Lovech
Data
Oblast:	Lovech
Population:	50 666 (15.12.2004)
Altitude:	200 m
Postal code:	5500
Area code:	068
Geographic coordinates:	43° 8' north 24° 43' east Image File history File links Lovech_location_in_Bulgaria. ... Since 1999 Bulgaria has been divided into 28 oblasts (provinces or regions) that correspond approximately to the 28 okrugs that existed before 1987. ... ... The metre (Commonwealth English) or meter (American English) (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... A postal code is a series of letters and/or digits appended to a postal address for the purpose of sorting mail. ... A telephone numbering plan is a system that allows subscribers to make and receive telephone calls across long distances. ...
Mayor
Mincho Kazandzhiev

View over Lovech

The Covered Bridge

Lovech (Bulgarian: Ловеч) is a town in north-central Bulgaria with a population of about 50,000. Lovech is the administrative centre of Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech municipality, and is located 150 km from the capital city of Sofia. Near Lovech are the towns of Pleven, Troyan and Teteven. A mayor (from the Latin maÄ«or, meaning larger,greater) is the politician who serves as chief executive official of some types of municipalities. ... Image File history File links Lovech. ... Image File history File links Lovech. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Pokrit_most. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Pokrit_most. ... Lovech region shown within Bulgaria Lovech is a province in central Bulgaria. ... Nickname: Motto: Official website: sofia. ... This article is about a town in Bulgaria. ... Troyan (also spelled Troian) is a town in central Bulgaria with population of about 30,000 and territory of 888 850 square meters. ...

Geography

Lovech is situated in the Forebalkan area of northern Bulgaria, on both sides of the river Osam, and unifies both mountainous and plain relief. The eastern part of the town is surrounded by a 250 m high plateau, where the largest park in Lovech, Stratesh, is located, and the southwestern part is surrounded by the hills Hisarya and Bash Bunar. In the northwest the relief gradually changes to the plains of the neighbouring Pleven Province. The average altitude of Lovech is about 200 m above mean sea level. The highest point of the town is Akbair Hill at 450 m. Stara Planina, Rhodope, Rila and Pirin Mountains The Balkan mountain range (Bulgarian: Stara Planina, Old Mountain) is an extension of the Carpathian mountain range, separated from it by the Danube River. ... Pleven region shown within Bulgaria Pleven is a province in northern Bulgaria, neighbouring Romania. ... For considerations of sea level change, in particular rise associated with possible global warming, see sea level rise. ...

Lovech has a beautiful location, with many parks and places to rest. In Stratesh Park, the highest place in the town, there are a great number of lilac bushes, easily seen from the whole town, which are a wonderful view in the spring. Due to this, Lovech is well-known as the town of the lilacs. Species About 20 species; see text. ...

History

Ancient history

Lovech is one of the oldest towns in Bulgaria. Traces of human activities from very ancient times were found in the region, mainly in the caves near the town. The reason was the comfortable location between the mountains and the flat country, and the presence of a river.

The first inhabitants of the town were the Thracian tribe of the Meldi, whose traces date as back to the 4th-3rd century BC. They founded their capital, called Melta, in the area, which was situated at the place of today's neighbourhood and architecture reserve Varosha. Later, when the Balkans were occupied by the Roman Empire, a military station called Prezidium was found near the modern town, which was situared at an important strategic position on one of the main Roman roads. Parts of this road are to be seen in the territory of Lovech today. The Thracians were an Indo-European people, inhabitants of Thrace and adjacent lands (present-day Bulgaria, Romania, Republic of Moldova, northeastern Greece, European Turkey and northwestern asiatic Turkey, eastern Serbia and parts of Republic of Macedonia). ... (5th century BC - 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) // Events Invasion of the Celts into Ireland Battle of the Allia and subsequent Gaulish sack of Rome 383 BCE Second Buddhist Councel at Vesali. ... // Events The first two Punic Wars between Carthage and Rome over dominance in western Mediterranean Rome conquers Spain Gaulish migration to Macedonia, Thrace and Galatia 281 BCE Antiochus I Soter, on the assassination of his father Seleucus becomes emperor of the Seleucid empire. ... For other uses, see Roman Empire (disambiguation). ...

Middle Ages

The former Roman citadel Hisarya, which is situated on the hill of the same name, was the place where in 1187 the peace treaty between Bulgaria and the Byzantine Empire was signed and the independence of Bulgaria was officially declared, marking the restoration of the Bulgarian Empire. In the 12th century Lovech was a great trade centre and one of the most famous towns in Bulgaria. // Events May 1 - Battle of Cresson - Saladin defeats the crusaders July 4 - Saladin defeats Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem, at the Battle of Hattin. ... Byzantine Empire (Greek: Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων) is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... The history of Bulgaria began in the 7th century AD with the arrival of the Bulgars in the Balkans. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ...

Coat of arms of Lovech

The Turkish invasion in the middle of the 14th century century did not pass the town, but the Hisarya fortress was captured last of all, in 1446, although for a long time after that the town enjoyed some privileges such as a prohibition on Turkish people to settle in the town or to take Bulgarian children as janissaries. Image File history File links Lovechgerb. ... Events Mehmed II Sultan of the Ottoman Empire is forced to abdicate in favor of his father Murad II by the Janissaries. ... The Janissaries (or janizaries; in Turkish: Yeniçeri, meaning New Troops) comprised infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultans household troops and bodyguard. ...

