Yambol (, oblast Yambol, former name Okrug) is a province in southeastern Bulgaria, neighbouring Turkey to the south. It is named after its main city Yambol, while other towns include Straldzha, Bolyarovo and Elhovo. The province embraces a territory of [ Bulgarian Provinces area and population 1999 — National Center for Regional Development — page 90-91] that is divided into five municipalities with a total population, as of December 2009, of 138,429.[ Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Bulgarian provinces and municipalities in 2009][ „WorldCityPopulation“][ „pop-stat.mashke.org“]
Municipalities
The Yambol province (област,
oblast) contains five municipalities (общини,
obshtini; singular: община,
obshtina). The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and
Cyrillic, the main town or village (towns are shown in bold), and the population of each as of December 2009.
History and background
The motto of the town of Yambol is "Coming from the remote past, going to the future". Archaeological findings in the area date back to the year 6000 BC, to the time of
Ancient Rome Emperor
Diocletian's reign when the castle, called Diospolis, was built on the location of the present modern town. The best preserved historical sites, dating back to the fifteenth century, are the bazar "Bezisten" and the mosque "Esky Djamia", which have been restored and are functioning at present. Other historical sites of interest are the prehistoric tumulus by the village of Drama, the remains of Yambol Mediaeval castle and the Monastery of the Middle Ages in Voden.
Yambol is home to the ancient settlement of Kabile, a national archaeological reserve and a nature preserved site, being the most important Thracians settlement in Bulgaria. In modern study of ancient Thrace it has already been proved that Kabile was the most prominent political, economic and religious centre from the first millennium BC. The archaeological investigations of the ancient city that have taken place in the last thirty years have revealed a great number of artefacts (stone inscriptions, coins, ceramic ware and remains of building activities) dating from times over a millennium long history. Most of the discovered artefacts have already been published and used as a data for archaeological and historical studies.
Demographics
The Yambol province had a
population of 156,080 (156,070 also given) according to a 2001
census, of which were
male and were
female.
[ Population to 01.03.2001 by Area and Sex from Bulgarian National Statistical Institute: Census 2001]
As of the end of 2009, the population of the province, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 138,429
of which are inhabitants aged over 60 years.
[ Bulgarian National Statistical Institute - Population by age in 2009]
Ethnic groups
Total population (2011 census): 131 447
[ Population on 01.02.2011 by provinces, municipalities, settlements and age; National Statistical Institute]
Ethnic groups (2011 census):
[ Population by province, municipality, settlement and ethnic identification, by 01.02.2011; Bulgarian National Statistical Institute ]
Identified themselves: 123 062 persons:
-
Bulgarians: 106 884 (86,85%)
-
Romani: 10 433 (8,48%)
-
Turks: 3 600 (2,93%)
-
Others and indefinable: 2 145 (1,74%)
Religion
Religious adherence in the province according to 2001 census:
[ Religious adherence in Bulgaria - census 2001]
|
|
|
| Orthodox Christians | 137,655 | 88.20% |
| 3,700 | 2.37% |
| Protestantism | 2,741 | 1.76% |
| Roman Catholics | 224 | 0.14% |
| Other | 916 | 0.59% |
| Religion not mentioned | 10,834 | 6.94% |
| total | 156,070 | 100% |
Famous residents
Yambol is the native place of popular artists
George Papazov and
John Popov and
sumo wrestler Aoiyama. The computer inventor
John Atanasoff has family roots in the district – his father was born in a village Boyadjik, which is near Yambol.
Topology and natural resources
The
Tundja River, the fourth of its size with an earth embankment, flows through the district, and mineral water wells are found near the village of Stefan Caradjovo. The territory of the area covers the middle part of the river valley, the Bakadjitsi, parts of the Svetiliiski, Derventski and Manastirski uplands, with the hilly plain relief predominating 100–150m above sea level. The northern areas of Tundja valley are characterized by a transcontinental climate, while the southern parts have a typical continental/
Mediterranean climate. The average annual temperatures are between 12 and 12.5 °C.
Agricultural lands take 76.9% of the whole district territory, and the forests 15.5% of it. The wood resources include
elm,
willow,
Populus and
oak.
See also
-
-
Provinces of Bulgaria
-
List of villages in Yambol Province
