Pazardzhik
Pazardzhik province is located in southern Bulgaria. The territory of province is 4458.0 sq.km. Above sea level ranges from 190 to 370 m. Annual average population in Pazardzhik province is 319 358 people (1998). The province is abundant with water resources. Main catchment basin is the river Maritsa and its bigger feeders are the rivers Topolnitsa and Luda Yana.
Its main city is Pazardzhik, while other towns include Peshtera, Velingrad, Panagyurishte, Strelcha, Lesichevo, Septemvri, Rakitovo and Bratsigovo. They have hundreds of houses for rent Bulgaria to offer the tourists. The city of Pazardzhik is the centre of some industrial activity with its lathe, battery and other factories. It has a population of about 80,000 of which an ever-growing portion is of Roma (Gypsy)origin. Pazardzhik is a busy vibarant city with a multitude of coffee shops and crazy drivers in equal measure. However it does not attract many "traditional" tourists, as there is little facilty for this within the city. Among the few tourist attractions are The Clock Tower Of Pazardzhik and the park "The Island Of Freedom", usually just called "The Island". It is located literally in the middle of Maritsa River and thus comes the name.
Pazardzhik
Introduction
The development strategy of the Municipality of Pazardzhik and its realization programs have been created in conformity with the law frame concerning the regional development and the regional politics, and more precisely, with the regional development, municipal budgeting, and local administration law orders. The requirements of the Regional development and Public Works Ministry, of the District of Pazardzhik Administration and its Council for regional development have been taken under consideration while elaborating the municipal strategy. A wide net of houses for rent Bulgaria is the nearest aim in the business plans.
Bulgaria should fulfill its obligation to EC - to accomplish a reasonable, financially independent, budgetary long-term economical programming and planning on a regional and national level, so to develop effectively, in the direction of its integration with the European Council and A very important reason for elaborating the following municipal strategy, is the municipal administration knowledge that the regional strategic planning and administration should turn into an essential approach to the local initiatives and regional resources, and to the involvement of investments for the realization of priority municipal projects.
A fundamental principle for the application of SWOT - analysis is the use of the comparative method /in this case - based on comparisons with some other Municipalities, districts, etc. and a comparison between the present and the future condition of the municipal development/. The comparative analysis is completed with quantitative analysis in several priority directions of the municipal development.
Geographical facts
Municipality of Pazardzhik is situated in South Bulgaria, in the central part of the Higher Thrace valley, on the north of the Rhodope Mountain, at the two banks of river Maritsa. The municipality borders on seven municipalities of district Pazardzhik, including: municipality Strelcha, Panagyurishte, Lesichevo, Septemvri, Rakitovo, Peshtera and Bratsigovo; also on four municipalities from Plovdiv district - Saedinenie, Stamboliyski, Maritsa, Rhodopi.
Relief
The relief of the municipality is a flat country. Above sea level ranges from 190 to 370 m, the sea level for the town Pazardzhik is 205 m. East of Pazardzhik is the lowest part of the field - 200 m. under sea level. The field is poorly to river terraces... because is hollow. This helps the flat country characteristics of the Pazardzhik’s field. The both sides of the river Maritsa and its feeders have been formed to a low, but not widely flowed ledge. The beauty of the banks attracts travelers who stay in the houses for rent Bulgaria. Here are the best alluvial soils of the field.
Climate
Municipality of Pazardzhik is of propitious transitive-continental climate, characterized with summer droughts. This climate is transitive, between continental climate of Danube plain and transitive Mediterranean climate in southeastern part of Bulgaria. The temperatures under zero in Thrace valley are characteristic for the most typical winter month - January. Because of the protection of Stara planina and the influence of the Mediterranean Sea, the average January temperature in Pazardzhik is below zero. The summer temperatures in Pazardzhik are lower than those of Danube plain. The average temperature in July is 23.3 C. The long summer, often from April to October is sufficiently warm. This is suitable not only for cultivation of two cultures in the cultivated field, with yields of grain, but also for better development of some one-years cultures, growing in south regions - rice, tobacco, cotton and others.
In the valleys physical - geographical conditions reveal strongly to the regime temperature and especially to the duration of the winter and the heats. In the Pazardzhik field during the winter, because of the temperature inversion is colder and there the winter is longer than in the Sredna gora and Rhodopa mountainsides and spurs. The earlier spring allows earlier sowing of summer cultures and late autumn is very favourable for well ripen...and gathering of grapes, tobacco, rice, cotton and others, so for a good ripen of the second cultures. In comparison with North Bulgaria, during the spring the Pazardzhik field has earlier going off of the frost, and during the autumn - later. These circumstances act as an incentive for tourist business development and for letting houses for rent Bulgaria.
The rainfall in the area depends of the cyclone winds, northwestern, southwestern and southern, northeastern and eastern. Balkan Mountains and Sredna Gora Mountains stand on the way of free penetration of the rainfall from cyclone winds from north and northwest, Rhodopa’s to the southern - Mediterranean rainfall. In this way, for the Thrace valley there are less rainfalls than is the average annual rainfall of Bulgaria. Because Pazardzhik is situated under humid shadow from the surrounding mountains, the annual sum of the rainfall is 515 mm. In Pazardzhik most of the rainfall is in summer - 142 mm (27.6%) and in spring - 27 %. The summer rainfall often is torrential and not enough for the agricultural products, especially for the second cultures. Characteristic features for the Pazardzhik field are the frequent droughts, showing mostly during the second half of July and first half from August.
Water resources
The municipality is abundant with water resources. Main catchments’ basin is the river Maritsa and its bigger feeders are the rivers Topolnitsa and Luda Yana. An important source of water is subsoil and underground. They are results of the rainfall and disposed in some strata of the water-carrying horizon.
Minerals and Ores
On the territory of the Municipality, there are formations of non-metalliferous minerals. Most spreading minerals, ores and minerals are the dolomites. They can be found on the northern mountainsides of Rhodopa - between the villages Patalenitsa and Tsrancha, south and east from village Debrashtitsa. The biggest is the spreading of marmors in the hills of Besapara. At their foot near the village Ognyanovo can be found good exploited formation of limestone. Here is mining and producing the whole range of inert materials on the base of crushed stone (stone flour, broken stone), caustic and hydrated lime and ashy. In the territory of village Velichkovo are mining rock - facing materials. Some of them are not very well explored and worked out formations from granite, scanite and gabro.
Technical infrastructure
Road network
The republic’s road network on the territory of the Municipality includes roads with total length 400.8 km, divided in classes, as follows: roads I-st class - 59.0 km; roads II-d class - 53.2 km; roads III-d class - 163.6 km; municipal roads (IV-th class) - 125.0 km. The types of covering the road cover network in the municipality in whole with lasting asphalt covering. The well-developed road net promotes the movement of the tourists who also use the services of the houses for rent Bulgaria.
Telecommunications
The system is shown from two branches filling in the spectrum of services in this area - “Post communication” and “Remote communication”. The whole network between the villages on the territory of Municipality is cabling. The cables between the towns and villages are 36 in number, total length 236 km. They support 8 numbers of cables with total length of 131 km. On the territory of Municipality Pazardzhik in action are 29 ATC with total installed capacity of 44 954 posts. All inhabited place have telephones, 6 of them are with taking-out network. All centrals have direct connections with CCATC and are included in the national and international network for incoming and outgoing telephone calling.
Water supply and sewerage
The water sources on the territory of Municipality Pazardzhik are 89. The water quantity which they ensure is 1300 l/sec., from them 900 l/sec. is directed for the town of Pazardzhik. The water-takings are mostly from tube wells - 62, from chatchments and shaft-wells. Around all water-takings are built wall barriers- 92 on the area from over 386 decars. The water reservoirs on the territory of the Municipality are 32 with total capacity about 41000 m3. The external part of the water-main system has the length of 111 km, and the internal - about 458km. The canalization system on the territory of the town of Pazardzhik is built in its predominant part, as 3 canalization pomp stations serve the same. The shortage in purifying stations for wasting waters is reason for direct drain-away and pollution of the river Maritsa from the two zones of the town - the inhabited and industrial. On the territory of the mayoralties, canalization systems are not building. The wasting waters are leaded in cesspools and in passing through the villages rivers. The well developed water supply is in favor of the business of letting houses for rent Bulgaria.
Power supply
Electricity-energy system of Municipality Pazardzhik is in comparatively well-developed condition. From technical point of view, the equipment is in a good condition. The ring, electricity-distribution network (20 kV) of Pazardzhik consists of the following elements: air lines, cable lines, junction stations and traffic posts, and they are served by “Electro-Distribution” JSCo. - Branch Pazardzhik. In the moment the condition of the above mentioned elements are as follows: Cable lines with length 135 km, from them 60 % are with paper-pressure insulation and 40 % with - plastic insulation; The air lines are with length 120 km including the break-down connections between the substations 110/20 kV; The junction stations are 5 and 1 of them is somebody else’s property. The traffic post are 405 from them 276 are property of “Electricity Distribution” with total installed power - 280000 kVA.