Ottoman rule

In the 17th century Lovech was once again an important trade centre and one of the richest towns in Bulgaria, a reason for the town being called Altan Lovech (Golden Lovech, from Turkish) at the time. (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ...

1784 is the most horrible year in the history of the town, when it was almost totally burnt and destroyed by a Turkish army. From 20,000 citizens at the time there were only 4,600 survivors. 1784 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ...

In the times of revolutionary organisations against the Ottoman enslavers, Lovech was the centre of operations of the Internal Revolutionary Organisation of Vasil Levski, called the Secret Revolutionary Committee. He was arrested by the Turkish military in a village near Lovech called Kakrina and later hanged in Sofia. The biggest museum of Vasil Levski in Bulgaria containing many personal items such as notebooks, clothes and weapon is situated in the old town part of Lovech. The Internal Revolutionary Organisation (Bulgarian: Вътрешна революционна организация), IRO, was a Bulgarian revolutionary organisation founded and built up by Bulgarian revolutionary Vasil Levski in the period between 1869 and 1871. ... Vasil Levski, born as Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (July 6, 1837 (O.S.) (July 18, 1837 (N.S.)) – February 6, 1873 (O.S.) (February 18, 1873 (N.S.)) was a Bulgarian revolutionary, ideologist, strategist and theoretician of the Bulgarian national revolution, leader of the struggle for liberation from Ottoman rule. ... Nickname: Motto: Official website: sofia. ...

Between 1872 and 1874, the Bulgarian master-builder Nikola Fichev, known also as Kolyu Ficheto, built the famous Covered Bridge (Покрит мост) over the river Osam, the only one of its kind in the Balkans. The bridge was burned out in 1925, but rebuilt in 1931. Now it connects the new and the old part of the town and is full of cafes, small restaurants and many souvenir shops. 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... 1874 (MDCCCLXXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe a region of south-eastern Europe. ... 1925 (MCMXXV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1931 (MCMXXXI) is a common year starting on Thursday. ...

During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, an important battle was held at Lovech, known as the Battle of Lovcha. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 had its origins in the Russian goal of gaining access to the Mediterranean Sea and dominating Constantinople (Istanbul) and the adjacent Turkish Straits. ... The Battle of Lovcha, or Loftcha, was a battle of the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78 which occurred during the siege of Pleven. ...

Cultural and natural sights

• The Covered Bridge by Kolyu Ficheto
• The Hisarya Fortress
• The monument of Vasil Levski
• The monuments to Russian soldiers killed in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78
• The Varosha old town part
• Stratesh Park with the biggest zoo in the province
• Bash Bunar Park
• The baroque buildings in the town's central parts
• The Varosha architectural and historical reserve, with Drasova and Rashova memorial houses

Theatres

• Lovech Drama Theatre
• Theatre by the Nauka Community Centre
• The summer theatre in Stratesh Park

Museums

• Museum of Vasil Levski
• Lovech Historical Museum
• Drasova Memorial House
• Rashova Memorial House

Sports

• PFC Litex Lovech, one of Bulgaria's top football clubs
• Osam, a men's handball club
• Lovech '98, a women's handball club
• Eagles, a baseball club
• A wrestling club
• A kyokushin karate club
• Progress, a chess club

FC Litex Lovech is a Bulgarian football club, from the town of Lovech. ... Emblem of Kyokushinkai Kyokushin (極真) or Kyokushinkai (極真会) is a style of Karate founded by Masutatsu Oyama (大山倍達) in 1964. ... Karate or karate-dō is a martial art of Okinawan origin. ...

Famous people born in or connected with Lovech

• Joseph I of Bulgaria — Bulgarian exarch
• Georgi Ivanov — the first Bulgarian cosmonaut
• Dimitar Dimov — Bulgarian author
• Anastas Ishirkov — noted geographer
• Benyo Tsonev — important figure of Bulgarian linguistics
• Todor Kirkov — revolutionary
• Hristo Karpachev — poet, partisan
• Panayot Pipkov — composer
• Lyubomir Pipkov — composer

Joseph I, born as Lazar Yovchev, : Лазар Йовчев (1840, Kalofer, central Bulgaria, - 1915, Sofia), was a Bulgarian Exarch from 1877 to 1915. ... Georgi Ivanov This article is about Georgi Ivanov the cosmonaut. ...

Partner towns

• Erfurt, Germany, since 1971
• Ryazan, Russia, since 1964

Map of Germany showing Erfurt Mariendom and the Severikirche Erfurt [ˈɛrfʊrt] is a city in central Germany. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ... Ryazan (Ряза́нь) is a city in Central Russia federal district, the administrative center of the Ryazan Oblast. ... For the Nintendo 64 emulator, see 1964 (Emulator). ...

External links

• Official site of Lovech
• All about the town and the municipality of Lovech
• Article at Visit to Bulgaria
• A large article about Lovech with many pictures at BulgarianProperties.com
• Pictures from Lovetch