Vratsa

The name comes from the Vratsata Pass nearby, from the Slavic word vrata ("gate") + the Slavic diminutive placename suffix -itsa, "little gate",[2] used to translate the Latin name Valve ("double door").

The city of Vratsa is located in the foothills of "Vrachanski Balkan" (Vratsa Mountain), on the banks of Leva River. The city is 116 km away from the national capital Sofia.

The area has diverse natural features. Several protected natural attractions and historical monuments are located on the territory of the Vratsa State Forestry.

The number of the residents of the city reached its peak in the period 1990-1991 when exceeded 85,000.[4] As of February 2011, the town has a population of 60,692 inhabitants.[1] The following table presents the change of the population after 1887.

Municipality Vratsa

Rogozen Treasure – the biggest Thracian treasure that was ever discovered on the territory of Bulgaria

Vratsa - panoramic view

Vratsa is an ancient city found by ancient Thracians. Vratsa was called Valve ("door of a fortress") by the Romans due to a narrow passage where the main gate of the city fortress was located. Nowadays, this passage is the symbol of Vratsa, and is shown on the town's Coat of arms.

After the fall of Rome, Vratsa became part of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium).

At the end of the 6th century AD, Vratsa was populated by the South Slavic tribes. Even if they came from Pannonia and Dacia on the north, the town remained under Byzantine rule.

In the 7th century, the Bulgars and the Slavs found the First Bulgarian Empire and the Slavic Vratsa became part of it. The city grew into important strategic location because of its proximity to the South State border. Vratsa became famous for its goldsmiths and silversmiths production and trade, high-quality earthenware and military significance.

In the 8th century, the Bulgarian army captured Sofia, which led to the decreasing of Vratsa's importance because of the better strategic position of Sofia, its more developed economy and larger size. But Vratsa was again key for the resistance against the Byzantine, Serbian and Magyar invasions in the Middle Ages.

On 1 May 1966 in the village of Sgorigrad, a Mir-Plakanista mine tailings dam collapsed, causing a flood of mud and debris that killed 488 people.It remains one of the biggest disasters in Vratsa since the September 30, 1923 fire and the Anglo-American bombing of January 23, 1944.

"The Tower of the Meshtchii"

The mountains and forests are suitable for development of different types of tourism — hunting and fishing, skiing, speleology, delta-gliding, photo-tourism, etc.

Good opportunities exist for exercising different sport activities such as mountaineering, bicycle sport and for those who enjoy being thrilled can go for hanggliding and paragliding, or set out for carting, buggy and motocross racing tracks.

Conditions are provided for rest and entertainment — children's and adults' swimming pools, water cycles, discos, bars, restaurants, excellent hotel facilities and good service. To accommodate winter sports enthusiasts, there are rope lines near the Parshevitsa Chalet, and the skiing tracks are said to be well maintained.

There are also a Museum of History and an Ethnographic and Revival Complex.

Vratsa has a humid continental climate (Dfa).

Rail Station Vratsa

The strategic location of Vratsa is determined by the major rail and road corridors. Its geographical position became even more important with the construction of the Danube Bridge 2 at the town of Vidin (providing the most direct land access from the Thessaloniki port and Sofia towards Western Europe). Vratsa connects to the villages and city within the region and throughout the country by bus and railway transport. There are regular bus lines to Sofia, Pleven, Vidin, Montana, Kozloduy, Oryahovo, Mezdra (at short intervals), as well as to the smaller villages, scattered around the city. The bus station is located on the way between the railway station and the centre of the city. Vratsa is an important railway station along the railway route Sofia — Vidin (Lom).

Vratsa Peak on Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Vratsa.

Vratsa is the home of a professional Quidditch team operating within the fictional Harry Potter universe. The Vratsa Vultures have won the European Cup seven times.[13]

Botev Vratsa

• FC Botev Vratsa

Vratsa is twinned with:[14]

• 
  Ledenika cave
• 
  Vratsa by night
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  Vratsata gorge
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  Street scene
• 
  Ethnographic complex
• 
  Theatre
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  Medieval Tower of Kurt Pasha
• 
  Medieval tower
• 
  Tourist centre
• 
  School
• 
  Street in Vratsa
• 
  Vratsa in the winter

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Vratsa.

• Vratsa Municipality website
• Hotels in Vratsa (map)
• Vratsa Historical Museum
• “Vrachanski Balkan” Nature Park
• local tourism website www.visitvratsa.com.