- Plovdiv Province
Infobox Province of Bulgaria
Cyrillic = Област Пловдив
Capital =Plovdiv
Municipalities = 18
Area = 5,973 km²
Population = 755,570 GRAO
Density = 126 persons/km²
LicensePlate = PB
Governor = Todor Petkov
Website = http://www.pd.government.bg/Plovdiv is an "
oblast " in central southernBulgaria (formerly part ofEastern Rumelia ), onе of the 28 Bulgarian provinces. It comprises 18 municipalities (общини, "obshtini", sing. общинa, "obshtina"); its administrative centre isPlovdiv .Geography
It includes parts of the
Upper Thracian Plain , theRhodopes ,Sredna Gora , theSub-Balkan valleys andStara Planina , including its highest peak Botev (2, 376m). The main rivers in the province are Maritsa, Stryama, Pyasachnik. There are numerous dams, the most important of which is Pyasachnik. Mineral springs are abundant, there are several majorspa resort s-Hisarya ,Narechen , Banya and minor spas atKlisura ,Asenovgrad ,Kuklen ,Rosino ,Krasnovo ,Stoletovo and others. There are many natural landmarks, especially in theCentral Balkan National Park , including the spectacular waterfallRaysko Praskalo , the highest in theBalkans .Economy
The economy of the province is of great importance. The agricultural production is intensive and efficient with high levels of irrigation. The major crops are fruit (apples, plums, pears, cherries), grapes, melons and watermelons, vegetables (tomatoes, peppers, carrots, cabbage, potatoes), wheat, rice, barley and others. Industry is very well developed: ferrous metallurgy near
Plovdiv ; thriving electronics industry inPlovdiv ,Saedinenie ,Voivodinovo ,Radinovo and other villages in the area; agricultural machinery (tractors) inKarlovo , weapon and military plants in Sopot,Karlovo ,Plovdiv ; chemical industry inPlovdiv ,Asenovgrad ; food industry is developed almost everywhere, most notably inPlovdiv andAsenovgrad (wines). Tourism is a growing industry with the rich cultural heritage of the province and the numerousmineral springs which are of international importance.Towns
The province's capital is the city of Plovdiv, other towns include
Karlovo , Sopot,Klisura ,Kalofer ,Hisarya ,Saedinenie , Rakovski,Brezovo ,Stamboliyski ,Krichim ,Perushtitsa ,Sadovo ,Parvomay ,Asenovgrad , Laki,Katunica ,Yiagodovo .Municipalities
The region contains 18 municipalities:
*Asenovgrad
*Brezovo
*Hisarya
*Kaloyanovo
*Karlovo
*Krichim
*Kuklen
* Laki
* Maritsa
*Parvomay
*Perushtitsa
*Plovdiv
* Rakovski
* Rodopi
*Sadovo
*Saedinenie
* Sopot
*Stamboliyski
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