Chirpan

Place in Stara Zagora, Bulgaria

42°11′59.31″N 25°19′27.87″E / 42.1998083°N 25.3244083°E / 42.1998083; 25.3244083CountryBulgariaProvince
(Oblast)Stara ZagoraGovernment

• MayorIvaylo KracholovElevation

168 m (551 ft)Population

(Census 2021)^[1]

• Total13,391Time zoneUTC+2 (EET) • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)Postal Code

6200

Area code0416

Chirpan (Bulgarian: Чирпан, pronounced [tʃirˈpan]) is a town on the Tekirska River in Stara Zagora Province of south-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Chirpan Municipality. As of 2021, the town had a population of 13,391^[1] down from 15,109 in 2013.^[2]

Chirpan is located north of the Maritsa River on the Chirpan highlands, south-east of the Sredna Gora mountains. The town is a centre for wineries and viticulture.

History

The modern town is the successor of the Ancient Roman settlement of Sherampol and re-emerged in the beginning of the 15th century, its current name likely being derived from the Roman one. Upon his return from the Council of Sardica, Saint Athanasius established the first Christian monastery in Europe circa 344 near modern-day Chirpan in Bulgaria.^[3]

There has been extensive archaeological excavation at the Karasura (Carasura) site. During the Ottoman rule of Bulgaria, Chirpan (Turkish: Çırpan) was known for its craftsmen and agriculture. The town suffered badly from an earthquake on 18 April 1928.

Chirpan was the birthplace of Ottoman Turkish soldier Abdülkerim Nadir Pasha, and the Bulgarian poet Peyo Yavorov, whose native house is now a museum. Chirpan was the home of painter George Danchov. His house in the centre of the town is an excellent example of Bulgarian National Revival architecture.

Climate

Climate data for Chirpan
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	2 (35)	4 (39)	11 (51)	17 (63)	23 (73)	27 (80)	30 (86)	31 (87)	28 (82)	19 (67)	11 (51)	6 (42)	17 (63)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	−7 (20)	−6 (22)	−1 (31)	4 (40)	10 (50)	15 (59)	16 (60)	16 (60)	12 (54)	8 (46)	2 (36)	−3 (26)	6 (42)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	33 (1.3)	25 (1)	74 (2.9)	81 (3.2)	46 (1.8)	46 (1.8)	69 (2.7)	51 (2)	7.6 (0.3)	58 (2.3)	51 (2)	13 (0.5)	550 (21.8)
Source: Weatherbase ^[4]

Economy

There are 18,859 (2021)^[1] people in the municipality, two thirds of whom live in the town. 53% of the land is in cultivation, with major crops from wheat, sunflowers, cotton, grapes, and fruit trees. There is a 139 hectare Natura 2000 Special Protection Area for preservation of avian habitat along the Tekirska River.^[5]

Honour

Chirpan Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Chirpan.

Notable people

Georgi Danchov, revolutionary
Ivan Dimov, actor
Ivan Kolev (wrestler)
Peyo Yavorov, poet
Stoyan Zaimov, revolutionary

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c "Население по области, общини, местоживеене и пол | Национален статистически институт". nsi.bg.
^ "Population by towns and sex – Table data". Bulgarian National Statistical Institute. 2013. Archived from the original on 27 January 2015.
^ (http://www.bulgarianmonastery.com/en/monastery/zlatna_livada_monastery.html)
^ "Weatherbase: Historical Weather for Chirpan, Bulgaria". Weatherbase. 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2011.
^ "2000 Bulgaria Database: Текирска река" (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 8 November 2006.

References

Diamante, Vincenzo (1975) Bulgaria: storia, vita, folclore e tutte le informazioni utili al turista Valmartina, Firenze, OCLC 3841667 (in Italian);
Kondarev, Nikola (1987) Istoriia na Chirpan i Chirpansko Izd-vo na Otechestveniia front, Sofia, OCLC 19857260 (in Bulgarian);

External links

Media related to Chirpan at Wikimedia Commons
"Visit to Bulgaria: Places by Region: Stara Zagora: Chirpan" Bulgaria Info Site at the Wayback Machine (archived 12 February 2007)
"Chirpan: History and Landmarks" Virtual Bulgaria at the Wayback Machine (archived 28 September 2007)
Археологическо дружество Чирпан (Archaeological Society of Chirpan) in Bulgarian at archive.today (archived 31 December 2012)
N. Spassov, D. Geraads, L. Hristova, G.N. Markov, G. Merceron, T. Tzankov, K. Stoyanov, M. Böhme, A. Dimitrova. «A hominid tooth from Bulgaria: The last pre-human hominid of continental Europe» (Azmaka)