Lom, Bulgaria

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Lom
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = BUL
subdivision_type1 = Province
(Oblast)
timezone=EET
utc_offset=+2
timezone_DST=EEST
utc_offset_DST=+3
map_caption = Location of Lom, Bulgaria
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position =
pushpin_map_caption =Location of Lom, Bulgaria
pushpin_mapsize =
leader_title =Mayor
postal_code_type =Postal Code
|native_name=Лом
image_shield=
|subdivision_name1=Montana
population_total=29981|population_footnotes=
population_as_of=2005-09-13
elevation_m=20
postal_code=3600
area_code=0971
latd=43|latm=49|lats=|latNS=N|longd=23|longm=14|longs=|longEW=E|leader_name=Penka Penkova
Lom ( _bg. Лом) is a town in northwestern Bulgaria, part of Montana Province, situated on the right bank of the Danube, close to the estuary of the Lom River. It is 162 km north of Sofia, 56 km southeast of Vidin, 50 km north of Montana and 42 km west of Kozloduy. It is the second mostimportant Bulgarian port on the Danube after Rousse.

History

Antiquity and Middle Ages

Lom was founded by the Thracians under the name of "Artanes" in Antiquity. After them the Romans called the fortress and the town "Almus", from where the name of the today's city and of the Lom River comes.

There are no reports proving that there existed a big settlement in the Middle Ages. It was not until Ottoman rule that it enlarged but for a long time it was under the shadow of the dominant towns of Vidin, Nikopol and Silistra. It is assumed that the Ottoman village was founded in 1695 by Kara Mustafa and Murad Bey, who were defeated at Vienna in 1683 and who came here sailing rafts along the Danube.

Ottoman rule and Bulgarian National Revival

The name "Lom Palanka" was mentioned for a first time in 1704. The settlement then called "palanka" was something between a village and a town in size and importance. In 1798 Lom suffered from brigand raids. With the development of shipping along the Danube after 1830, the importance of the town grew. The road to Sofia contributed to its progress and turned it into a main export port to Vienna (Austria). By 1869 there were 120 shops, 148 trade offices, 175 food shops, 34 coffee bars, 6 hotels and 2 mills. The town was centred around the old "Kale" (fortress), which was entered through three "kapii" (gates) — Vidinska, Belogradchishka, Sofiyska. The tradesmen from Lom offered goods at the biggest fairs in the region and beyond. In 1880 there were 7,500 inhabitants in the town.

Lom is proud of its traditions from the period of the Bulgarian National Revival. In 1856 the first community centre in Bulgaria was founded in the town, the first women's society in the country was also established in 1858 and one of the first theatre performances took place in the town. Krastyu Pishurka, a noted educator, also worked in Lom.

Until the Second world war it was a major market town. After the 1944 the industry developpes — sugar factory, can factory, grain industry. It becomes a port for the southwestern part of Bulgaria.

Landmarks

*Plazha ( _bg. Плажа) - the 500 m. long pebbled beach at the bank of the Danube River, 3 km. from the centre of the city
*Town Museum of History, housed in the building of the old town-hall.
*Preserved foundations of the antique fortress Almus
*Postoyanstvo, the oldest community centre in Bulgaria
*Building of the former School of Pedagogy
*Borunska Church
*Monument of Tseko Voivoda (1807-1881), a participant in the battles for liberation of Serbia and proclaimed by the Serbian government to be a voyvoda (revolutionary leader)

Religion

The majority of the population of Lom is Christian Orthodox.The second biggest religious group is
Protestantism-adventists and baptists.

Honour

Lom Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Lom.

External links

* [http://www.lom.bg The Official Site of Lom]