Omurtag (town)

Omurtag Омуртаг
View of Omurtag
Seal
Omurtag Location of Omurtag, Bulgaria
Coordinates: 43°6′N 26°25′E / 43.1°N 26.417°E / 43.1; 26.417Coordinates: 43°6′N 26°25′E / 43.1°N 26.417°E / 43.1; 26.417
Country	Bulgaria
Province (Oblast)	Targovishte
Government
- Mayor
Elevation	525 m (1,722 ft)
Population (Census February 2011)[1]
- Total	7,369
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.

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 date 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 to be replaced by Bulgarians from around Tran and Kyustendil. Omurtag acquired its present name in 1934, named after Bulgarian khan Omurtag.

Population

Omurtag
Year	1887	1910	1934	1946	1956	1965	1975	1985	1992	2001	2005	2009	2011
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

1. ^ ^{a b c} (Bulgarian) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Targovishte Province - Census 2011
2. ^ (English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian towns in 2009
3. ^ (Bulgarian)National Statistical Institute - Towns population 1956-1992
4. ^ (English) „WorldCityPopulation“
5. ^ „pop-stat.mashke.org“
6. ^ (Bulgarian) Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

External links

• (Bulgarian)Official municipality cite