Pernik

Pernik ( ) is a town in western Bulgaria (about south-west of Sofia) with a population of 70,285 . Pernik is the most populated town in western Bulgaria after Sofia. It is the main town of Pernik Province and lies on both banks of the Struma River in the Pernik Valley between the Golo Bardo Mountain, Vitosha Mountain, Lyulin and Viskyar mountains. Pernik is the principal town of Pernik Province – a province in western Bulgaria, which is next to the Serbian border. Originally the site of a Thracian fortress founded in the 4th century BC, and later a Roman settlement, Pernik became part of the Bulgarian Empire in the early 9th century as an important fortress. The medieval town was a key Bulgarian stronghold during Bulgarian tsar Samuil's wars against the Byzantine Empire in the 11th century, when it was governed by the local noble Krakra of Pernik, withstanding Byzantine sieges a number of times. From 1396 until 1878 the town was under Ottoman rule. In the 20th century Pernik developed rapidly as a centre for coal mining and heavy industry. During the Communist rule of Bulgaria it was called Dimitrovo between 1949 and 1962 after Bulgarian Communist leader Georgi Dimitrov. The Surva International Festival of the Masquerade Games (simply called Surva) is held in the town every January.…

Pernik ( ) is a town in western Bulgaria (about south-west of Sofia) with a population of 70,285 . Pernik is the most populated town in western Bulgaria after Sofia. It is the main town of Pernik Province and lies on both banks of the Struma River in the Pernik Valley between the Golo Bardo Mountain, Vitosha Mountain, Lyulin and Viskyar mountains. Pernik is the principal town of Pernik Province – a province in western Bulgaria, which is next to the Serbian border. Originally the site of a Thracian fortress founded in the 4th century BC, and later a Roman settlement, Pernik became part of the Bulgarian Empire in the early 9th century as an important fortress. The medieval town was a key Bulgarian stronghold during Bulgarian tsar Samuil's wars against the Byzantine Empire in the 11th century, when it was governed by the local noble Krakra of Pernik, withstanding Byzantine sieges a number of times. From 1396 until 1878 the town was under Ottoman rule. In the 20th century Pernik developed rapidly as a centre for coal mining and heavy industry. During the Communist rule of Bulgaria it was called Dimitrovo between 1949 and 1962 after Bulgarian Communist leader Georgi Dimitrov. The Surva International Festival of the Masquerade Games (simply called Surva) is held in the town every January. Surva is an International Kukeri Festival in Pernik, Bulgaria and is one of the biggest masquerade festival on the Balkans and Eastern Europe. It is held in the last three days of January each year. Economically Pernik is an industrial town. Industry is of vital importance for the economy of the province. Pernik is the major manufacturing centre, one of the largest in the country with the Stomana steel complex; heavy machinery (mining and industrial equipment); brown coals, building materials and textiles being the most important. Near Pernik there is an enormous plant for heavy machinery in smaller town Radomir which produces excavators and industrial equipment, but is currently not working at full capacity. Pernik has two football teams, PFC Minyor Pernik and FC Metalurg Pernik. ==Etymology== The name Pernik is thought to have originated from that of Slavic god of thunder and lightning Perun or from a local boyar named Perin + the Slavic placename suffix –nik (or –ik) added, and was first mentioned in the 9th century. ==Geography== Pernik is the second largest town in western Bulgaria. The town is located in the Pernik Valley. part of the ethnographic region of Graovo, at an altitude between , length of and is surrounded by mountains Vitosha, Lyulin and Golo Bardo. Through the city flows the river Struma, which rises from Cherni Vrah – one of the largest rivers in the country with a total length of 2,290 over sea level. The total area is . Pernik is situated southwest of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. The territory of the town has many major roads, including Pan-European Corridor VIII and Pan-European Corridor IV – European route E79 /with Struma motorway and Lyulin motorway/, which connects Central Europe and Greece. Pernik has five railway stations and railway stops. The town lies close to one of the oldest trade routes in the Balkans, which ran from Sofia to Dubrovnik, via Skopje, Pristina, Sarajevo and Mostar. ===Climate=== Pernik is in moderate-continental climate zone. Climatic conditions are influenced by the relatively high altitude – 750 m, but also by the fact that Pernik is in between mountains, which creates a specific micro-climate. Spring comes relatively late – in late March and early April. The average spring temperature is . Summer seasonal average temperature is about . The hottest month is July – an average monthly temperature . The absolute maximum temperature is . Autumn is warmer than spring, with seasonal average temperature of . StringMeteo.com » Начало ===Ethnic, linguistic and religious composition=== According to the 2011 census data, the individuals who declared their ethnic identity were distributed as follows: Bulgarians: 73,063 (97.1%) Gypsies: 1,709 (2.3%) Turks: 78 (0.1%) Others: 183 (0.2%) Indefinable: 218 (0.3%) Undeclared: 4,940 (6.2%) Total: 80,191 There is not very large concentration of Gypsies within the city limits as the Gypsies are 1,709 in the city and 1,781 in the municipality, while the Bulgarians are 73,063 in the city and 88,831 in the municipality. The Eastern Orthodox Christian is the predominant religion. ==Culture== ==Education== The first Bulgarian private technical university was established in 2010¹ in Pernik. The university was founded in close cooperation with nationally established industry partners. The European Polytechnical University offers Bachelor, Masters and PhD degrees in architecture, engineering and entrepreneurship among others. The university is aiming internationally and offers all courses bilingually in Bulgarian and English languages. Now the city operates 11 elementary schools and 14 High Schools – High School for learning foreign languages, Economy high school, Mathematics High School, school sports and other. ==Events== January Surva is an international Kukeri Festival in