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PAZARDZHIK
Pazardzhik is a province located in southern
Bulgaria and covers 4,458 km². Ranging from 190 to 370
m above sea level, Pazardzhik is home to 319,358 people (1998).
The province is abundant with water resources,
its main waterway is the river Maritsa and its catchment basin
includes the Topolnitsa River and Luda Yana River.
Economy
The backbone of the economy in the region is industry. The
"Batashki Vodnosilov Pat" is an important hydrocomplex
consisting of three hydro power plants- "Batak",
"Peshtera" and "Aleko" with combined capacity
of around 250 MW. Copper extracting industry is of national
and European importance with major mines located around Panagyurishte
(Asarel and Medet), Elshitsa, Tsar Asen and Mina Radka. Machine
building industry is developed in Pazardzhik (lead acid batteries),
Panagyurishte (optical), Velingrad. There is flourishing pharmaceutical
industry in Peshtera with more than 1 000 employees in the
plant. Paper industry is developed in Belovo. Timber industry
is very important in the southern part of the region (the
Rhodopes)- Batak, Peshtera, Rakitovo and Velingrad. The manufacturing
of textiles in well developed in Pazardzhik, Panagyurishte
and Velingrad. There is a huge footware plant in Peshtera.
Food processing industry is developed in most of the towns.
Agriculture is also important, especially in the fertile central
parts of the region. The most important crops are orchards
(apples, plums and strawberries), grapes, wheat, barley, rye
and rice. Livestock breeding is relatively well developed
in the mountainous areas.
The province has considerable opportunities to develop mountain
and rural tourism, especially in the southern parts where the
Rhodope mountains are located. The area is covered with dense
coniferous and deciduous forests, dotted with numerous artificial
lakes. The largest one is the Batak Dam, on whose shores are
built two resorts: Tsigov Chark and Sv Konstantin as well as
many villas and shrines. Fish is abundant in the dams, including
carps, rudds, barbels, perchpikes and many others; the mountain
streams are rich in trout. There are spa resorts in Velingrad,
Strelcha, Banya, Varvara. The most famous landmarks are located
in Panagyurishte, Pazardzhik, Batak, Velingrad. Impressive
ruins of an ancient basilica rise in the hilly country, close
to the town of Belovo. Numerous ruined fortresses are scattered
around the province, the most famous of these are Tsepina,
and the ramparts near Bata and Strelcha.
Transportation and communications
The road network is not dense. The Trakiya motorway runs through
the middle of the region. The main railway between Sofia and
Plovdiv also runs through it. There are two other railways:
to Panagyurishte and to Peshtera. There are several military
airports. As everywhere in Bulgaria, every town and village
in the region is provided with electricity, drinking water
and telephone network. Each town and some villages are provided
with Internet connection, and the cellular phone coverage
is almost 100%, as most people own GSMs.
Major towns
Its principle city is Pazardzhik, and
other muncipalities are Batak, Belovo, Bratsigovo, Kostandovo,
Lesichovo, Panagyurishte, Peshtera, Rakitovo, Septemvri, Strelcha,
and Velingrad. Towns in the Pazardzhik
Province by population :
- Pazardzhik- 76 161
- Velingrad- 23 960
- Panagyurishte- 22 252
- Peshtera- 20 020
- Septemvri- 8 631
- Rakitovo- 8 304
- Bratsigovo- 4 577
- Strelcha- 4 515
- Kostandovo- 4 356
- Belovo- 4 095
- Batak- 3 782
- Sarnitsa- 3 607
- Vetren- 3 562
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| Batak Dam |
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