Omurtag (town)

Omurtag
Омуртаг

View of Omurtag

Seal
Omurtag

Location of Omurtag, Bulgaria

Coordinates: 43°6′0″N 26°25′1.2″E / 43.10000°N 26.417000°E / 43.10000; 26.417000Coordinates: 43°6′0″N 26°25′1.2″E / 43.10000°N 26.417000°E / 43.10000; 26.417000
Country Bulgaria
Province
(Oblast)
Targovishte
Elevation 525 m (1,722 ft)
Population (Census February 2011)[1]
  City 7,369
  Urban 24,876
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
  Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal Code 7900
Area code(s) 0605

Omurtag (Bulgarian: Омуртаг) 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]

A notable native is Aleksandar Aleksandrov, one of the two Bulgarian cosmonauts.

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.

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]

References

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