Madan (Bulgaria)
| Madan (Bulgaria) (Мадан) | |||
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| Basic data | |||
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| State : |
 Bulgaria
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| Oblast : | Smolyan | ||
| Residents : | 5535 (December 31, 2016) | ||
| Coordinates : | 41 ° 30 ′ N , 24 ° 57 ′ E | ||
| Height : | 851 m | ||
| Postal code : | 4900 | ||
| Telephone code : | (+359) 0308 | ||
| License plate : | CM | ||
| administration | |||
| Mayor : | Atanas Ivanov | ||
Madan [ mɐˈdan ] ( Bulgarian Мадан ) is a city in southern Bulgaria , in Smolyan Oblast , near the city of Rudosem . Madan is the administrative center of the Madan municipality.
Madan is located in the Rhodope Mountains , 30 km southeast of Smolyan and 120 km south of Plovdiv .
Madan parish
The municipality of Madan has 15,500 inhabitants, an area of 175 km² and is located in the Western Rhodope Mountains . The neighboring municipalities are the municipalities of Rudosem , Slatograd , Nedelino , Ardino , Banite and Smoljan . The mean height above sea level is 700 m. The terrain is predominantly hilly or has the character of a low mountain range . The walls of the valleys are very steep. The forest area is 13,125 ha (131 km²). The ratio of deciduous trees to conifers is 25:75.
history
Madan is an old mining settlement. The extraction of lead ore began in this region in the 4th to 5th centuries BC. BC -by the Thracian tribe Koilaleti. Miners' tools from the Middle Ages were found in the shafts.
Today, the vast majority of Madan's population is Muslim. There are three mosques and an Orthodox church, Sweti Georgi Pobedonosez (Свети Георги Победоносец) in the city.
Since 2008, the city has given its name to the Madan Saddle on Smith Island in Antarctica.
economy
Until the 1980s, mining was the most important industry. The structural reforms In 1999 the state-owned company Gorubso-Madan (Bulgarian Горубсо-Мадан) was liquidated. 80% of the operation has been transferred to the Russian-Turkish consortium Rhodop-Investment.
Minstroj-Rhodop AG (bulg. АД “Минстрой-Родопи”) is of great importance for the region and, besides mining, also deals with construction projects, pipelines, assemblies, industrial activities, trade and foreign trade activities.
Recently, the city has developed the ready-to-wear industry.
Museums
In 1984, a crystal hall - Rhodope crystal - was opened in Madan, which includes a collection of 581 pieces of mineral crystals found in the region.
There is also a mining museum in town.
Others
The city holiday and Miner's Day are celebrated on the last Sunday in August.
