Pleven – Bulgaria
Pleven (Плевен) - a town in north Bulgaria, administrative center of the Pleven Province, situated on the Danubian Plain. Until the beginning of the 20th century, it was known under the Russian name Plevna. It has about 100 thousand inhabitants. Industry: food (mill, oil, canned food, sugar, wine, tobacco), textile (cotton, linen), machine (mainly agricultural machines), metal, building materials.
The town is situated in the agricultural region, at the heart of the Danubian Plain, in historical area of Moesia. The location in the center of north Bulgaria has made the town become a large administrative, economic, cultural and political center. The location has made it also an important transport node.
Pleven is situated approx. 170 km from the capital of the country, Sofia, and 320 km west of the Bulgarian coast of the Black Sea, and 50 km south of the Danube River. Not far from the town, the Vit River flows. The climate of this region is moderate continental, with cold winters (to -15°C) and hot, dry summers (up to +35 - 44°C).
The oldest traces of colonization in this area date back to the 5th millennium BC. The beginnings of the town date back to the 3rd and 2nd century BC - in the town of Kajluka the Thracian fortress, Storgozja, was built then. It survived the reign of the Romans, the Byzantines and the Bulgarians, it was burnt down no sooner than during the invasion of the Turks. Its present name Pleven has been used since approx. 1266, this area was under the rule of the Turkish. Once again, the town was burnt by the Vlach province governor, Mikhail Vityaz. Pleven was reconstructed as an important fortress of the Otoman Empire, intended for the defense of the Troyan Pass and the road to Thracia. During the Russian-Turkish war (1877-1878), the fortress held up against Russian attacks for 5 months, and gave up only during the fourth attack, on 10 December 1877. As a result of the war, the Bulgarian principality was created and Pleven became the place of pilgrimage, to which, for a few dozen years, Bulgarians as well as Russian and Romanian tourists have been pilgrimaging.
The Phillharmonic Orchestra has been performing in Pleven since 1953. In 2010, Jerzy Salwarowski, who in April 2011 conducted the Płock Symphonic Orchestra, performed with them. In the Philharmonic, since 1966, the prestigious festival for the winners of other musical competitions has been held - "Laureat Days Katya Popova".
The cooperation of Płock with Pleven was initiated in 2009 by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Sofia, the effect of which was the visit in 2010 of high rank representatives from Pleven, during the 12th "European Picnic" and in 2011, during its 13th edition. During the meetings, a number of negotiations was conducted on the potential perspectives of cooperation between the town and the Bulgarian delegation more broadly familiarized with the specific character of Płock.
The Partnership Agreement was signed in Płock on 7 September 2011.
