Montana (Bulgarian: Монтана) is a city in northwestern Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Montana Province. It is located 50 km south of the Danube, 40 km northwest of Vratsa and 30 km east of the Serbian border.

Names

When the town was first settled by Slavs, it was known as Kutlovitsa, in Ottoman Turkish Kutlofça. The town was renamed Ferdinand in 1890, receiving the benevolence of Bulgarian Knyaz Ferdinand and a city status. In 1945, communist authorities changed the town's name to Hristo Mihaylov after red party activist Hristo Popmihaylov (died 1944), a leader of the 1923 September Uprising who was born there. A year later the name was changed to Mihaylovgrad. In 1993, after a presidential decree, the town received the name Montana, inspired by the name of the nearby Roman settlement[1].

Geography

Montana is situated on the river Ogosta, north of Stara Planina, surrounded on the south and east by uplands.

The climate is temperate continental, with a cold winter and hot summer. The average temperature is -2°C in January and 25°C in July. In the last 15-20 years, temperatures reaching up to 35-40°C in the summer are not uncommon.

History

Roman times

The region around Montana became part of the Roman province of Upper Moesia in 29 BC. Around 160, the military camp that was most likely founded on the remains of an older Thracian settlement, acquired city rights under the name of Municipio Montanensium.The oldest part of town is the neighborhood at the foot of Montana mountain (hill). The city developed and urbanized after a Roman model and became the second most important settlement in the province after Raciaria (modern-day Archar). A fortress was built on top of the hill over Montana, as well as public and residential buildings, temples, baths and theatres. Montana became a typical imperial settlement, where the local romanized population coexisted along Italic and Anatolian settlers. The base of the town's economy were the big landowners of Italic origin and their villas and mansions, where the locals served to obtain agricultural production and gold from Ogosta's river valley. A stratum of Greek settlers, who engaged in craftsmanship and money-landing existed in the town during the period. The patrons of Montana in the spirit of Hellenism were Diana and Apollo.

Middle Ages

Between 440 and 490, the northwest of modern Bulgaria was devastated by the raids of the Huns under Attila and the Goths. Slavs and Avars delivered the final strike on the Greco-Roman culture in the region, and the Slavs that settled in the area called the town Kutlovitsa. During the time of the First and Second Bulgarian Empires, the settlement recovered and became the centre of an eparchy.

Ottoman rule

After Kutlovitsa was seized by the Ottomans, the settlement was destroyed and became deserted. It was renamed "Kutlofça" by the Ottomans, which was derived from Kutlovitsa. Between 1450 and 1688, the town was resettled by Turks because of its strategic location, and went through another period of blossoming as a typically Oriental town. A mosque, fountains, and other new buildings were erected. The Turks' suppression of the 1688 Chiprovtsi Uprising solidified the position of Kutlovitsa as a Turkish ethnic area in the 18th and 19th centuries. There was also a Roman Bath left over the Middle Ages.

Modern history

After the Liberation began a massive wave of migration towards Kutlovitsa and a period of economic blossom. An electric station, a train station, a post office and a hospital were built, a fair and a community centre emerged. She has a football team, who named PFC Montana. PFC Montana was founded in 1921 and played in Bulgarian A Professional Football Group between 1994-1997.

Born in Montana

* Yordanka Blagoeva (1947-01-19) - World champion and record holder in high jump between September 24, 1972 and August 24, 1974
* Stilian Petrov (r. 1979) - Player in the national football team of Bulgaria and Aston Villa
* Stefan Savov (1896 - 1969) - playwright
* Nelly Rangelova (r. 1958) - Bulgarian pop-singer
* Dragomir Asenov (1926 - 1981) - playwright
* Rosalin Nakov (1965) - Composer
* Elen Koleva ( March 31, 1984) - actress

Municipalities

Municipalities in Montana province

The Montana province (Област, oblast) contains 11 municipalities (singular: oбщина, obshtina - plural: Общини, obshtini). The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and Cyrillic, the main town (in bold) or village, and the population as of 2009.

Municipality / Cyrillic / Pop. / Town,Village / Pop.

Berkovitsa Берковица 21,981 Berkovitsa 16,380
Boychinovtsi Бойчиновци 10,031 Boychinovtsi 1,804
Brusartsi Брусарци 5,566 Brusartsi 1,441
Chiprovtsi Чипровци 4,360 Chiprovtsi 2,251
Georgi Damyanovo Георги Дамяново 2,857 Georgi Damyanovo 477
Lom Лом 34,403 Lom 28,546
Medkovets Медковец 4,433 Medkovets 2,062
Montana Монтана 63,462 Montana 53,663
Valchedram Вълчедръм 10,880 Valchedram 4,148
Varshets Вършец 9,110 Varshets 7,191
Yakimovo Якимово 4,535 Yakimovo 1,736