Information about the town of Pernik

The town of Pernik is located in the South-western part of Bulgaria. The administrative center of the Pernik District is the municipality of Pernik. According to the most recent data the population of the town of Pernik is 80 191 people, this makes it the biggest town in the south-western Bulgaria after the capital Sofia.

The biggest festival in Europe is held in the town of Pernik. The town is a member of the Federation of carnival cities, it is also the headquarters of the organization in Bulgaria. In 2009 the town was officially announced as the European carnival capital, because of its international festival "Surva".

The town has its name Pernik, since it was created in 9th century. The first indications for settled life in the region of Pernik are dating back from 6000 B.C. In our days the city is among the industrial centers of Bulgaria.

The Pan European transport corridor #4 is passing by the town of Pernik, the European road E79, the Liulin highway, the Struma highway and a railway which connects central Europe with Greece. The town is located just 30 km south-west of Sofia, 59 km north-east of Kiystendil, 70 km north of Blagoevgrad. Pernik is an important transport center with convenient railway connections to Sofia, Blagoevgra, Kulata and Kiystendil. In the town itself is developed the bus and trolley transport.

The town of Pernik is situated in the Pernik basin, with altitude between 700 and 850 m and length 22 km, it is surrounded by the Vitosha, Golo Byrdo and Liulin mountains. The Struma river is crossing the town, the source of the river is south of the Cherni Vrah peak in the Vitosha mountain, it is among the longest rivers in Bulgaria with a total length of 290 km. The total area of the town of Pernik is 28 862 decares, including the quarters of Byala Voda, Iztok, Teva and Kalkas. The population of the municipality of Pernik is 11 799 people, 33 401 of which are bellow 25 years old.

The town is economic, cultural and administrative center of a municipality with 2 towns, 22 villages with total area of 461,1 sq. km., which is above the average area for all municipalities in Bulgaria - 427 sq. km. On average at a territory of 100 sq. km. are allocated 4.98 settlements. The number of people in working age is 65 300 people, the retired people are 26 129. The women are more than the men - 56 835 women against 54 964 men.

The town of Pernik is separated in 10 main and 33 smaller quarters. There is a convenient transport by trolleys, buses, taxis and trains. The quarters are as follows : Iztok, Center, Moshino, Teva, Ralitsa, Tsarkva, Klepalo, Tvardi Livadi, Mogliche, Dimova Mahala, Baykusheva Mahala, Draganovets, Prouchvane, Varosh, Bela Voda, Kalkas, Monte Karlo, Seloto, Reno, Hristo Botev, Humni Dol, Rudnichar, Kutsian, Krasno Selo, Radina Cheshma, Kamenina, Stara Teva, Vasil Levski, Ladovitsa, Beli Breg, Bela Voda, Marina Bara, Taban Mahala, Letishteto, Vinprom, Buchinski Pat, Albenite, Metal.

The municipality of Pernik is situated in the Pernik basin which is distinguished by its well developed foot with predominant development of high terraces. Its bottom is hilly and is drained by the rivers of Strouma and Konska. From north and east the border of the valley is limited bu the slopes of the Liulin and the western slopes of the Vitosha mountains, separated by the Vladaysko gorge. From the west side the Pernik basin is bordering the Breznishka basin and Golo Byrdo, cut by the Strouma river bellow the Krakra area.

The topography of the Pernik basin is diverse. The south slopes are slanting and naked, while the north slopes are much steeper and overgrown with vegetation. The district of Pernik is in moderate-continental climate zone, only the slopes of the Vitosha mountain is in the mountain climate zone. The climate is determined by the relatively high altitude - 750 meters. Typical characteristic of the climate are the ground temperature inversions, especially during the winter months. The spring comes relatively late - around the end of March and the beginning of April. The average Spring temperature is =9°С. The average Summer temperature is 19.9°С. The hottest month of the year is June with an average temperature of 29.6°С. The absolute temperature maximum for all times is 38.1°С. The Autumn is warmer than the Spring, the average temperature for the season is 10°С. When there are south-western winds, which are the most common for the area, on the north slopes of Golo Byrdo is indicated foehn, which is most typical for the Spring. The number of foggy days is relatively big - 28.8 days, during the warm part of the year they are 2.5 days and during the cold part - 26.3 days.