Population
Through the period of-1994 - 1998, the population has decreased with 3 %, due to the negative natural growth and emigration of the population to bigger towns and abroad. The density of the population is 202.4 persons on sq. km, considerably exceeded the average for the district - 71.6. The negative natural growth can be seen through comparison of alive born and deceased persons in the municipality. These indexes, and also the number of the populated and emigrated, are in direction of diminution. Regarding to the ethnical structure of the population in municipality over 88 % from the same are Bulgarians, about 7 % Gypsy and 4 % are Turks. In the town of Pazardzhik live a compact mass of Gypsy, they inhabited a separate quarter. Similar is the situation in the villages of the municipality. The separate ethnical groups live in understanding and can not be seen sharply conflicts and contradictions between them. In the municipality is given a special attention to their uniting and coping to a problem concerning education, low income, and employment. Two foundations are initiated about the problem and program, according to this program there are representatives of the Gypsy in the municipal and district administration.
The highest percentage of population is above 70-years old and the lowest - children under 4-years old, and that affirms the trends of decreasing and advancing in population age, typical for the country for the last years. Above 7 % is the share of young people and those from 35 to 44. This shows that in municipality there is working potentials at present, which, it is necessary to be mobilized adequately for making a gross product. The migration processes are typical for the whole country but they don’t influent the movement of visitors to the region who stay in the houses for rent Bulgaria.
Urbanization
Special feature of Municipality Pazardzhik is a comparatively the compact net of towns and villages. Here are spread 32 settlements, including a town and 31 villages. The closeness between them is very big. Between some of them the distance is about 1 - 2 km. Predominating are the bigger villages with well-constructed residential fund. Twenty-two of them have population above 1000 persons. Bigger of them are: village Malo Konare (4754 inhabitants), village Ivaylo (3198 inhabitants), village Ognyanovo (2664 inhabitants) and others. Administrative Municipality of Pazardzhik includes 27 councils, 4 depute mayor with administrative center (municipal and district) town of Pazardzhik.
By the number of population, Municipality Pazardzhik is on eighth place among range of the municipalities in the country. The permanent population near to 1998 is 126 856 persons, like 63.8 % lives in the town of Pazardzhik. An active part of the population is 57 % from the whole population. The good transport connections allowed everyday work mobility of the bigger part of the population in the municipality. The basic work stream of people from villages to the town of Pazardzhik increases in the last few years, so is the stream of people working in Plovdiv. The uninhabited houses in the villages are managed for houses for rent Bulgaria. Because of its closeness, it is possible to create an urban territory between both towns, which will make easier the contacts and interrelations between the population there.
Environment
The main factor for the state of the environment is the degree of the negative effect for the same from the regional industry. The generalized information for Municipality Pazardzhik shows, that during the last years a big part of undertakings in the region materialize as potential infections of the components of environment, worked with decreased production capacities. This leaded to a sensitive decreasing of their negative influence on the environment, atmosphere, waters, and soils in the whole municipality.
History
Pazardzhik was founded by Tatars 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 (Turkish Tatar Pazarcιk, "small Tatar market"). Thanks to this favourable location, the settlement quickly developed. While it was very small at the beginning of the ? century, it became the administrative centre for the region at the end of the century and remained so until the Liberation from Turkish occupation. 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 church "The Virgin Mary" was built -- an important national monument, famous for its architecture and woodcarving. In 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.
During the Liberation War in 1877-1878, the town was burned by retreating Turkish troops. It was liberated on 2.01.1878 by General Gurko's platoon. Pazardzhik grew and spread to the right bank of Maritza river; barracks and an agricultural school were built. From early 20th century people built factories, stores and houses, and thus the industrial quarter of the town. From 1959 to 1987 Pazardzhik was again an administrative centre for the region, and is again since the 1999 administrative division of Bulgaria.
Growth of the economical development
General condition
During the last ten years our country undergoes complicated changes, which reflected to the economic activity in the whole country and in particular in the development of the municipalities. The economic crisis from the end of 1996 and the beginning of 1997 leaded to a reduction in the production and incomes of the people, which lay down and the urgently initiating of the currency board. The aim is to establish a strictly macroeconomic discipline, to stop inflation and to stabilize the economics. Because of the competence utilization of the opportunities of the currency board, has been reached a very indispensable macroeconomic stabilization, attended even with the minimum growth of 3.5% in 1998 and 2.4% in 1999. In the presence, for the economics in the country as a whole, it is of a vital interest to reach higher rate of growth by the increasing of the competitive and outgoing on new markets.
The expectations for the following years are 4 - 5% percent annual growth of the gross inner product. In order to be reached, that and higher significant growth, it is necessary as a whole for the country, so for the separate district and municipalities, to mobilize more strongly the powerful sides and abilities for a stable rising development. The period 1997 - 1998 is a critical for municipality Pazardzhik and the economics here, since the same has fallen into a heavy financial condition. Reduction of municipal standard and the reasons are complete. In line to limited opportunity on the inner market for realization of the production, the basic reason is in losses of the market positions in the countries of ex-socialist camp. In the same time predisposition of the technical, technological and personnel potential, to the high requirements of the western market turned out that it is a comparatively prolonged process.
The municipality Pazardzhik has rather low gross inner product (GIP) of an inhabitant (about 90 % from the average standard from the index for the country), the level of the unemployment is above the average for the country (16.25%) and unfortunately - with signs of increasing, and the amount of the monetary incomes for an inhabitant is about 80 % of the average for the country. These are serious problems for the municipality; they can be surmounting only by active actions in pursuance of the development strategy. An important part of this strategy is the development of tourism and the management of houses for rent Bulgaria.
During the last years, there can be seen growth in the activity of the private firms in the municipality. That can be explained with the crisis in the public sector of the municipal economics, the different speed of the privatization in the separate economical sectors, but especially an important agent is the appearance of the local enterprise for development of the private economical activity. Important measurements of the activity of the private firms is the part of the employment in the private sector, which for the Municipality Pazardzhik is 39 % and exceeds the average level for the country (31.9%), as it is in the incomes from sales by current prices, twice bigger than those in the public sector by the end of 1999.
From 1994 to 1998, the number of firms in the industry has extended with 158% like in the municipality worked above 37 % of the industrial firms in the Pazarjik district and they produced above 49 % of the production.
At the beginning of year 2000, the picture of the firms in the municipality has the following structure:
EAD (Sole Stock Corporation) – 7;
AD (Stock Corporation) – 84;
EOOD (Sole Limited Liability Company) – 366;
OOD (Limited Liability Company) – 616;
SD (Unlimited partnership) – 193;
ET (Sole Proprietorship) – 8895
The biggest is the number of the Sole Proprietorship firms and the Limited Liability Companies. Low is the number of the Stock Corporations, which have a capital and potential for serious productions. On the other side, we can not mark out the low capacity of the direct foreign investments in the Municipality. In spite of that, it is one of the bigger municipalities in the country, included in the group of the municipalities, which have attracted less than 1 % of all foreign investments.
Agriculture and Forestry
Because of the privatization and the restructuring at the predominant number of industrial companies in the Municipality of Pazardzhik during the second half of the 90s, a large part of discharged employees have become familiar with agriculture - today's main economic factor in the region. The finalized land reform and the active rural one have created favorable conditions for encouragement of the private agricultural producers and farmers in the municipality. The companies dealing with letting houses for rent Bulgaria actively use the recourses agriculture.
Agricultural and Forest Structure
The total amount of agricultural lands in the Municipality of Pazardzhik is 371 270 decares, of them some 80% under irrigation, irrigation canals - total length of 346 kilometers. The rivers Maritsa, Topolnitsa and Luda Yana cross the municipal territory. The existing water canals, transporting water from six large water reservoirs, complete that significant potential of the municipal irrigation.
Land Balance of the Municipality Of Pazardzhik
70% of the total area land from the territory of the Municipality is agricultural, at the average District level – 24.4% and national one - 42%. This share is another important index for the significant land potential of the Municipality concerning the development of agriculture, especially in combination with favorable climate and soil conditions. The biggest share of agricultural lands in the Municipality belongs to fields. They cover 60% of the land, followed by meadows – 25.34% and perennial plants – 6.45%. The largest parts of agricultural lands at the territory of the Municipality go along the banks of river Maritsa. Some 80% of agricultural lands are irrigated and that is a favorable condition for development of intense regional animal husbandry and thremmatology. The relatively high level of deserted lands is a serious problem for the Municipality of Pazardzhik. The deserted land covers some 30% of the Municipality territory. Forests take the biggest share - 11%, fields – 8.5%. Deserted land takes some 7% that are considerably higher than the average for the District - some 3.2%. Two thirds of the deserted lands are in the forestry, the rest - in the agricultural structure.
