Novi Pazar, Shumen Province

Novi Pazar (Bulgarian: Нови пазар, "new marketplace") is a town in Shumen Province, northeastern Bulgaria, located in a hollow between the Shumen, Ludogorie and Provadiya plateaus, on the banks of the Kriva Reka ("twisting river"). It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Novi Pazar Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 12,673 inhabitants.[1][2][3]

Novi Pazar, Bulgaria
Novi Pazar
Novi Pazar
Novi Pazar, Bulgaria is located in Bulgaria
Novi Pazar, Bulgaria
Novi Pazar, Bulgaria
Location of Novi Pazar, Bulgaria
Coordinates: 43°21′N 27°12′E / 43.350°N 27.200°E / 43.350; 27.200
CountryBulgaria
Province
(Oblast)
Shumen
Government
 • MayorIvaylo Kamadzhiev
Elevation
156 m (512 ft)
Population
 (31.12.2009)[1][2][3]
 • Total12,673
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal Code
9900

History edit

The town may have been first mentioned in 1444 in a document by the German writer Michael Beheim before the Battle of Varna, although this is disputed.[4] As part of the Ottoman Empire, Novi pazar (Yeni pazar) belonged to the Silistra sanjak and later the Pravadi kaza. It became a kaza centre in the 17th century and grew to become a rich and lively town in the 17th and 18th century. A new mosque was built in 1763, a Turkish bath in 1774 and a clock tower in 1826. During the Russo-Turkish Wars many Bulgarians from the region fled to Bessarabia and established the community of the Bessarabian Bulgarians.

A monastery school was founded in 1840 on the idea of Iliya Valchev and a chitalishte (cultural centre) followed in 1872. The town was liberated from Ottoman rule in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, not being a site of significant fighting. It became part of the Principality of Bulgaria and many Turks fled to be replaced with Bulgarians from the ethnic Bulgarian lands that were left outside the country's borders of the time. Novi Pazar became a town in 1883.

Population edit

Novi Pazar
Year 1887 1910 1934 1946 1956 1965 1975 1985 1992 2001 2005 2009 2011 2021
Population no data no data no data 5,477 9,138 12,467 15,754 16,320 14,284 13,542 13,025 12,673 ?? ??
Highest number ?? in ??
Sources: National Statistical Institute,[1] citypopulation.de,[2] pop-stat.mashke.org,[3] Bulgarian Academy of Sciences[5]

Twin towns – sister cities edit

Novi Pazar is twinned with:

References edit

  1. ^ a b c (in English) Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian towns in 2009
  2. ^ a b c (in English) „WorldCityPopulation“
  3. ^ a b c „pop-stat.mashke.org“
  4. ^ "Historical information about Novi pazar" (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on December 19, 2008. Retrieved 2006-06-08.
  5. ^ (in Bulgarian) Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Archived 2011-07-06 at the Wayback Machine

External links edit