The rains have continental character, they play a key role in the pollution and self cleaning of the atmosphere of pollutants. The amount of rains along with the relatively low summer temperatures are the reasons for weaker Summer droughts, compared with North and central Bulgaria. The total amount of rain per year is 550 - 606 mm, where the average amounts of rains per seasons are as follows : Spring - 162 mm, Summer - 165 mm, Autumn - 152 mm and winter - 128 mm. The wettest month is May and the least rains are falling in March.

The Strouma river defines the condition of the surface waters in the region of Pernik. It is the main source of drinking and industrial water supply of the town. At the same time it is used for the waste waters from Somana SC, TEC "Republica" and others. The stream of the Strouma river is controlled by two dams. The Studena Dam, it provides the drinking water for the town of pernik and most of the region and also for irrigation. The Pchelina dam is the second dam along the bank of the river. The underground waters of the region of Pernik are fed by the rains and snow. There 2 main mineral sources in the area - one in Bela Voda quarter and one in the village of Rudartsi. The mineral water in the village of Rudartsi is being used for balneo-prevention and is also distributed as drinking water.

Since very old times the Pernik basin has been providing favorable living conditions. There is a lot of arable land, water for drinking, immense meadows convenient places for construction of homes. The nearby mountains offer great conditions for hunting. From the archeological sites we can conclude that the first inhabitants date back from 6000 B.C. The first settlement is from the times of the Thracian kingdoms. During the time of the Roman empire the village was taking an important place along the strategic road, connecting Ulpia Serdica (Sofia) with Ulpia Pautalia (Kuystendil). The earliest history of Pernik starts 8000 years ago. The first data of settled life in the area of Pernik is from 6000 B.C. For the Thracian tribe - Agriani which ones lived here we know from Tukridit when he tells the story for the crusade of the Odryssian king Sitalk against the Macedonians during the 429 B.C. Other Thracian tribes in the area were Graeite and Ileite. Their main town was called Adeva over which ruins was built the town of Pernik. There are many archeological excavations. The biggest collection of ceramics in the central balkan area is kept in the Historical Museum in the town. There are also great expositions of reliefs and sculptures dedicated to health deities - Asclpius and Hygiea respected in this area due to the presence of many mineral water springs.

During the time of Khan Omurtag, the settlement becomes part of Bulgaria and is used as a border fortress. The fortified wall goes along the natural borders of the plateau of the Krakra hill, it is more than 2 meters thick and fences more than 4.5 hectares. The main gate is in the north-eastern part of the fortress, the main street start from it. Inside the fortress are the administrative, economic, residential and religious buildings. During archeological excavations were found many coins and a seal of Tsar Peter (927 -970).

For a first time during the medieval times the settlement was mentioned in the legend of Saint Ivan Rilski - the ascetics "he went in Pernik and settled in a stone place near a river, called Strouma and here he made his chamber". Saint Ivan Rilski is a patron saint of the Bulgarians and a guardian of the miners and protector of the town.

In the beginning of the XI century the settlement is impenetrable fortress for the Byzantine, it was a base for the legendary chieftain Krakra Pernishki, who played an important role during the time of the first Bulgarian kingdom. In our days the fortress is among the best historical sightseeing in the town. The Bulgarian people took advantage of the fortified settlement and build one of the most powerful Bulgarian strongholds - Pernik. For the first time this name was mentioned in IX century. It is related to the name of the Slavic god Perun. At the end of X and the beginning of XI century, Pernik was administrative center of the local chieftain Krakra Pernishki - "man excellent in the warfare" according to the Byzantine chroniclers Skilitsa and Kedrin.

