Lom (Bulgaria)
| Lom (Лом) | |||||
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| Basic data | |||||
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| State : |
 Bulgaria
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| Oblast : | Montana | ||||
| Residents : | 20,949 (December 31, 2016) | ||||
| Coordinates : | 43 ° 49 ' N , 23 ° 14' E | ||||
| Height : | 200 m | ||||
| Postal code : | 3600 | ||||
| Telephone code : | (+359) 0971 | ||||
| License plate : | M. | ||||
| administration | |||||
| Mayor : | Penka Penkowa | ||||
| Website : | www.lom.bg | ||||
Lom [ ɫɔm ] ( Bulgarian Лом ) is a city in northwest Bulgaria . With 20,000 inhabitants, it is the second largest city in the Montana district ( Oblast ). The city is the administrative center of the municipality of Lom (36,493 inhabitants in July 2005). Lom was also known as Lom-Palanka. “Palanka” actually refers to a place that is larger than a village but smaller than a city.
geography
Lom is located on the right bank of the Danube (south bank), near the confluence of the Lom River into the Danube (not to be confused with the Russensky Lom River near Russe in northeast Bulgaria). Lom is a border town because Romania lies on the left bank of the Danube . After Ruse, Lom has the second largest Danube port in Bulgaria. The port was and is of great economic importance due to its relative proximity to the capital Sofia .
Lom has no regular passenger ship traffic on the Bulgarian Danube side. Liners and hydrofoils operate on the Danube only from May to September between Vidin , Lom and Kozloduy , Orjachowo , Nikopol , Swishtov , Tutrakan and Silistra .
Lom is 162 km north of Sofia and 56 km southeast of Vidin, which is in the north-westernmost tip of Bulgaria and also on the Danube. The provincial capital Montana is 49 km further south inland. East of Lom (42 km) is the city of Kozloduy (Козлодуй) with the Kozloduy nuclear power plant (two of the six formerly active nuclear reactors, four of which had to be shut down in connection with EU accession).
The city is on the Danube Cycle Path , an international long-distance cycle route .
climate
Due to the location in the Danube basin, there is a lot of fog from October to March. In winter, temperatures drop to as low as −30 ° C. In summer 40 ° C is not uncommon because the hot air accumulates in the Danube basin.
history
Ancient and Middle Ages
The city was founded by the Thracians and was already known under the name Artanes in the time of Herodotus . Then the Romans built a fort and a way station in 29 and named it Almus . It was probably named after the neighboring river of the same name. Almus was on the Roman road along the Danube. The construction of the western section of the "Donaustraße" began under Tiberius . In the first decades of the 2nd century Almus was part of the administrative area of the ancient Roman city of Ratiaria (28 km west of Lom) - part of the Moesia superior province . The province of Moesia superior was divided into Dakia ripiensis and Dacia mediterranea in 271 .
The mention of Lom in the First Bulgarian Empire goes back to Khan Terwel (r. 700–721). The settlement was probably called that by the Slavs who lived there. Lom also continued to develop as a settlement in the Second Bulgarian Empire. When the Bulgarian Empire was divided under Tsar Ivan Alexander in 1356 , Lom went to the Kingdom of Vidin (Видинското царство), which was ruled by his son Ivan Strazimir (Иван Срацимир).
Ottoman rule
The Turks ( Kara Mustafa and Murad Bey) probably founded a settlement there in 1695 after the unsuccessful Second Turkish Siege of Vienna in 1683 under the leadership of Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa. Parts of the defeated Ottoman troops came down the Danube on rafts. The name Lom Palanka was first mentioned in 1704. As Palanka then a settlement with an average size and importance was designated (larger than a village but smaller than a city;. Today, for example, still in place names Banatska Palanka ). Short term, the city was also Lomtrad .
The city grew under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, but was always overshadowed by the neighboring Danube cities of Widin, Nikopol and Silistra . In 1798 Lom suffered from gang attacks by Osman Pazvantoğlu . These are received in Alexander Sergejewitsch Pushkin's prose .
With the increase in navigation on the Danube in 1830, the economic importance of the port city of Lom also grew. The economy experienced a great boom with the construction of the road to Sofia and the rise of the port to become the most important export port for trade with Vienna . Trade relations with Austria also strongly influenced the architecture of the city. In 1837 the Austrian steamer “Arpad” docked in Lom for the first time on its way to Galați (German: Galatz). In the following years a quay was built and an agency of the “ First Danube Steamship Company ” was opened. The port of Lom-Palanka quickly developed into a transportation and trading center. It was also of great importance for the transportation of goods to the cities of Berkovitsa , Pleven , Veliko Tarnovo , Gabrovo and Sofia .