Pernik, Bulgaria. One of the biggest masquerade festival on the Balkans and Eastern Europe. Conducted in the last three days of January. Kukeri or Surva Festival (Mummer's games) in the town of Pernik, is the most spectacular "Kukeri" event in Bulgaria. At the end of January thousands of "kukeri" participants from different regions of Bulgaria, as well as from all around the world gather in Pernik for the three-day event. Kukeri is a pagan Bulgarian tradition of Thracian origins – in ancient times the old Thracians held the Kukeri (Mummers’) Ritual Games in honour of god Dionysus. The Kukeri games are performed by men only, dressed in colourful hand-made costumes and wearing scary masks. Each has also a leather belt around the waist with huge copper bells attached to it. The Kuker's masks are decorated with threads, ribbons, laces and usually represent animals like goats, bulls, rams, or even chicken. Some of the masks are double-faced. On one of the sides, the nose is snubbed and the face is good-humored, on the other side, the nose is hooked and the face is ominous. Those masks symbolize the good and the bad which co-exist in the world. A very important thing for the symbolic meaning of the masks are the decoration colors. Red is the most used color – symbolizes fertility of the reviving nature, the sun and the fire; the black color represents Mother Earth and white is a symbol of water and light. The Kukers walk around, jump and dance special magic dances to scare away the evil spirits, to celebrate the beginning of the spring and hopes for a good harvest, health, land fertility, and happiness. The festival held in Pernik is the oldest festival of the masquerade games in Bulgaria. The first edition was opened on 16 January 1966. In 1995 the International Federation of Carnival Cities accepted the town of Pernik as its full member. In 2009 Pernik was proclaimed as the European capital of Surva's and Mummer's. The news that the Kukeri tradition and the Surva Festival in Pernik will be included in UNESCO's list of protected non-material cultural heritage, was announced before the inaugural ceremony of the 20th edition of the mummery fest. In January 2024, Pernik was declared a Global Center of Masquerade Traditions by the Federation of European Carnival Cities. June “Chicho Stoyan” Regional children's folklore festival. International Student Festival “Green Light” 19 October Saint John of Rila – day of the city ==Folklore== Characteristic of the region is the folkloric dance – "Graovsko horo" and folk clothes – female costumes "Litatsi" /Women are bordered with black white shirts with belts/. Over the last decade Pernik has become famous in Bulgaria. Mass culture and the popular media often interpret events and people of the city. There are many jokes, movies, literature, TV shows and songs in which the main subject is a citizen of Pernik. According to them, a typical man from Pernik is always ready to get into a fight, speeds with his car, and talks with a specific dialect. His distinguishing features are a miner's hat with a flashlight, T-shirts of the local football team “Minyor” and miner bracket in the hand. ==Historical events and facts== 7th to 11th centuries – Pernik is economic, military and cultural center in the southwestern Bulgarian lands. Pernik town joined the First Bulgarian Empire in 816. The fame of city is associated mostly with boyar Krakra Pernik, who had determined resistance of the Byzantines in the beginning of the 11th century. 10th century – Saint John of Rila "...went to Pernik and settle down in stony place near the river called Struma". In the end of the 12th century the fortress of Krakra was destroyed, but the village still exists. 19th to 20th centuries – from agricultural region Pernik town became an important center of mining, metallurgy and engineering. 1891 – Opening of the first "State Mine- Pernik". 1893 – Opening of the railway line Sofia-Pernik gives new opportunities to the village of Pernik. The railway station was built in 1927. 1895 – First bulb in Bulgaria lights up in Pernik. 1899 – The first power plant in Bulgaria is built in Pernik. 1903 – Announcement of St. Ivan Rilski the patron saint of miners and town of Pernik. 1906 – The First mass strike in Bulgaria. Strikers rising require an 8-hour workday, the right of association of miners in the syndicate and regular payment of wages. The strike ends with victory for the workers – their wages are increased. 1919 – Second Strike of Pernik mine workers. 7000 miners suspended from work. In the very next day management of the "Mine Pernik" sign a protocol, which obliged them to pay wages for the last two months and to pay regular wages of the workers in the future. 1932 The building of the Mining Department is completed. 1944 – Third Strike of Pernik workers. In front of building of Mining Department thousands of workers organized a rally that quickly turns into anti-government demonstration. In clashes with police 6 workers were killed, with 13 injured. The Government fell on 9 September 1944. 1934-1953 – In the Area of Pernik many factories are built.(People from all over the country are coming to town, looking for job and better future) 1953 – Opening of dam "Studena". 1953 – Completed the Post Office in the center of Pernik. 1957 – Opening of the City Palace complex of culture. 1966– The first officially conducting of the International Festival “Surva”. 1968 – Construction of a city department store, GUM. 1972 – Completed Hotel "Struma". 1978 – Completed the building of the Municipality. 1982 – Created today's center area of Pernik. 2010 – European Polytechnical University is open for the first time in Pernik. 2012 – On 22 May the 5.6 Mw Pernik earthquake shook the provincial center with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong), causing one indirect fatality. ==International relations== ===Twin towns – sister cities=== Pernik is twinned with: Balashikha, Russia Elektrostal, Russia Huai'an, China Jagodina, Serbia Kavadarci, North Macedonia Lublin, Poland Luhansk, Ukraine Nilüfer, Turkey Orosei, Italy Orsha, Belarus Ovar, Portugal Pantelej (Niš), Serbia Pardubice, Czech Republic Pusztaszer, Hungary Rožaje, Montenegro ==Honour== Pernik Peninsula in Graham Land, Antarctica is named after the city of Pernik. ==References==

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1377363493 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.