Omurtag (town)

Omurtag (Bulgarian: Омуртаг [omurˈtak]) is a town at the eastern foot of Stara Planina in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Targovishte Province, situated at 525 m above sea level. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Omurtag Municipality. As of February 2011, the town has a population of 7,369 inhabitants.[1]

Omurtag

Омуртаг
View of Omurtag
Seal
Omurtag
Location of Omurtag, Bulgaria
Coordinates: 43°6′0″N 26°25′1.2″E
CountryBulgaria
Province
(Oblast)		Targovishte
Elevation
525 m (1,722 ft)
Population
 (Census February 2011)[1]
 • City7,369
 • Urban
24,876
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal Code
7900
Area code(s)0605

A notable natives are Aleksandar Aleksandrov, one of the two Bulgarian cosmonauts, and Viktor Yosifov, captain of the Bulgaria men's national volleyball team.

History
The 1860 St Demetrius the Megalomartyr Bulgarian Orthodox church in Omurtag.
City hall

The area around the modern town has been inhabited since the Neolithic. Part of Justinian I's defensive system in the 6th century, the region gained importance as part of the First Bulgarian Empire due to the proximity to the capitals Pliska and Preslav and the passes of Stara Planina.

The first written evidence of the modern town dates from the 17th century, when it was mentioned as the kaza centre Osman Pazarı in Ottoman tax registers. The settlement was a centre of craftsmanship and trade.

Osman Pazarı was liberated from Ottoman rule on 27 January 1878 by Russian troops under Johann Casimir Ehrnrooth during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78. Most of the Turkish inhabitants of the town left and were replaced by Bulgarians from around Tran and Kyustendil.

Omurtag acquired its present name in 1934, named after the Bulgarian khan Omurtag.

Historical Museum

Population
Omurtag
Year 1887 1910 1934 1946 1956 1965 1975 1985 1992 2001 2005 2009 2011 2013
Population no data no data no data 4,233 6,127 8,161 9,082 9,505 8,941 8,893 8,867 8,725 7,369 ??
Highest number 10,160 in 1980
Sources: National Statistical Institute,[1][2][3] citypopulation.de,[4] pop-stat.mashke.org,[5] Bulgarian Academy of Sciences[6]

Culture
  • Culture center "Father Paisii"

Education
  • Primary School "Simeon Velchev"
  • Primary School "Hristo Smirnenski"
  • High School of Transport and Light Industry

Sport
  • FC Levski Omurtag

Notable people
  • Aleksandr Panayotov Aleksandrov – retired Bulgarian cosmonaut
  • Daki Yordanov – Bulgarian botanist and university lecturer, academician of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
  • Dimitar Petkov – Bulgarian teacher, leading member of the Bulgarian People's Liberal Party

References
  1. (in Bulgarian) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute – Targovishte Province – Census 2011 Archived 11 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  2. (in English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute – Bulgarian towns in 2009
  3. (in Bulgarian)National Statistical Institute – Towns population 1956–1992
  4. (in English) "WorldCityPopulation“
  5. "pop-stat.mashke.org“
  6. (in Bulgarian) Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Archived 6 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
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