At the end of 1998, the land was given back to its proprietors at the territory of the Municipality. The average size of private properties (including vineyards, fields, and fruit orchards) is 2.5 decares, considerably below the approved European criteria for effective agricultural production from a region with its own farm property. This fact represents an additional argument proving the necessity of a future volunteer unification of the separate agricultural areas, so to warrant the indispensable level of concentration of cultivated land in the Municipality of Pazardzhik and the regional agricultural reliability for productive competition. By April 2000, the Municipality owned around 62550 decares of municipal fields. The municipal administration stands firmly behind the idea to rent part of those fields for cultivation and exploitation throughout lease contracts or formation of public-private associations which, in the future, could turn into candidates for financial help from the European Union funds. Part of the funds is being invested in the business of letting houses for rent Bulgaria.
It is necessary, so to prepare projects in the field of agriculture for obtaining preferential financing under the program SAPARD - to look for opportunities for volunteer unification of the separate agricultural areas, use of the forms of agricultural and forest integration with public-private associations and realization of similar investment projects. The share of cereals is the biggest in the municipal cultivated land structure - 73,53% in 1998; followed by industrial crops - 8,87%, vegetables - 7,32%, perennial fruit and other plants - 5,74%, including vineyards - 1,1%. Of all 429384,366 decares agricultural lands at the Municipality of Pazardzhik, 3,3% are state property, 81,2% - private, 0,38% - church, 14,57% - municipal, 0,14% - mixed and 0,39% - property of legal entities.
Agricultural production
The dynamics in the agricultural production at the territory of the Municipality of Pazardzhik are specifically irregular during the second half of the 90s. Considerable deviations in the level of animal and plant production throughout the different years are due to irregularities in the capacity of payment. The biggest share in the development of plant production at the territory of the Municipality belongs to the production of cereals. A comparative analysis of yield level in the Municipality and in the country shows that the production of wheat and barley is lower, and that of maize, rye, and oats - higher. As for the other cereals, the analysis proves better yield results for the Municipality of Pazardzhik, therefore the future specialization in cereals doesn't seem expedient.
Another extremely important and traditional branch of plant production is vegetable production. It promotes the tourist business and the letting of houses for rent Bulgaria to the incoming visitors. The analysis shows that the level of vegetable production in the Municipality is a few times higher than the average one in the country. For instance, field tomatoes – 199.5% higher, pepper – 164.1% higher, beans – 189.7% higher. Favorable climate and soil conditions pledge the enormous potential for a future intense high-yielded development of the vegetable production. The active participation of the Municipal Administration is an indispensable requirement for the final recognition of the municipal vegetable production and its rich variety. Fruit culture has historical traditions and positive indices at the Municipality, based on favorable geographical, climate, and soil conditions. Apples, cherries, peaches have the advantage. A comparative analysis of yield level in the Municipality and in the country shows that the production of apples in the region of Pazardzhik is 2.2 times higher, peaches – 3.5 times higher, cherries - more than 1.2 times higher.
Viticulture also has some considerable opportunities for future development at the territory of the Municipality. The average grape yields are two times higher than these in the country. On another hand, the future development of that branch is directly connected with the abilities of the local vine-growers, the Municipal Administration and the possibility to attract long-term investment resources - mostly by means of the European Program SAPARD projects for renovation of large vineyards - around 10 000 decares. The flat lay and the abundance of water have lead to the development of rice production - 42 830 decares rice plantations sowed in1999, at the average yield 351kg. of a decare. The development of industrial crops is another opportunity. Municipality of Pazardzhik has been included in the national program for experimentation and introduction of new orient sorts, type "Srednogorski". The produced tobacco - types "Virdjinia" and "Orientalski" have excellent indices.
In the field of fodder production, the share of natural fields and meadows is the largest. The intense development throughout application of culture-industrial actions - balanced and differentiated fertilization, balanced pasture, selection of highly productive grass types, mechanization, is a must. Stockbreeding also has acquired traditions at the territory of the Municipality and the District. The tendencies of augmenting the total number of animals are present. The only exception is the number of sheep, diminished insignificantly. By 01.01.2000, the share of animals raised at the territory of the Municipality compared to the total national number is the following: cattle – 3.14%, cows – 3.12%, pigs – 2.93%, sheep – 3.15%, goats – 5.33% and domestic birds – 5.02%.
The relatively positive development of stockbreeding in the Municipality of Pazardzhik is determined by the demands of internal and international markets / mostly beef and chicken meat, diary products and furs/. In 1999 the Municipality of Pazardzhik has produced over 38 360 liters of milk, almost the same quantity as the previous year. The production of egg is diminishing. Apiculture is another new interest - some 5200 bee family in 1999, which is 28% more than 1997. 96% of beef-cattle, 100%of goats, 99.49% of sheep, 84.46% of pigs and 99.99% of domestic birds have been raised at private farms.
The final strategic goal in the development of agriculture and forestry at the territory of Municipality Pazardzhik is to activate the reconstruction of favorable climate realities and advantages, so to stimulate the intense development of ecological agriculture and stockbreeding, and to raise the competitiveness of local farmers, and to stabilize the positive development of Municipality Pazardzhik. Contemporary canals and specific objects of market realization have to be formed, so to stabilize trade relations between farmers, factories and direct consumers, relations with local and external markets. Of course, the quality of the offered agricultural products has to be improved, representing an essential factor for rising farmers' income.
To acquire those strategic goals, it is very important to attract external finance cooperation from International programs - mainly International development and finance institutions at the European Union. Here is the place to mention the Program SAPARD as an eventual donor of free financial cooperation for Municipality Pazardzhik. The growing economical independence of the Municipality gives perspectives for obtaining credits at favorable financial conditions from local and external institutions and programs, stimulating regional development. A very important direction is the development of effective and attractive projects in agriculture and forestry, which could obtain some external help.
Industry
The major activities and directions of the industry on the territory in the Municipality Pazardzhik, created from the enterprises with municipal, regional and national meaning are in food, wine and tobacco industries and equipment for the production.
Food processing industry
Because of a good natural conditions and the high quantity of produced agriculture production, the manufacturing of fruits and vegetables and canned foods from them is a traditional and strong developed sub-branch in the municipality. In the town of Pazardzhik is one of the biggest canning factories in the country. KK ”Maritsa” owns modern Italian equipment, storage base with cooling halls for conservation of the production and has the possibilities to manufacture big quantities of fruits and vegetables. In the presence the factory is privatized and works with decreased capacity, because of the lost markets. During the last years are created smaller private firms and they purchased and manufactured fruits and vegetables. One of them is “Maris” Ltd., which exported its production in Russia and Ukraine. For improving the work in these enterprises and to switch to the higher quality of the production is advisable to be used, the possibilities of the program SAPARD for giving an opportunity of investment line for producing and processing of fruits and vegetables. By this way will be encourage the application of new technologies for cooling and freezing, long-lasting conservation of fruits and vegetables, mastering of technological lines for canning foods suitable to European standards. The development of traveler agencies and the letting of houses for rent Bulgaria are impossible without highly advanced food processing industry.
Diary industry
In the town of Pazardzhik works a factory for manufacturing butter, cheese, and yogurt - “Mlechna promishlenost." After the privatization, the main problem is to find out new markets for realization of the production, because only the inner market is extremely not enough. An important problem is an inculcating of new equipment, which corresponds to the standards of the European Union for ecological pure production. In district of Pazardzhik, only one firm has a permission to export diary products in European Union. In many of the villages on the territory of the municipality are created small diary farms and they purchased milk and produced cheese and yogurt. There are also small farms in which are breeding milk cows. Many efforts are needed to ensure and holding up the European standards for quality of the producing milk and diary products. In view of the fact that “Mlechna promishlenost” and other dairying’s had a sizeable capacity and possibilities for producing of diary foods, they together with their partners in dairying can take an advantage of the new opportunities which can be given from the program SAPARD in the district of improvement the production of diary foods.
Meat industry
In the municipality worked different meat-producers, including meat packinghouse “M & M 90” and others. There are conditions for development of the meat industry, because of the presence of many small farms for fattened pigs and calves. Except the big meat packinghouse here worked small slaughterhouses, they purchased animals from the separate private owners. It is necessary to be bettered the organization and producing of meat and meat products, for creating of well-equipped slaughterhouses. In this area also can be used the possibilities given from the program SAPARAD in relation of investment lines, directed to increasing the quality of the production according to the European standards and its competitive power, not only on the inner market and also for the international markets.
