Pazardzhik
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Pazardzhik Пазарджик |
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 Pazardzhik
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| Coordinates: 42°12′N 24°20′E / 42.200°N 24.333°E | ||
| Country | Bulgaria | |
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Province (Oblast) |
Pazardzhik | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Todor Popov | |
| Area | ||
| • City | 37.382 km2 (14.433 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 205 m (673 ft) | |
| Population (Census February 2011) | ||
| • City | 71,979 | |
| • Density | 1,900/km2 (5,000/sq mi) | |
| • Urban | 114,817 | |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | |
| Postal Code | 4400 | |
| Area code(s) | 034 | |
| License plate | PA | |
| Website | Official website | |
Pazardzhik (Bulgarian: Пазарджик) is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, Southern Bulgaria. It is the capital of Pazardzhik Province and centre for the homonymous Pazardzhik Municipality.
The name comes from the word pazar, ultimately from the Persian bāzār, "market" + the Turkic diminutive suffix -cık, "small".
Pazardzhik was founded by Tatars from what is today Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi in 1485 on the left bank of the river Maritsa, near the market of the region, an important crossroad at the middle of this productive region, and named Tatar Pazardzhik meaning "small Tatar market". Thanks to this favourable location, the settlement quickly developed. While it was very small at the beginning of the 19th century, it became the administrative centre for the region at the end of the century and remained so until the dissolution of Ottoman Empire.
During the following centuries the town continued to grow and strengthened its position. Trade in iron, leather and rice prospered. The town impressed visitors with its beautiful houses and clean streets. In 1718 Gerard Kornelius Drish visited Pazardzhik and wrote "the buildings here according to construction, size and beauty stand higher than those of Niš, Sofia and all other places".
The Russians under Count Nikolay Kamensky took the city after a brief siege in 1810. By the mid-19th century Pazardzhik was a big, important centre of crafts and trade, with a population of about 25,000 people. It hosted two big annual fairs, and a big market Tuesdays and Wednesdays. There was a post office with a telegraph.
In 1837 the Church of the Mother of God was built – an important national monument, famous for its architecture and woodcarving. In the mid-19th century Pazardzhik became an important cultural centre: a school was opened in 1847, a girls' school in 1848, a community centre in 1868, the women's union "Prosveta" in 1870.
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Wikipedia