- Kozloduy
Kozloduy ( _bg. Козлодуй) is a town of 13,871 inhabitants in northwestern
Bulgaria , located inVratsa Province , on the riverDanube . The city was liberated from Ottoman rule on23 November 1877 by the Romanian army under the command of theImperial Russian Army . Kozloduy is best known for theKozloduy Nuclear Power Plant , Bulgaria's only nuclear power plant, that is situated nearby, as well as the second largest Bulgarian Danubian island,Kozloduy Island . The city is also famous for the "Radetski" ship - the boat which the poet-revolutionerHristo Botev crossed the Danube river and along with his 200 people made last efforts to gather an army and liberate Bulgaria from the Ottoman Empire.History
The first official data show that Kozloduy was populated in the16th century. It is in the burial mounds where traces of a Thracian dwelling centre that existed in the first millennium B.C. remain. Later on the big Roman roadway along the Danube passed through these places. The remains of the Roman castellums (i.e. castles) Magura piatra (or Regianum), Camistrum and Augusta testify to this.In this region there are three historic trenches that were later called Lomski, Ostrovski and Kozloduiski where a military garrison of
Khan Asparukh was placed.In the 18th c. the settlement was marked as Kotozluk and Kozludere (a low coomb), and later on it was called Kozloduy (an angle of ice blocks).
On 17 May 1876 the detachment of
Hristo Botev landed ashore at Kozloduy from Radetski steamer.On 23 November 1877 the 8th cavalry regiment under the commander Alexandru Perets liberated Kozloduy from the Ottoman slavery. This cavalry was part of the Romanian Forces, who were under the command of the Russian Imperial Army.Construction of Kozloduy actually started with the construction of the first Nuclear Electric Power Station, which was started on 6 April 1970.Location
The town is situated on the Danube river, which is the European Transport Corridor No.7. It is 80 km from the province centre Vratsa and 200 km from the capital Sofia. The Municipality consisits of 5 populated centres. The town and 4 villages- Butan, Harlets, Glojene and Kriva Bara.
Economics and business
The Municipalty is one of the richest in Vratsa privince, (after Vratsa Municipality) and has live standard, which is above the average for Bulgaria. But still as in the rest of the country it has great unemployment. But the town is one of the best places in Bulgaria for enterpreneurship and starting business, because a lot of qualified personnel from all the other parts of Bulgaria comes to Kozloduy because of the Nuclear Power Plant. Kozloduy has also strategic location near Transport Corridors N.7, -5 , -8 and -9. There are two big companies, one in the building sector and one in the electronic sector.
Population
The population is more than 13,000 people but it is decreasing each year as it is a tendency in Bulgaria. There are almost no other nationalities. It is an international town as well, because often there are a lot of foreigners in Kozloduy attending seminars connected to the NPP or other activities.
Honour
Kozloduy Cove inRobert Island ,South Shetland Islands is named after Kozloduy.
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