Miller’s and rise industry
In the municipality Pazardzhik works a flour-factory “Melor." Here is producing rise and there is a flour - mill. This branch is strong developed because of the presence of sufficient by quantity and quality a raw material. In the Pazardzhik field is cultivated rise and corn with high quality. The presence of sufficient stuff and labor force promotes the formation of such factory in this region. The main problem now is a strong-decreased area with rise growing. For the promotion it is advisable to be revived a crop of rise through building of modern rise areas.
Wine industry
Because of favorable climate and soils in the municipality are growing different types of wine grape, which is a precondition for development of wine production. As a whole, the district is known with many wine regions and wine cellars. In the town of Pazardzhik works “Vintechprom." There are delivery stations not only in municipality Pazardzhik, but also in other municipalities in the region. Here are produced different types of white and red wines. An approval for the high quality of its production is the awarded gold medal on the last exhibition for wine-producers. The basic problem for the factory is a shortage of enough quantity of grape, because of the destroyed vine growing. Advisable is to be searched for possibilities of building of bigger public-private partnerships for effective using the possibilities, shown from the program SAPARD in the area of vine-growing. Local wines are being an object of export as well as of interest by the visitors of the region who usually stay in the houses for rent Bulgaria.
Tobacco industry
One of the well-developed branches in the region is a tobacco growing. Here are cultivated Oriental tobacco and Virginia. The manufacturing of tobacco is concentrated in the lands of the villages Tsrancha, Debrastitsa, Patalenitsa and Aleko Konstantinovo. The tobacco is processed in “Bulgartabac” Pazardzhik. Here is doing only the primary processing of the tobacco. The processed fermented tobacco is selling to the cigarette factories.
Conclusion
The lost foreign markets are valuated as most of risky, because they have directly influence on the incomes and indirectly - characterized the condition of management and marketing. Not-effective production and not-rational using of the material and labor resources in the municipality is valuated with 6 points in the presence they are the important factors for a competitive production. As a lower risky are valuated not conformity with the ecological norms and requirements and such as directed to the inner market. The municipality has many possibilities for developing of this branch and it is necessary to be used rationally. With a highest score are valuated the possibilities of using a financial resources for development of enterprises and their activity, creating of associations and information center for the education of the producers. The attracting of foreign investments, active marketing and conquering of new markets also the increasing the production are scored with 7 points, because they are bind with the necessity of realization the investments, modernization and education. The menaces are also high because of the increasing competition, the necessity of financing, which is not accessible for the bigger part of the enterprises and firms, as a result of the impossibility to have competitive power production and eventual lost of the markets existing in the presence.
The biggest part of the area closed between strong sides and the possibilities of the food processing industry in the municipality Pazardzhik, fixed the necessity of undertaking an aggressive strategy. The aim is to be increased the strong sides through at the most using of the possibilities.
Transport
The branch is shown from the automobile, railway and trolley transport. In the Municipality Pazardzhik maintenance of the bus-transport is predominant and the transport needs are practically satisfied. A quote in the transport maintenance of the population has also the taxi transportation, realized by the firms: “Taxi-Bulgaria” and “City car” disposing with about 250 automobiles. The competition between the firms in this sub-branch allows the services like this to be cheap and approachable in the Municipality in comparison with other towns with similar dimension. "DESPRED" SLtd. - association servicing mainly international lines, realizes the shipping activity on the territory of Municipality Pazardzhik. The vehicle transport secures fast communication with the airports of Sofia and Plovdiv which are the main terminal of the incoming tourists who use the services of the houses for rent Bulgaria.
The railway transport realized transportation of loads and passengers. The territory of the Municipality Pazardzhik is connected with railway corridor Europe - Asia. Strongly decreased activity of the range of the big industrial undertakings with tonnage productions is shortening drastically in the cargo activity. The road activity is also decreased because of decreasing mobility of the population, the low frequency of the trains and the increased price of the services.
An important place in the transportation of the population takes place and the trolley-transport. The same is realized only in the town of Pazardzhik by the municipal firm “Trolley-transport,” created in 1992. The build trolley net connected the western part of the town with the central and industrial zone and railway station.
Financial institutions
The most of the acting in Bulgaria banks are opened their branches in the municipality Pazardzhik. Those are United Bulgarian Bank (UBB), BIOCHIM, Post bank, State saving Bank, Bulbank, Central Cooperative bank, Hebrosbank, First Eastern International Bank, and Eurobank. The presence of various financial institutions is a precondition for a good and effective organization of the movement of money resources. On the other side, the functioning of these institutions in the Municipality shows that the business is created in an active way.
Sightseeing
The Clock Tower
The Museum Of History
House-Museum Konstantin Velichkov
House-Museum Stanislav Dospevski
The Island
The Cathedral Church Sv.Bogorodica
Peshtera
Province (oblast): Pazardzhik
Population: 21,653 (13.09.2005)
Altitude: 450 m
Geographic coordinates: 42° 2' north, 24° 18' east
Time zone: EET; (UTC+2; UTC+3 in summer)
Mayor: Georgi Petarneychev
Peshtera (Пещера ['peʃtera]) is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, part of Pazardzhik Province, located in the Upper Thracian Lowlands at the foot of the Western Rhodopes. It takes its name from the many caves (peshtera is the Bulgarian word for 'cave') in the vicinity.
The first thraces of human presence in the area date from the Neolithic. The Thracian tribe of the Bessi inhabited the area in Antiquity and the settlement in the Peshtera Valley emerged in the fourth century BC.
The earliest piece of writing documenting the town's name dates from 1479, when Peshtera was part of the fief of a certain Mustafa in the Ottoman Empire. During the Bulgarian National Revival, many churches, bridges, fountains, schools and houses were built. The first secular school in Peshtera was opened in 1848, while the Nadezhda ('hope') community centre emerged in 1873. Many local residents took part in the armed struggle for the Liberation of Bulgaria, the town itself being liberated during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, more precisely on 6 January 1878.
In 1876, the town had 800 households, of which 500 Bulgarian, 60 Aromanian and about 250 Turkish and Roma. The first official Bulgarian census in 1880 stated 758 households and 3,871 inhabitants, of which 2,618 Bulgarians, 856 Turks, 341 Greeks (most actually Aromanians), 53 Roma and a single Karakachan. Five years later, in 1885, Peshtera had a population of 4,704 and 876 households.
Recently the town develops as a tourist center with a net of hotels and houses for rent Bulgaria.
Velingrad
Velingrad (Велинград) is a town in Bulgaria and one of the most popular Bulgarian balneological resorts. It lies at the western end of Chepino Valley, part of the Rhodope Mountains in Southern Bulgaria.
History
According to legend, Orpheus lived in these lands at one time. There also is a saga that these lands inspired Spartacus the Thracian and gave him a titan power. Later, the region was massively inhabited by the Slavs. According to the Bulgarian professors, the tribe Dragovichi lived there. They accepted many Thracian customs, but gave them typical Slavic characters. Soon after the proto-Bulgarian invasion on the Balkans, the whole region was annexed to the First Bulgarian Empire by tsar Malamir, who was a Slav.
At the times of the Turkish terror, the Turks converted many of the Slavs in this region to Islam, by killing those who did not want to accept their religion. However, in the Communist regime in Bulgaria many of the Bulgarian Muslims returned to Orthodox Christianity, their old religion.
Geography
Velingrad is situated at 750-850 m above sea level. Summers are warm and winters are mild. The average annual temperature is 10°C, while the average July temperature is 19°C. The annual duration of sunshine is about 2,000 hours. The relative air humidity ranges from 65 to 75%. Surrounded by age-old pine tree woods, the town favors abundant sunshine. This exclusively rare and valuable combination has a beneficial influence on the process of ionization (negative ions are prevailing) and is of definite therapeutic importance.
Waters
There are 70 sources of mineral water with curative and preventive properties in and around the town. The mineral waters (from springs and wells) vary considerably in temperature, mineralization, radon, silica acid and fluorine content, and are suitable for treatment of a wide range of diseases. Almost 9000 litres per minute of water spring from the five thermal and mineral deposits in Ladzhene, Kamenitsa, Chepino, Rakitovo and Kostadinovo.
Together with the numerous mineral waters, Velingrad boasts another natural phenomenon as well — the Kleptuza, the biggest Karst spring in Bulgaria, with an average discharge of 1200 liters of ice-cold water per second.
The magnificent climate and mineral springs turned the town into an attractive vacation center and there you can stay in the big number of family hotels or in houses for rent Bulgaria.
Panagyurishte
Panagyurishte is a town in Pazardzhik Province, western Bulgaria. The town is situated in a small valley in Sashtinska Sredna Gora. It is 91 km far from Sofia, to the east, at 43 km north of Pazardzhik and at 37 km south of Zlatitsa. Its name is from Greek origin and means a fair venue, but it became the symbol of the Bulgarian striving for freedom.