The contribution of Krakra is especially big during 1014 when he bravely defended his stronghold and stops the attack of the Byzantine emperor Basil II Bulgaroctone to Serdica. After a long battle he rejected the offered high positions, causing severe damage to the Byzantine army and forced them to retreat from his area. In 1016 Krakra Pernishki withstands a new 88 days siege and after numerous losses Basil II was again forced to retreat. The legends from that time say that the blood of the killed Byzantine warriors was so much that for many years after that the rocks in the foot of the Pernik fortress were still covered in red. That is why the area was named - Kyrvavoto (the bloody).

In 1017 Krakra Pernishki gathers a large army, thanks to his diplomatic skills he attracts the Pechenegs on his side, and with these untied forces he was preparing to attack the Byzantine Empire in order to liberate the lands between Danube and Stara Planina from the Byzantine invaders. The insidious policy of Constantinople manage to lure the Pechenegs and they break the union with Krakra Pernishki. After the death of Tsar Ivan Vladislav in 1018, Krakra considers that the further resistance is useless and in order to keep the life of the Bulgarian people he obeys to the Byzantines along with his 35 subordinate fortresses. Pernik is included in the boundaries of the second Bulgarian kingdom in 1204, the fortress continued to have a strategic meaning as a center of an administrative district.

The creation of the Ottoman Empire and the fall of Bulgaria under Ottoman yoke (1396) puts an end to the meaning, which Pernik had as a fortress, it was no longer an administrative center. The development of the town was dictated by the natural resources of the area. With peaceful labor and hard work and mainly due to the fact that there were no Turkish people settled in the area, the population managed to establish a good being. In the first centuries of the Ottoman yoke, the local population had the status of voinougani (they were exempted from some taxes and were considered as free subordinates of the Sultan). The livestock breeding was among the most developed activities.

The latest history of Pernik began during the past one century with the development of the rich coal deposits in the area. According to some scientists, the coal were known since X-XI century. Before the industrial exploitation, the local people are digging with picks and shovels and transport it with carts and carriages. The fast development of Pernik is related to the large shipments of coal to the capital city for domestic and railways needs. Until that time the coal for the ships and the railways were delivered all the way from Cardiff - Wales.

With the establishment of the first miners neighborhoods along the terraces of the Strouma river was set the beginning of the mining settlement of Pernik. For a few decades it is the energy heart of Bulgaria.

After the liberation from the Ottoman yoke, Pernik was small settlement with a population of 1000 people. It was formed by a few neighborhoods - Sredna Mahala, Varosh and Peshova mahala, situated on the two banks of the Strouma river in the foot of the old fortress. Extraordinary impetus for the future development of the settlement was given by the coal, laying the depths of the Pernik basin.

From 1892 till 1926, the town of Pernik marks the biggest for Bulgaria increase in the population from 1413 to 12 296 people. The exploitation of the coal gives the impetus for development of Pernik. On the 26 of June 1929 with Decree 402 of Tsar Boris III announced Pernik as a town.

The most common religion in Pernik and its adjacent territories is the Eastern Orthodox. There are no mosques, synagogues, catholic and Protestant cathedrals. There are more than 80 churches in the area. There are many activities held in the area of Pernik. The diverse landscape provides many opportunities for sports, hiking, biking and others.

Liulin mountain is located north of Pernik. It could be reached by the road to the Divotino and Liulin villages. The Divotinski Monastery "Sveta Tritsa" is located in this mountain.

The natural preserve Ostritsa is located in Golo Byrdo - mountain separating the Pernik and Radomir basins.

The area of Holy Water - karst spring "The live water" is in the area of the village of Bosnek. From the spring of the happiness, according to a legend from XVII century, were drinking only the righteous, the sinners were denied.

Duhlata is the longest cave in Bulgaria (17 600 meters) and is 53 meters deep. It is a complicated multi-level, labyrinth system allocated among 6 stories.