Around 1869 there were around 120 shops, 148 trading offices , 175 grocer's , 34 coffee houses , 6 hotels and 2 mills in the city. The city was built around the old fortress, which had three gates: the Sofia Gate, the Vidin Gate and the Belogradchik Gate. Lom traders exhibited their wares at all major fairs. In 1880 the city had 7,500 inhabitants. Lom is proud of its part in the struggle for Bulgarian national revival . As part of the “national rebirth”, the “House Perseverance”, one of the first Chitalishtes, was founded here in 1856 by Krastjo Pischurka . In 1858 Angelina Pischurka founded the “Virtuous Female Society”, the first women's association in Bulgaria (1857 - “Добродетелно женско дружество”). Immediately after the liberation from Turkish rule, a high school was opened in 1878.
After the Ottoman defeat in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 ( Ottoman wars ), parts settled at the battered Turkish troops around Lom. After the liberation of Bulgaria , Lom became part of the Principality of Bulgaria .
As part of Bulgaria
In 1881 the city had 7,000 inhabitants. In 1886, for example, the customs revenue amounted to 920,000 leva import duty, 4,800 leva export duty and 15,000 leva tax. The city thus took second place in Bulgaria after the Black Sea port of Varna .
In addition to the port, Lom received a train station. On the basis of this good infrastructural connection and the fertile environment, Lom became the main transshipment point for northwestern Bulgaria (e.g. for maize). By 1926 the number of inhabitants doubled to 14,417.
In 1894 the Czechs Malotin and Hosman opened a brewery, today's "Lom Bier AG" ("Ломско пиво"). At the same time, a tobacco factory and a ceramic factory also opened. In 1897 the Swiss Lui Aier founded the first gymnastics club in Lom.
Lom traders opened trading offices in England, Bucharest , Brăila and Odessa .
At the beginning of the 20th century, wealthy families had their houses built by Austrian, Italian and German architects in the style of the “late Secession ” ( Vienna Secession , turning to Art Nouveau ) (Hauptstrasse, 1915–1935). Remains of a Jewish cemetery on the western outskirts of the city remained from the Jewish population who emigrated after the Second World War .
present
Like many other Bulgarian cities after the end of communist rule in Bulgaria, Lom suffers from poor infrastructure. Most of the streets and houses are in poor condition. A Swiss aid initiative took over the sponsorship of the hospital, the condition of which she described in 2003 as pitiful.
One of the main problems is poverty, which is exacerbated by high unemployment. Because of the decline in the birth rate and the departure of the younger population in search of better opportunities, the average age has increased dramatically.
The population of Lom is falling:
- April 1985: 32,307
- April 1992: 31.133
- March 2001: 27,897
- December 2004: 26,185
Of the almost 30,000 inhabitants, 18,000 are Roma . That is a high percentage for Bulgaria. The low social standing of the Roma in Bulgaria creates major economic problems for the city. The Roma have set up a Roma aid initiative in Lom.
The city is named after Lom Peak , a mountain on Livingston Island in Antarctica.
Attractions
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- the Tschitalischte founded by Krastjo Pischurka in 1856 and a memorial for Krastjo Pischurka erected in 1933
- the preserved foundation walls of the ancient fortress Almus
- Lom Historical Museum (in the old town - in the old town hall)
- Borunska church
- Monument to the voivod Zeko (1807–1881) - a participant in the struggle for the liberation of Serbia from the Turks
- the remains of the Asparuch Wall (4 km southeast of the city)
- various viewpoints on the Danube (possibilities for water sports and fishing)
- the 500 m long pebble beach on the Danube - 3 km from the city center
- Holy Trinity Monastery (“Света Тройца”) (Holy Trinity Monastery) - 30 km from Lom
- the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Ratiaria - 28 km west of Lom
City friendships
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Linz , Austria
Personalities
sons and daughters of the town
- Aleksandar Ivanov Rajchev (1922-2003), composer
- Simeon Pironkow (1927-2000), composer
- Vladimir Schkodrow (1930–2010), astronomer and asteroid discoverer
- Bojidar Dimov (1935-2003), composer
- Marijan Ognjanow (* 1988), football player
People associated with the city
- Parvan Draganow (1890–1945), former Bulgarian Foreign Minister. Was executed in 1945 after the end of the Second World War .
- Krastjo Pischurka (1823–1875), teacher, actor and co-founder of the Bulgarian National Theater in Sofia. Wedding, death and possibly birth in Lom. There is said to have been a mausoleum for him in Lom.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ivan Stojanow: История на Българското възраждане (German: The Story of the Bulgarian Rebirth) , Verlag Абагар, Veliko Tarnowo, 1999
- ↑ Pushkin: Prose Kirdzhali, in: http://www.rvb.ru/pushkin/01text/06prose/01prose/0867.htm at RVB.ru
- ↑ Der Große Brockhaus, 15th edition, Vol. 11, Leipzig, 1932, p. 545
- ↑ Krastjo Pischurka: Origin and family history up to the grandchildren ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 19.1 MB), January 2013, p. 25