The Panagyurishte municipality has certain potential for an intensification of the cooperation with the Koprivshtitsa, Strelcha and Hisarya municipalities in the sphere of tourism. It is expedient in this respect to think of the foundation of an association of the municipalities whose settlements took part in the April uprising against the Ottoman rule in 1876. The Association of the National Revival Towns could also be used along these lines.
Its main city is Pazardzhik, while other towns include Peshtera, Velingrad, Panagyurishte, Strelcha, Lesichevo, Septemvri, Rakitovo and Bratsigovo. They have hundreds of houses for rent Bulgaria to offer the tourists. The city of Pazardzhik is the centre of some industrial activity with its lathe, battery and other factories. It has a population of about 80,000 of which an ever-growing portion is of Roma (Gypsy)origin. Pazardzhik is a busy vibarant city with a multitude of coffee shops and crazy drivers in equal measure. However it does not attract many "traditional" tourists, as there is little facilty for this within the city. Among the few tourist attractions are The Clock Tower Of Pazardzhik and the park "The Island Of Freedom", usually just called "The Island". It is located literally in the middle of Maritsa River and thus comes the name.
Pazardzhik
Introduction
The development strategy of the Municipality of Pazardzhik and its realization programs have been created in conformity with the law frame concerning the regional development and the regional politics, and more precisely, with the regional development, municipal budgeting, and local administration law orders. The requirements of the Regional development and Public Works Ministry, of the District of Pazardzhik Administration and its Council for regional development have been taken under consideration while elaborating the municipal strategy. A wide net of houses for rent Bulgaria is the nearest aim in the business plans.
Bulgaria should fulfill its obligation to EC - to accomplish a reasonable, financially independent, budgetary long-term economical programming and planning on a regional and national level, so to develop effectively, in the direction of its integration with the European Council and A very important reason for elaborating the following municipal strategy, is the municipal administration knowledge that the regional strategic planning and administration should turn into an essential approach to the local initiatives and regional resources, and to the involvement of investments for the realization of priority municipal projects.
A fundamental principle for the application of SWOT - analysis is the use of the comparative method /in this case - based on comparisons with some other Municipalities, districts, etc. and a comparison between the present and the future condition of the municipal development/. The comparative analysis is completed with quantitative analysis in several priority directions of the municipal development.
Geographical facts
Municipality of Pazardzhik is situated in South Bulgaria, in the central part of the Higher Thrace valley, on the north of the Rhodope Mountain, at the two banks of river Maritsa. The municipality borders on seven municipalities of district Pazardzhik, including: municipality Strelcha, Panagyurishte, Lesichevo, Septemvri, Rakitovo, Peshtera and Bratsigovo; also on four municipalities from Plovdiv district - Saedinenie, Stamboliyski, Maritsa, Rhodopi.
Relief
The relief of the municipality is a flat country. Above sea level ranges from 190 to 370 m, the sea level for the town Pazardzhik is 205 m. East of Pazardzhik is the lowest part of the field - 200 m. under sea level. The field is poorly to river terraces... because is hollow. This helps the flat country characteristics of the Pazardzhik’s field. The both sides of the river Maritsa and its feeders have been formed to a low, but not widely flowed ledge. The beauty of the banks attracts travelers who stay in the houses for rent Bulgaria. Here are the best alluvial soils of the field.
Climate
Municipality of Pazardzhik is of propitious transitive-continental climate, characterized with summer droughts. This climate is transitive, between continental climate of Danube plain and transitive Mediterranean climate in southeastern part of Bulgaria. The temperatures under zero in Thrace valley are characteristic for the most typical winter month - January. Because of the protection of Stara planina and the influence of the Mediterranean Sea, the average January temperature in Pazardzhik is below zero. The summer temperatures in Pazardzhik are lower than those of Danube plain. The average temperature in July is 23.3 C. The long summer, often from April to October is sufficiently warm. This is suitable not only for cultivation of two cultures in the cultivated field, with yields of grain, but also for better development of some one-years cultures, growing in south regions - rice, tobacco, cotton and others.
In the valleys physical - geographical conditions reveal strongly to the regime temperature and especially to the duration of the winter and the heats. In the Pazardzhik field during the winter, because of the temperature inversion is colder and there the winter is longer than in the Sredna gora and Rhodopa mountainsides and spurs. The earlier spring allows earlier sowing of summer cultures and late autumn is very favourable for well ripen...and gathering of grapes, tobacco, rice, cotton and others, so for a good ripen of the second cultures. In comparison with North Bulgaria, during the spring the Pazardzhik field has earlier going off of the frost, and during the autumn - later. These circumstances act as an incentive for tourist business development and for letting houses for rent Bulgaria.
The rainfall in the area depends of the cyclone winds, northwestern, southwestern and southern, northeastern and eastern. Balkan Mountains and Sredna Gora Mountains stand on the way of free penetration of the rainfall from cyclone winds from north and northwest, Rhodopa’s to the southern - Mediterranean rainfall. In this way, for the Thrace valley there are less rainfalls than is the average annual rainfall of Bulgaria. Because Pazardzhik is situated under humid shadow from the surrounding mountains, the annual sum of the rainfall is 515 mm. In Pazardzhik most of the rainfall is in summer - 142 mm (27.6%) and in spring - 27 %. The summer rainfall often is torrential and not enough for the agricultural products, especially for the second cultures. Characteristic features for the Pazardzhik field are the frequent droughts, showing mostly during the second half of July and first half from August.
Water resources
The municipality is abundant with water resources. Main catchments’ basin is the river Maritsa and its bigger feeders are the rivers Topolnitsa and Luda Yana. An important source of water is subsoil and underground. They are results of the rainfall and disposed in some strata of the water-carrying horizon.
Minerals and Ores
On the territory of the Municipality, there are formations of non-metalliferous minerals. Most spreading minerals, ores and minerals are the dolomites. They can be found on the northern mountainsides of Rhodopa - between the villages Patalenitsa and Tsrancha, south and east from village Debrashtitsa. The biggest is the spreading of marmors in the hills of Besapara. At their foot near the village Ognyanovo can be found good exploited formation of limestone. Here is mining and producing the whole range of inert materials on the base of crushed stone (stone flour, broken stone), caustic and hydrated lime and ashy. In the territory of village Velichkovo are mining rock - facing materials. Some of them are not very well explored and worked out formations from granite, scanite and gabro.
Technical infrastructure
Road network
The republic’s road network on the territory of the Municipality includes roads with total length 400.8 km, divided in classes, as follows: roads I-st class - 59.0 km; roads II-d class - 53.2 km; roads III-d class - 163.6 km; municipal roads (IV-th class) - 125.0 km. The types of covering the road cover network in the municipality in whole with lasting asphalt covering. The well-developed road net promotes the movement of the tourists who also use the services of the houses for rent Bulgaria.
Telecommunications
The system is shown from two branches filling in the spectrum of services in this area - “Post communication” and “Remote communication”. The whole network between the villages on the territory of Municipality is cabling. The cables between the towns and villages are 36 in number, total length 236 km. They support 8 numbers of cables with total length of 131 km. On the territory of Municipality Pazardzhik in action are 29 ATC with total installed capacity of 44 954 posts. All inhabited place have telephones, 6 of them are with taking-out network. All centrals have direct connections with CCATC and are included in the national and international network for incoming and outgoing telephone calling.
Water supply and sewerage
The water sources on the territory of Municipality Pazardzhik are 89. The water quantity which they ensure is 1300 l/sec., from them 900 l/sec. is directed for the town of Pazardzhik. The water-takings are mostly from tube wells - 62, from chatchments and shaft-wells. Around all water-takings are built wall barriers- 92 on the area from over 386 decars. The water reservoirs on the territory of the Municipality are 32 with total capacity about 41000 m3. The external part of the water-main system has the length of 111 km, and the internal - about 458km. The canalization system on the territory of the town of Pazardzhik is built in its predominant part, as 3 canalization pomp stations serve the same. The shortage in purifying stations for wasting waters is reason for direct drain-away and pollution of the river Maritsa from the two zones of the town - the inhabited and industrial. On the territory of the mayoralties, canalization systems are not building. The wasting waters are leaded in cesspools and in passing through the villages rivers. The well developed water supply is in favor of the business of letting houses for rent Bulgaria.
Power supply
Electricity-energy system of Municipality Pazardzhik is in comparatively well-developed condition. From technical point of view, the equipment is in a good condition. The ring, electricity-distribution network (20 kV) of Pazardzhik consists of the following elements: air lines, cable lines, junction stations and traffic posts, and they are served by “Electro-Distribution” JSCo. - Branch Pazardzhik. In the moment the condition of the above mentioned elements are as follows: Cable lines with length 135 km, from them 60 % are with paper-pressure insulation and 40 % with - plastic insulation; The air lines are with length 120 km including the break-down connections between the substations 110/20 kV; The junction stations are 5 and 1 of them is somebody else’s property. The traffic post are 405 from them 276 are property of “Electricity Distribution” with total installed power - 280000 kVA.
