Razgrad Разград |
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Location of Razgrad | ||
Coordinates: 43°32′N 26°31′E / 43.533°N 26.517°ECoordinates: 43°32′N 26°31′E / 43.533°N 26.517°E | ||
Country | Bulgaria | |
Province (Oblast) | Razgrad | |
Government | ||
• Mayor | Valentin Vassilev | |
Area | ||
• City | 92.845 km2 (35.848 sq mi) | |
Elevation | 270 m (890 ft) | |
Population (2012) | ||
• City | 33,416 | |
• Density | 360/km2 (930/sq mi) | |
• Urban | 50,457 | |
Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | |
• Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | |
Postal Code | 7200 | |
Area code(s) | 084 | |
Website | http://www.razgrad.bg/ |
Razgrad (Bulgarian: Разград [rɐzˈɡrat]) is a city in northeastern Bulgaria, administrative and industrial centre of the homonymous Razgrad Province.
The suffix "grad" means city in Bulgarian, while the origin and the meaning of the first part "raz" is obscure. During the Second Bulgarian Empire, around the present city there was a settlement, mentioned by the names of Hrasgrad, Hrazgrad and Hrizgrad'. These names come from the name of the Proto-Bulgarian and Slavic god Hors.
Razgrad was built upon the ruins of the Ancient Roman town of Abritus on the banks of the Beli Lom river. Abritus was built on a Thracian settlement of the 4th-5th century BC with unknown name. Several bronze coins of the Thracian king Seuthes III (330-300 BC) and pottery were found, as well as artifacts from other rulers and a sacrificial altar of Hercules.
Some of Razgrad's landmarks include the Varosha architectural complex from the 19th century, the ethnographic museum and several other museums, the characteristic clock tower in the centre built in 1864, the St Nicholas the Miracle Worker Church from 1860, the Momina cheshma sculpture, the Mausoleum Ossuary of the Liberators (1879–1880) and the Ibrahim Pasha Mosque from 1530. The mosque is said to be one of the largest in the Balkans.
In 251, the town was the site of the Battle of Abrittus, during which the Goths defeated a Roman army under the emperors Trajan Decius and Herennius Etruscus. The battle is notable for being the first occasion of a Roman emperor being killed in a battle with barbarians.