Pleven Favorites

Favorite thing: Pleven municipality occupies the middle part of the Danube plateau. It is located in the heart of Mizia area, an agricultural region, fenced by medium in height lime hills. The central location in Northern Bulgaria determines its importance as a major administrative, political, cultural and transportation center. Pleven town is located 170 km from the capital Sofia, 320 km from the Black sea coast, 30 km from Danube river, 130 km from the “Danube Bridge” and around 70 km from the Balkan Range. The access to the town is by first class highway Sofia-Varna (E83), by second class road Nikopol-Pleven (II-34), blacktop Lovetch-Pleven (II-35). To reach the town on Danube river one has to pass Somovit harbor that is 31 km from Pleven. Presently construction works are going on to restore the airport in Dolna Mitropolia which is 10 km away from the town.

Pleven is a town with millennium history. The earliest traces for man life and activities date to the end of New Stone Age when agricultural and animal-raising tribes inhabited these places. In III-I II century A.C. Pleven was conquered by the Romans who turned it into a fortress under the name of “Storgozia”. The Slavs came here at the end of VI century and the beginning of VII c. The archeological finds show that the life in the Kailaka settlement continues during the Middle Age. The present name of the town is mentioned for the first time in a document, dated 1266.
The name of Pleven becomes world famous during the Russian-Turkish War in 1877-1878. The decisive outcome of this war and the liberation of Pleven is on 10 December, 1877. The press in the whole of Europe reflects the event.
The town has preserved till nowadays its cultural-historical inheritance and is well known as the town of the museums.

Fondest memory: Pleven is in a zone of moderate-continental climate characterized by significant temperature amplitudes. The summer is hot and the winter is cold. The flat country facilitates the easy penetration of winds with the predominance of eastern and western winds. The annual monthly temperature is 10,80C. The maximum average monthly rainfalls amount to 1201 mm/square meters. The water resources are collected from Vit and Tuchenitza rivers as well from Karsts springs, artesian wells and underground waters.

Pleven municipality occupies an area of 812,098 square km. (18,74% from the territory of Pleven district and 0,73 from the territory of Bulgaria). There are 25 populated areas in the municipality in these number 2 towns - Pleven and Slavianovo.

The residents on the territory of the municipality amount to 198 420. The first place with regard to population density is taken by Pleven with 185 000 inhabitants. Here is concentrated 38% of the municipality population. Pleven is the seventh great town in Bulgaria and function as the key center in the Western part of Northern Central region. Due to this fact the population density on the territory of the municipality is - 185,9 inhabitants per square km, which is one of the highest for the country. The degree of urbanization in the municipality (the ratio of town and village population) is 89:12 at the average for the country 68:12.

Ethnic groups:

Bulgarians - 94%,
Gypsies and Turks - 5%,
others - 1%.

Dominating religion

Eastern Orthodox - 90% of the municipality inhabitants.
Roman-Catholics - 5%.