Population
Through the period of-1994 - 1998, the population has decreased with 3 %, due to the negative natural growth and emigration of the population to bigger towns and abroad. The density of the population is 202.4 persons on sq. km, considerably exceeded the average for the district - 71.6. The negative natural growth can be seen through comparison of alive born and deceased persons in the municipality. These indexes, and also the number of the populated and emigrated, are in direction of diminution. Regarding to the ethnical structure of the population in municipality over 88 % from the same are Bulgarians, about 7 % Gypsy and 4 % are Turks. In the town of Pazardzhik live a compact mass of Gypsy, they inhabited a separate quarter. Similar is the situation in the villages of the municipality. The separate ethnical groups live in understanding and can not be seen sharply conflicts and contradictions between them. In the municipality is given a special attention to their uniting and coping to a problem concerning education, low income, and employment. Two foundations are initiated about the problem and program, according to this program there are representatives of the Gypsy in the municipal and district administration.
The highest percentage of population is above 70-years old and the lowest - children under 4-years old, and that affirms the trends of decreasing and advancing in population age, typical for the country for the last years. Above 7 % is the share of young people and those from 35 to 44. This shows that in municipality there is working potentials at present, which, it is necessary to be mobilized adequately for making a gross product. The migration processes are typical for the whole country but they don’t influent the movement of visitors to the region who stay in the houses for rent Bulgaria.
Urbanization
Special feature of Municipality Pazardzhik is a comparatively the compact net of towns and villages. Here are spread 32 settlements, including a town and 31 villages. The closeness between them is very big. Between some of them the distance is about 1 - 2 km. Predominating are the bigger villages with well-constructed residential fund. Twenty-two of them have population above 1000 persons. Bigger of them are: village Malo Konare (4754 inhabitants), village Ivaylo (3198 inhabitants), village Ognyanovo (2664 inhabitants) and others. Administrative Municipality of Pazardzhik includes 27 councils, 4 depute mayor with administrative center (municipal and district) town of Pazardzhik.
By the number of population, Municipality Pazardzhik is on eighth place among range of the municipalities in the country. The permanent population near to 1998 is 126 856 persons, like 63.8 % lives in the town of Pazardzhik. An active part of the population is 57 % from the whole population. The good transport connections allowed everyday work mobility of the bigger part of the population in the municipality. The basic work stream of people from villages to the town of Pazardzhik increases in the last few years, so is the stream of people working in Plovdiv. The uninhabited houses in the villages are managed for houses for rent Bulgaria. Because of its closeness, it is possible to create an urban territory between both towns, which will make easier the contacts and interrelations between the population there.
Environment
The main factor for the state of the environment is the degree of the negative effect for the same from the regional industry. The generalized information for Municipality Pazardzhik shows, that during the last years a big part of undertakings in the region materialize as potential infections of the components of environment, worked with decreased production capacities. This leaded to a sensitive decreasing of their negative influence on the environment, atmosphere, waters, and soils in the whole municipality.
History
Pazardzhik was founded by Tatars 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 (Turkish Tatar Pazarcιk, "small Tatar market"). Thanks to this favourable location, the settlement quickly developed. While it was very small at the beginning of the ? century, it became the administrative centre for the region at the end of the century and remained so until the Liberation from Turkish occupation. 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 church "The Virgin Mary" was built -- an important national monument, famous for its architecture and woodcarving. In 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.
During the Liberation War in 1877-1878, the town was burned by retreating Turkish troops. It was liberated on 2.01.1878 by General Gurko's platoon. Pazardzhik grew and spread to the right bank of Maritza river; barracks and an agricultural school were built. From early 20th century people built factories, stores and houses, and thus the industrial quarter of the town. From 1959 to 1987 Pazardzhik was again an administrative centre for the region, and is again since the 1999 administrative division of Bulgaria.
Growth of the economical development
General condition
During the last ten years our country undergoes complicated changes, which reflected to the economic activity in the whole country and in particular in the development of the municipalities. The economic crisis from the end of 1996 and the beginning of 1997 leaded to a reduction in the production and incomes of the people, which lay down and the urgently initiating of the currency board. The aim is to establish a strictly macroeconomic discipline, to stop inflation and to stabilize the economics. Because of the competence utilization of the opportunities of the currency board, has been reached a very indispensable macroeconomic stabilization, attended even with the minimum growth of 3.5% in 1998 and 2.4% in 1999. In the presence, for the economics in the country as a whole, it is of a vital interest to reach higher rate of growth by the increasing of the competitive and outgoing on new markets.
The expectations for the following years are 4 - 5% percent annual growth of the gross inner product. In order to be reached, that and higher significant growth, it is necessary as a whole for the country, so for the separate district and municipalities, to mobilize more strongly the powerful sides and abilities for a stable rising development. The period 1997 - 1998 is a critical for municipality Pazardzhik and the economics here, since the same has fallen into a heavy financial condition. Reduction of municipal standard and the reasons are complete. In line to limited opportunity on the inner market for realization of the production, the basic reason is in losses of the market positions in the countries of ex-socialist camp. In the same time predisposition of the technical, technological and personnel potential, to the high requirements of the western market turned out that it is a comparatively prolonged process.
The municipality Pazardzhik has rather low gross inner product (GIP) of an inhabitant (about 90 % from the average standard from the index for the country), the level of the unemployment is above the average for the country (16.25%) and unfortunately - with signs of increasing, and the amount of the monetary incomes for an inhabitant is about 80 % of the average for the country. These are serious problems for the municipality; they can be surmounting only by active actions in pursuance of the development strategy. An important part of this strategy is the development of tourism and the management of houses for rent Bulgaria.
During the last years, there can be seen growth in the activity of the private firms in the municipality. That can be explained with the crisis in the public sector of the municipal economics, the different speed of the privatization in the separate economical sectors, but especially an important agent is the appearance of the local enterprise for development of the private economical activity. Important measurements of the activity of the private firms is the part of the employment in the private sector, which for the Municipality Pazardzhik is 39 % and exceeds the average level for the country (31.9%), as it is in the incomes from sales by current prices, twice bigger than those in the public sector by the end of 1999.
From 1994 to 1998, the number of firms in the industry has extended with 158% like in the municipality worked above 37 % of the industrial firms in the Pazarjik district and they produced above 49 % of the production.
At the beginning of year 2000, the picture of the firms in the municipality has the following structure:
EAD (Sole Stock Corporation) – 7;
AD (Stock Corporation) – 84;
EOOD (Sole Limited Liability Company) – 366;
OOD (Limited Liability Company) – 616;
SD (Unlimited partnership) – 193;
ET (Sole Proprietorship) – 8895
The biggest is the number of the Sole Proprietorship firms and the Limited Liability Companies. Low is the number of the Stock Corporations, which have a capital and potential for serious productions. On the other side, we can not mark out the low capacity of the direct foreign investments in the Municipality. In spite of that, it is one of the bigger municipalities in the country, included in the group of the municipalities, which have attracted less than 1 % of all foreign investments.
Agriculture and Forestry
Because of the privatization and the restructuring at the predominant number of industrial companies in the Municipality of Pazardzhik during the second half of the 90s, a large part of discharged employees have become familiar with agriculture - today's main economic factor in the region. The finalized land reform and the active rural one have created favorable conditions for encouragement of the private agricultural producers and farmers in the municipality. The companies dealing with letting houses for rent Bulgaria actively use the recourses agriculture.
Agricultural and Forest Structure
The total amount of agricultural lands in the Municipality of Pazardzhik is 371 270 decares, of them some 80% under irrigation, irrigation canals - total length of 346 kilometers. The rivers Maritsa, Topolnitsa and Luda Yana cross the municipal territory. The existing water canals, transporting water from six large water reservoirs, complete that significant potential of the municipal irrigation.
Land Balance of the Municipality Of Pazardzhik
70% of the total area land from the territory of the Municipality is agricultural, at the average District level – 24.4% and national one - 42%. This share is another important index for the significant land potential of the Municipality concerning the development of agriculture, especially in combination with favorable climate and soil conditions. The biggest share of agricultural lands in the Municipality belongs to fields. They cover 60% of the land, followed by meadows – 25.34% and perennial plants – 6.45%. The largest parts of agricultural lands at the territory of the Municipality go along the banks of river Maritsa. Some 80% of agricultural lands are irrigated and that is a favorable condition for development of intense regional animal husbandry and thremmatology. The relatively high level of deserted lands is a serious problem for the Municipality of Pazardzhik. The deserted land covers some 30% of the Municipality territory. Forests take the biggest share - 11%, fields – 8.5%. Deserted land takes some 7% that are considerably higher than the average for the District - some 3.2%. Two thirds of the deserted lands are in the forestry, the rest - in the agricultural structure.
