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Montana
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54 932
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13092005
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135
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3400
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096
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43° 25'
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23° 14'
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Zlatko Zhivkov
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__NOTOC__
(Монтана) is a city in northwestern
Bulgaria and the administrative centre of
Montana Province . It is located 50
Km south of the
Danube , 40 km northwest of
Vratsa and 30 km east of the
Serbia And Montenegro border.
Montana is situated on the river
Ogosta , north of
Stara Planina , surrounded on the south and east by uplands.
The climate is temperate continental, with a cold winter and hot summer. The average temperature is -2°C in January and 25°C in July. In the last 15-20 years, temperatures reaching up to 35-40°C in the summer are not uncommon.
Square in Montana]]
The region around Montana became part of the
Roman Province of Upper
Moesia in 29 BC. Around 160, the military camp that was most likely founded on the remains of an older
Thracian settlement, acquired
City Rights under the name of ''Municipio Montanensium''. The city developed and urbanized after a Roman model and became the second most important settlement in the province after Raciaria (modern-day
Archar ). A fortress was built on top of the hill over Montana, as well as public and residential buildings, temples, baths and theatres. Montana became a typical imperial settlement, where the local romanized population coexisted along
Italic and
Anatolia n settlers. The base of the town's economy were the big landowners of Italic origin and their villas and mansions, where the locals served to obtain agricultural production and gold from Ogosta's river valley. A stratum of Greek settlers, who engaged in craftsmanship and money-landing existed in the town during the period. The patrons of Montana in the spirit of
Hellenism were
Diana and
Apollo .
Between 440 and 490, the northwest of modern Bulgaria was devastated by the raids of the
Huns under
Atilla and the
Goths .
Slavs and
Avars delivered the final strike on the Greco-Roman culture in the region, and the Slavs that settled in the area called the town ''Kutlovitsa''. During the time of the
First and
Second Bulgarian Empire s, the settlement recovered and became the centre of an
Eparchy .
After Kutlovitsa was seized by the
Ottomans , the settlement was destroyed and became deserted. Between 1450 and 1688, the town was peopled by
Turks due to its strategic location, and went through another period of blossoming as a typically
Orient al town. Two mosques, Turkish baths, fountains and new buildings were erected. The
Chiprovtsi Uprising that was crushed by Turkish forces solidified the position of Kutlovitsa as a Turkish ethnic area in the next
18th and
19th Centuries .
At the time of the Liberation of Bulgaria (
1878 ), there were a Turkish (600 residents), a Bulgarian (50 residents) and a Gypsy quarter (100 residents).
After the Liberation began a massive wave of migration towards Kutlovitsa and a period of economic blossom. An electric station, a train station, a post office and a hospital were built, a fair and a community centre emerged.
Kutlovitsa was renamed to ''Ferdinand'' in 1890, receiving the benevolence of Bulgarian Knyaz
Ferdinand and a city status. In 1945, communist authorities changed the town's name to ''Hristo Mihaylov'' after red party activist
Hristo Popmihaylov that died in 1944, who was born there. A year later the name was changed to ''Mihaylovgrad''. In 1993, after a presidential decree, the town received the name ''Montana'', inspired by its antic name.
