Vratsa

From Free net encyclopedia

Vratsa (also transliterated as Vraca or Vratza; Bulgarian: Враца) is a city in northwestern Bulgaria, at the foothills of the Balkan Mountains. It is the administrative centre of Vratsa Province.

The city of Vratsa is a commercial and crafts centre and a railway junction. Vratsa has textile, metal processing, chemical, and ceramics industries. It was an administrative and garrison town under Ottoman rule (15th–19th century). The municipal area of the city is inhabited by 80,040 people (as of 2004).

1 History
- 1.1 Antiquity
- 1.2 Middle Ages
2 External links

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History

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Antiquity

Vratsa is an ancient city founded by the ancient Thracians. Vratsa was called Valve ("door of a fortress") by the Romans due to the narrow passage where the main gate of the city fortress was located. Nowadays this passage is the symbol of Vratsa and is present on the city's coat of arms.

After the fall of Rome, Vratsa became part of the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium).

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Middle Ages

In the end of the 6th century, Vratsa was populated by the South Slavic tribes who came from Pannonia and Dacia from the north, but reimained under Byzantine rule.

In the 7th century, the Bulgars and the Slavs founded the Bulgarian state and the Slavic Vratsa became part of it. The town grew into an important strategic city because of its proximity to the south state border. The name of the city was changed from Valve to the Slavic Vratitsa, which has the same meaning and is the source of the modern name. Vratsa became famous for its goldsmith's and silversmith's production and trade, high-quality earthenware and military significance.

In the 8th century, the Bulgarian army captured Sofia, which led to the decreasing of Vratsa's importance because of the better strategic position of Sofia, its more developed economy and larger size. But Vratsa was again key for the resistance against the Byzantine, Serbian and Magyar invaders during the Middle Ages.

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