At the end of 1998, the land was given back to its proprietors at the territory of the Municipality. The average size of private properties (including vineyards, fields, and fruit orchards) is 2.5 decares, considerably below the approved European criteria for effective agricultural production from a region with its own farm property. This fact represents an additional argument proving the necessity of a future volunteer unification of the separate agricultural areas, so to warrant the indispensable level of concentration of cultivated land in the Municipality of Pazardzhik and the regional agricultural reliability for productive competition. By April 2000, the Municipality owned around 62550 decares of municipal fields. The municipal administration stands firmly behind the idea to rent part of those fields for cultivation and exploitation throughout lease contracts or formation of public-private associations which, in the future, could turn into candidates for financial help from the European Union funds. Part of the funds is being invested in the business of letting houses for rent Bulgaria.
It is necessary, so to prepare projects in the field of agriculture for obtaining preferential financing under the program SAPARD - to look for opportunities for volunteer unification of the separate agricultural areas, use of the forms of agricultural and forest integration with public-private associations and realization of similar investment projects. The share of cereals is the biggest in the municipal cultivated land structure - 73,53% in 1998; followed by industrial crops - 8,87%, vegetables - 7,32%, perennial fruit and other plants - 5,74%, including vineyards - 1,1%. Of all 429384,366 decares agricultural lands at the Municipality of Pazardzhik, 3,3% are state property, 81,2% - private, 0,38% - church, 14,57% - municipal, 0,14% - mixed and 0,39% - property of legal entities.
Agricultural production
The dynamics in the agricultural production at the territory of the Municipality of Pazardzhik are specifically irregular during the second half of the 90s. Considerable deviations in the level of animal and plant production throughout the different years are due to irregularities in the capacity of payment. The biggest share in the development of plant production at the territory of the Municipality belongs to the production of cereals. A comparative analysis of yield level in the Municipality and in the country shows that the production of wheat and barley is lower, and that of maize, rye, and oats - higher. As for the other cereals, the analysis proves better yield results for the Municipality of Pazardzhik, therefore the future specialization in cereals doesn't seem expedient.
Another extremely important and traditional branch of plant production is vegetable production. It promotes the tourist business and the letting of houses for rent Bulgaria to the incoming visitors. The analysis shows that the level of vegetable production in the Municipality is a few times higher than the average one in the country. For instance, field tomatoes – 199.5% higher, pepper – 164.1% higher, beans – 189.7% higher. Favorable climate and soil conditions pledge the enormous potential for a future intense high-yielded development of the vegetable production. The active participation of the Municipal Administration is an indispensable requirement for the final recognition of the municipal vegetable production and its rich variety. Fruit culture has historical traditions and positive indices at the Municipality, based on favorable geographical, climate, and soil conditions. Apples, cherries, peaches have the advantage. A comparative analysis of yield level in the Municipality and in the country shows that the production of apples in the region of Pazardzhik is 2.2 times higher, peaches – 3.5 times higher, cherries - more than 1.2 times higher.
Viticulture also has some considerable opportunities for future development at the territory of the Municipality. The average grape yields are two times higher than these in the country. On another hand, the future development of that branch is directly connected with the abilities of the local vine-growers, the Municipal Administration and the possibility to attract long-term investment resources - mostly by means of the European Program SAPARD projects for renovation of large vineyards - around 10 000 decares. The flat lay and the abundance of water have lead to the development of rice production - 42 830 decares rice plantations sowed in1999, at the average yield 351kg. of a decare. The development of industrial crops is another opportunity. Municipality of Pazardzhik has been included in the national program for experimentation and introduction of new orient sorts, type "Srednogorski". The produced tobacco - types "Virdjinia" and "Orientalski" have excellent indices.
In the field of fodder production, the share of natural fields and meadows is the largest. The intense development throughout application of culture-industrial actions - balanced and differentiated fertilization, balanced pasture, selection of highly productive grass types, mechanization, is a must. Stockbreeding also has acquired traditions at the territory of the Municipality and the District. The tendencies of augmenting the total number of animals are present. The only exception is the number of sheep, diminished insignificantly. By 01.01.2000, the share of animals raised at the territory of the Municipality compared to the total national number is the following: cattle – 3.14%, cows – 3.12%, pigs – 2.93%, sheep – 3.15%, goats – 5.33% and domestic birds – 5.02%.
The relatively positive development of stockbreeding in the Municipality of Pazardzhik is determined by the demands of internal and international markets / mostly beef and chicken meat, diary products and furs/. In 1999 the Municipality of Pazardzhik has produced over 38 360 liters of milk, almost the same quantity as the previous year. The production of egg is diminishing. Apiculture is another new interest - some 5200 bee family in 1999, which is 28% more than 1997. 96% of beef-cattle, 100%of goats, 99.49% of sheep, 84.46% of pigs and 99.99% of domestic birds have been raised at private farms.
The final strategic goal in the development of agriculture and forestry at the territory of Municipality Pazardzhik is to activate the reconstruction of favorable climate realities and advantages, so to stimulate the intense development of ecological agriculture and stockbreeding, and to raise the competitiveness of local farmers, and to stabilize the positive development of Municipality Pazardzhik. Contemporary canals and specific objects of market realization have to be formed, so to stabilize trade relations between farmers, factories and direct consumers, relations with local and external markets. Of course, the quality of the offered agricultural products has to be improved, representing an essential factor for rising farmers' income.
To acquire those strategic goals, it is very important to attract external finance cooperation from International programs - mainly International development and finance institutions at the European Union. Here is the place to mention the Program SAPARD as an eventual donor of free financial cooperation for Municipality Pazardzhik. The growing economical independence of the Municipality gives perspectives for obtaining credits at favorable financial conditions from local and external institutions and programs, stimulating regional development. A very important direction is the development of effective and attractive projects in agriculture and forestry, which could obtain some external help.
Industry
The major activities and directions of the industry on the territory in the Municipality Pazardzhik, created from the enterprises with municipal, regional and national meaning are in food, wine and tobacco industries and equipment for the production.
Food processing industry
Because of a good natural conditions and the high quantity of produced agriculture production, the manufacturing of fruits and vegetables and canned foods from them is a traditional and strong developed sub-branch in the municipality. In the town of Pazardzhik is one of the biggest canning factories in the country. KK ”Maritsa” owns modern Italian equipment, storage base with cooling halls for conservation of the production and has the possibilities to manufacture big quantities of fruits and vegetables. In the presence the factory is privatized and works with decreased capacity, because of the lost markets. During the last years are created smaller private firms and they purchased and manufactured fruits and vegetables. One of them is “Maris” Ltd., which exported its production in Russia and Ukraine. For improving the work in these enterprises and to switch to the higher quality of the production is advisable to be used, the possibilities of the program SAPARD for giving an opportunity of investment line for producing and processing of fruits and vegetables. By this way will be encourage the application of new technologies for cooling and freezing, long-lasting conservation of fruits and vegetables, mastering of technological lines for canning foods suitable to European standards. The development of traveler agencies and the letting of houses for rent Bulgaria are impossible without highly advanced food processing industry.
Diary industry
In the town of Pazardzhik works a factory for manufacturing butter, cheese, and yogurt - “Mlechna promishlenost." After the privatization, the main problem is to find out new markets for realization of the production, because only the inner market is extremely not enough. An important problem is an inculcating of new equipment, which corresponds to the standards of the European Union for ecological pure production. In district of Pazardzhik, only one firm has a permission to export diary products in European Union. In many of the villages on the territory of the municipality are created small diary farms and they purchased milk and produced cheese and yogurt. There are also small farms in which are breeding milk cows. Many efforts are needed to ensure and holding up the European standards for quality of the producing milk and diary products. In view of the fact that “Mlechna promishlenost” and other dairying’s had a sizeable capacity and possibilities for producing of diary foods, they together with their partners in dairying can take an advantage of the new opportunities which can be given from the program SAPARD in the district of improvement the production of diary foods.
Meat industry
In the municipality worked different meat-producers, including meat packinghouse “M & M 90” and others. There are conditions for development of the meat industry, because of the presence of many small farms for fattened pigs and calves. Except the big meat packinghouse here worked small slaughterhouses, they purchased animals from the separate private owners. It is necessary to be bettered the organization and producing of meat and meat products, for creating of well-equipped slaughterhouses. In this area also can be used the possibilities given from the program SAPARAD in relation of investment lines, directed to increasing the quality of the production according to the European standards and its competitive power, not only on the inner market and also for the international markets.
Miller’s and rise industry
In the municipality Pazardzhik works a flour-factory “Melor." Here is producing rise and there is a flour - mill. This branch is strong developed because of the presence of sufficient by quantity and quality a raw material. In the Pazardzhik field is cultivated rise and corn with high quality. The presence of sufficient stuff and labor force promotes the formation of such factory in this region. The main problem now is a strong-decreased area with rise growing. For the promotion it is advisable to be revived a crop of rise through building of modern rise areas.
