Kotel
| Kotel (Котел) | |||
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| Basic data | |||
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| State : |
 Bulgaria
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| Oblast : | Sliven | ||
| Residents : | 5370 (December 31, 2016) | ||
| Coordinates : | 42 ° 53 ' N , 26 ° 27' E | ||
| Height : | 643 m | ||
| Postal code : | 8970 | ||
| Telephone code : | (+359) 0453 | ||
| License plate : | CH | ||
| administration | |||
| Mayor : | Georgi Denow | ||
| Website : | www.kotel.bg | ||
Kotel [ ˈkɔtɛɫ ] ( Bulgarian Котел ) is a town in central Bulgaria in Sliven Oblast , 72 km northeast of Sliven . After Sliven and Nowa Sagora , Kotel is the third largest city in Sliven Oblast. Kotel is the administrative center of the Kotel municipality of the same name.
The city is a tourist center and the old town is a listed building .
location
Kotel is located in a valley basin in the eastern Balkan mountains , on the border between the eastern and central Balkan mountains, 328 km east of Sofia in a scenic location in the middle of the surrounding mountains.
Kotel municipality
Municipal area
The municipality of Kotel borders on the municipalities of Omurtag (in the north), Antonowo (in the northwest), Sliven (in the west), Straldscha (in the south), Sungurlare (in the east) and Warbiza (in the northeast). The municipal area is 300 to 1128 m above sea level. The highest point is the Rasboja peak (Bulgarian връх "Разбойна" 1128 m). In addition to Kotel, the municipality includes the following localities:
population
The municipality has 22,040 inhabitants, but is only sparsely populated - with a population density of 27.2 / km². A third of the population lives in villages and two thirds in urban areas. There is a slight surplus of women (11,180: 10,800). The population growth is negative (−2.8%). The birth rate is 11.6 and the mortality rate is 12.6. The proportion of the working population is decreasing, while the proportion of the elderly is increasing, 20% of the population are retired.
The ethnic composition consists of:
- 49.7% Bulgarians,
- 31.6% Turks,
- 16.5% Roma,
- 2.3% others.
history
Antiquity
The location in the central part of the Eastern Balkan Mountains was strategically favorable. The route over the pass, its importance as a communication route, has left a strong mark on the city's fate and rich historical past. The area around the city had been inhabited since prehistoric times, although no traces of settlement were found in the city itself.
During archaeological excavations, ceramics from the Copper Age were found in the area , stone dexels and stone axes and flint knives from the 5th and 6th millennium BC. Chr.
From the 1st millennium BC A Thracian cult complex and a rock cemetery comes from the area of Chorbate (Чобрата) and Talim Tsch (Талим Таш).
Middle Ages and Ottoman times
There are many legends surrounding the city of Kotel, which testify to the fame of the medieval Bulgarian empire (see History of Bulgaria ). Legend has it that the town was settled after the residents of the village of Novachka (bulg. Новачка) were forced to leave their village by military units. According to another legend, the villagers were looking for a lost herd of horses until they finally found them in a pasture in a strange area that is now known as Isworowa Polyana (Bulgarian Изворова поляна, German: spring meadow). Fresh spring water gushed out between the rocks and because of the pastures, the beautiful landscape, the spruce trees and the geraniums, the decision was made to settle here.
In the Middle Ages there were a large number of defensive systems and fortresses in this part of the Balkan Mountains, which protected the Bulgarian capitals in the north ( Pliska , Preslaw , Tarnowo ). About six kilometers south of Kotel are the remains of the fortresses Demir Kapija (Turkish; Bulgar. Демир капия; German: Eisentor) and Wida (Bulgarian Вида), which protected a narrow valley. One of the shortest wagons that crosses the mountains from south to north has always led through this valley. At the foot of the two fortresses is the Grazki Dol (Bulgarian Гръцки дол) area, where, according to tradition, Khan Krum in 811 and on July 17, 1279 Tsar Ivajlo smashed the Byzantine troops.
The fortress provided a good defense against the Turks. Kotel has long been a bulwark of Bulgarianism.
The medieval fortress and the surrounding villages of Kosjak (Козяк), Chajdut Warban (Хайдут Върбан). Titscha (Тича) and Atscheras (Ачерас) existed until the end of the 14th century after the annexation by the Ottoman Empire. After the resistance of the Bulgarians was broken, the villages and the fortress were destroyed and the residents had to seek refuge in the mountains of the Balkan Mountains.
During this period - at the beginning of Ottoman rule - the city of Kotel was flooded by Bulgarians seeking refuge.
The earliest Ottoman sources about this region are Timarregiste of 1486 the Sanjak to find Nikopol - a settlement called Kazan Panara (bulg Казан Пънаръ.). At that time, Kotel belonged to the Tımar (a kind of feudal marriage) of the feudal warrior ( Sipahi ) Musa and comprised 53 houses or households.
Kotel is called "the cradle of the Bulgarian rebirth ". The city has beautiful architecture from the late Bulgarian Revival period.
After the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) and the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule, Kotel experienced an economic boom in the second half of the 18th and 19th centuries. Various handicrafts experienced a strong boom, the city became wealthy and grew to 1200 houses.
The wool of the numerous sheep in Dobruja was processed here. The city became the center of wool yarn production, wool weaving, the manufacture of wool clothing. Kotel became one of the most important centers of carpet weaving in Bulgaria.
The city was destroyed by fire three times and rebuilt.
economy
The income from logging is the economic basis of the very wood-rich region, although the wood processing industry has declined in recent years. The textile industry is only represented by three companies. The carpet industry is in decline.
Others
There is a national school of folklore in the city, which accepts students from the 8th grade. she trains in the subjects of folk instruments, folk songs, Bulgarian dances and musical instrument making. It has been the namesake of the Kotel Gap , a mountain pass on Livingston Island in Antarctica , since 2002 .
Museums
- Historical Museum Kotel
- Kotel Natural History Museum (one of the largest on the Balkan Peninsula)
- Ethnographic Museum
- Bulgarian Revival Museum
- the panton of "Georgi Rakowski" ( Georgi Rakowski )
- Kipilowsko Kale - a fortress near the village of Kipilowo, near Kotel,
sons and daughters of the town
- Sophronius von Wraza (1739–1813), bishop, historian and writer
- Knjaz Stefan Bogoridi (1775–1859), grandson of Sophronius and high Ottoman official
- Neofit Bosweli (around 1785–1848), clergyman, fighter for an independent Bulgarian church
- Georgi Mamartschew (1786-1846), was an officer in the Russian army, Russian Turkish War (1806-1812) when taking did in Silistra out
- Petar Beron (1795–1871), scientist, publicist and doctor
- Gavril Krastewitsch (1817–1898), Governor General of Eastern Rumelia
- Georgi Rakowski (1821–1867), revolutionary, freedom fighter and writer
- Georgi Gubidelnikow (1859–1938), politician and banker
- Stephan Angeloff (1878–1964), veterinarian and microbiologist
- Dobri Boschilow (1884–1945), Prime Minister of Bulgaria
- Wassilka Stoewa (* 1940), discus thrower
Sports
There is a soccer team in the town of FK Kotel .
