svilengrad is located ESE of Sofia and Plovdiv, South of Varna and Burgas, West of Edirne and North of the nearest Greek community Ormenio and Alexandroupoli in Greece. There is a higher level of employment than in surrounding villages. Most people work for customs and border related industries e.g. TIR servicing, hotels, border police, etc. The town center has a pedestrianized high street mostly filled with cafes, bars, phone shops and hotels. The town has 3 DVD rental shops, two cinemas and a library. The Maritsa river flows west of Svilengrad. The Evros Prefecture and Trigono of Greece is bordered to the south. The Rhodope mountains lie to the west and southwest. The area to the southwest is famous for its fruit trees.

Origins

During Ottoman times, the town's name was Cisr-i Mustafapasha, which was meaning "Bridge of Mustapha Pasha". In 1529, the Old Bridge (Bulgarian: Старият мост) over the Maritsa, one of the symbols of the town, was erected. The town was ceded to Bulgaria in 1912 after the First Balkan War.

Communities

Mezek fortress.

The Bridge over the Maritsa River.

Matochina castle.

Matochina castle.

• Varnik
• Dimitrovtse
• Novo Selo
• Raykova Mogila
• Tsernodab
• Matochina
• Shtit
• Pashovo
• Kapitan Andreevo
• Mezek
• Lisovo
• Studena
• Levka
• Sladun
• Mihalich
• Pystrogor
• Momkovo

Sports

• FC Svilengrad 1921

Transportation

There is a local bus station from which it is possible to reach many big Bulgarian cities including the Black Sea resorts and local communities.

Roads

• A1, the Maritsa, access to Ö8 superhighway in Turkey bypasses Svilengrad
• BG-9
• BG-55
• European route E85 to border crossing into Greece and onward to Ormenio and Alexandroupoli in Greece

Persons

• Binka Zhelyazkova
• Hristo Atanassov
• Ognyana Dusheva
• Milko Kalaydzhiev
• Rıza Tevfik Bölükbaşı - Turkish philosopher, poet and politician

References

1. ^ (English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - towns in 2009

External links

• Svilengrad municipality official website
• Svilengrad municipality - town and villages, populations, maps, locations, sizes, etc.
• Svilengrad Info - Hotel, restaurant, vacation, fun and more information
• http://www.bulgarianproperties.com/towns-cities-villages-resorts.php?IID=49&long=
• The news portal of Svilengrad

Coordinates: 41°46′N 26°12′E / 41.767°N 26.2°E / 41.767; 26.2