Wine industry
Because of favorable climate and soils in the municipality are growing different types of wine grape, which is a precondition for development of wine production. As a whole, the district is known with many wine regions and wine cellars. In the town of Pazardzhik works “Vintechprom." There are delivery stations not only in municipality Pazardzhik, but also in other municipalities in the region. Here are produced different types of white and red wines. An approval for the high quality of its production is the awarded gold medal on the last exhibition for wine-producers. The basic problem for the factory is a shortage of enough quantity of grape, because of the destroyed vine growing. Advisable is to be searched for possibilities of building of bigger public-private partnerships for effective using the possibilities, shown from the program SAPARD in the area of vine-growing. Local wines are being an object of export as well as of interest by the visitors of the region who usually stay in the houses for rent Bulgaria.
Tobacco industry
One of the well-developed branches in the region is a tobacco growing. Here are cultivated Oriental tobacco and Virginia. The manufacturing of tobacco is concentrated in the lands of the villages Tsrancha, Debrastitsa, Patalenitsa and Aleko Konstantinovo. The tobacco is processed in “Bulgartabac” Pazardzhik. Here is doing only the primary processing of the tobacco. The processed fermented tobacco is selling to the cigarette factories.
Conclusion
The lost foreign markets are valuated as most of risky, because they have directly influence on the incomes and indirectly - characterized the condition of management and marketing. Not-effective production and not-rational using of the material and labor resources in the municipality is valuated with 6 points in the presence they are the important factors for a competitive production. As a lower risky are valuated not conformity with the ecological norms and requirements and such as directed to the inner market. The municipality has many possibilities for developing of this branch and it is necessary to be used rationally. With a highest score are valuated the possibilities of using a financial resources for development of enterprises and their activity, creating of associations and information center for the education of the producers. The attracting of foreign investments, active marketing and conquering of new markets also the increasing the production are scored with 7 points, because they are bind with the necessity of realization the investments, modernization and education. The menaces are also high because of the increasing competition, the necessity of financing, which is not accessible for the bigger part of the enterprises and firms, as a result of the impossibility to have competitive power production and eventual lost of the markets existing in the presence.
The biggest part of the area closed between strong sides and the possibilities of the food processing industry in the municipality Pazardzhik, fixed the necessity of undertaking an aggressive strategy. The aim is to be increased the strong sides through at the most using of the possibilities.
Transport
The branch is shown from the automobile, railway and trolley transport. In the Municipality Pazardzhik maintenance of the bus-transport is predominant and the transport needs are practically satisfied. A quote in the transport maintenance of the population has also the taxi transportation, realized by the firms: “Taxi-Bulgaria” and “City car” disposing with about 250 automobiles. The competition between the firms in this sub-branch allows the services like this to be cheap and approachable in the Municipality in comparison with other towns with similar dimension. "DESPRED" SLtd. - association servicing mainly international lines, realizes the shipping activity on the territory of Municipality Pazardzhik. The vehicle transport secures fast communication with the airports of Sofia and Plovdiv which are the main terminal of the incoming tourists who use the services of the houses for rent Bulgaria.
The railway transport realized transportation of loads and passengers. The territory of the Municipality Pazardzhik is connected with railway corridor Europe - Asia. Strongly decreased activity of the range of the big industrial undertakings with tonnage productions is shortening drastically in the cargo activity. The road activity is also decreased because of decreasing mobility of the population, the low frequency of the trains and the increased price of the services.
An important place in the transportation of the population takes place and the trolley-transport. The same is realized only in the town of Pazardzhik by the municipal firm “Trolley-transport,” created in 1992. The build trolley net connected the western part of the town with the central and industrial zone and railway station.
Financial institutions
The most of the acting in Bulgaria banks are opened their branches in the municipality Pazardzhik. Those are United Bulgarian Bank (UBB), BIOCHIM, Post bank, State saving Bank, Bulbank, Central Cooperative bank, Hebrosbank, First Eastern International Bank, and Eurobank. The presence of various financial institutions is a precondition for a good and effective organization of the movement of money resources. On the other side, the functioning of these institutions in the Municipality shows that the business is created in an active way.
Sightseeing
The Clock Tower
The Museum Of History
House-Museum Konstantin Velichkov
House-Museum Stanislav Dospevski
The Island
The Cathedral Church Sv.Bogorodica
Peshtera
Province (oblast): Pazardzhik
Population: 21,653 (13.09.2005)
Altitude: 450 m
Geographic coordinates: 42° 2' north, 24° 18' east
Time zone: EET; (UTC+2; UTC+3 in summer)
Mayor: Georgi Petarneychev
Peshtera (Пещера ['peʃtera]) is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, part of Pazardzhik Province, located in the Upper Thracian Lowlands at the foot of the Western Rhodopes. It takes its name from the many caves (peshtera is the Bulgarian word for 'cave') in the vicinity.
The first thraces of human presence in the area date from the Neolithic. The Thracian tribe of the Bessi inhabited the area in Antiquity and the settlement in the Peshtera Valley emerged in the fourth century BC.
The earliest piece of writing documenting the town's name dates from 1479, when Peshtera was part of the fief of a certain Mustafa in the Ottoman Empire. During the Bulgarian National Revival, many churches, bridges, fountains, schools and houses were built. The first secular school in Peshtera was opened in 1848, while the Nadezhda ('hope') community centre emerged in 1873. Many local residents took part in the armed struggle for the Liberation of Bulgaria, the town itself being liberated during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, more precisely on 6 January 1878.
In 1876, the town had 800 households, of which 500 Bulgarian, 60 Aromanian and about 250 Turkish and Roma. The first official Bulgarian census in 1880 stated 758 households and 3,871 inhabitants, of which 2,618 Bulgarians, 856 Turks, 341 Greeks (most actually Aromanians), 53 Roma and a single Karakachan. Five years later, in 1885, Peshtera had a population of 4,704 and 876 households.
Recently the town develops as a tourist center with a net of hotels and houses for rent Bulgaria.
Velingrad
Velingrad (Велинград) is a town in Bulgaria and one of the most popular Bulgarian balneological resorts. It lies at the western end of Chepino Valley, part of the Rhodope Mountains in Southern Bulgaria.
History
According to legend, Orpheus lived in these lands at one time. There also is a saga that these lands inspired Spartacus the Thracian and gave him a titan power. Later, the region was massively inhabited by the Slavs. According to the Bulgarian professors, the tribe Dragovichi lived there. They accepted many Thracian customs, but gave them typical Slavic characters. Soon after the proto-Bulgarian invasion on the Balkans, the whole region was annexed to the First Bulgarian Empire by tsar Malamir, who was a Slav.
At the times of the Turkish terror, the Turks converted many of the Slavs in this region to Islam, by killing those who did not want to accept their religion. However, in the Communist regime in Bulgaria many of the Bulgarian Muslims returned to Orthodox Christianity, their old religion.
Geography
Velingrad is situated at 750-850 m above sea level. Summers are warm and winters are mild. The average annual temperature is 10°C, while the average July temperature is 19°C. The annual duration of sunshine is about 2,000 hours. The relative air humidity ranges from 65 to 75%. Surrounded by age-old pine tree woods, the town favors abundant sunshine. This exclusively rare and valuable combination has a beneficial influence on the process of ionization (negative ions are prevailing) and is of definite therapeutic importance.
Waters
There are 70 sources of mineral water with curative and preventive properties in and around the town. The mineral waters (from springs and wells) vary considerably in temperature, mineralization, radon, silica acid and fluorine content, and are suitable for treatment of a wide range of diseases. Almost 9000 litres per minute of water spring from the five thermal and mineral deposits in Ladzhene, Kamenitsa, Chepino, Rakitovo and Kostadinovo.
Together with the numerous mineral waters, Velingrad boasts another natural phenomenon as well — the Kleptuza, the biggest Karst spring in Bulgaria, with an average discharge of 1200 liters of ice-cold water per second.
The magnificent climate and mineral springs turned the town into an attractive vacation center and there you can stay in the big number of family hotels or in houses for rent Bulgaria.
Panagyurishte
Panagyurishte is a town in Pazardzhik Province, western Bulgaria. The town is situated in a small valley in Sashtinska Sredna Gora. It is 91 km far from Sofia, to the east, at 43 km north of Pazardzhik and at 37 km south of Zlatitsa. Its name is from Greek origin and means a fair venue, but it became the symbol of the Bulgarian striving for freedom.
The Panagyurishte municipality has certain potential for an intensification of the cooperation with the Koprivshtitsa, Strelcha and Hisarya municipalities in the sphere of tourism. It is expedient in this respect to think of the foundation of an association of the municipalities whose settlements took part in the April uprising against the Ottoman rule in 1876. The Association of the National Revival Towns could also be used along these lines.
