Information about Chiprovtsi

Chiprovtsi Municipality is located in the western part of Montana district center. It includes the lands located at the foot of Chiprovska Mountain - the highest share of the Western Stara Planina. Northwest these lands are surrounded by the Lom River, south by the river Lopushanska Ogosta, and from north by Shiroka Planina Mountain whose slopes rise near the riverbed Prevalska.

The total area of ​​the municipality Chiprovtsi is 286.8 square kilometers, which is 7.89% of the territory of Montana and 0.26% of the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria.

Chiprovtsi Municipality is surrounded to the east of Montana Municipality and the Municipality of Georgi Damyanovo, on the west it reaches the border of our country with Serbia and Montenegro and Chuprene Municipality of Vidin region. North Chiprovtsi borders Rujintsi Municipality - Vidin region and south again Georgi Damyanovo Municipality.

The municipality is not large in territory and population administrative territorial units, but it has within its borders significant natural resources and historical monuments and people who through centuries brought Bulgarian literature, culture and desire for freedom.

Center of the municipality is the town of Chiprovtsi. The town is located 550 meters above the sea level, the landscape is mountainous and hilly, and is situated in the picturesque valley of the river Chiprovska. Chiprovtsi town is located about 155 km from the capital Sofia, 35 km from the town of Montana, 44 km from the town of Berkovitza and 18 kilometers from the state border with Serbia and Montenegro. The nearest village to Chiprovtsi in Serbia is the village of Topli dol which to international highway Sofia- Belgrade has an asphalt road.

Transportation and geographical location of the municipality is very good - close enough to the communication axis International Transport Corridor № 4, while peripherally located with respect to the busy road, which allows avoiding the adverse effects of intensive traffic flows and keeping clean environment. With the development of Corridor № 4 and construction of the bridge across the Danube at Vidin municipality will be able to join the international transport infrastructure and gain additional benefits regionally and internationally, leading to new investments and accelerated economic development.

As an important geographical advantages of the Chiprovtsi municipality should be noted that it falls within the zone of influence of the processes of cross-border cooperation with Serbia and Montenegro and the eventual opening of the checkpoint in the near future in this region.

Chiprovtsi is an ancient settlement, which in Thracian and Roman times are mined ores. The town`s name comes from "Kuprum" - honey. Over the years, the name changes to "Kiprovets", "Chiprovets" and in the 50s of the last century - Chiprovtsi.

Mining and extraction of metals was the main occupation of the population during the Ottoman rule. In the early years of slavery in the "Kiprovets" settled Saxon miners from Banat and Sedmigrad. At that time dramatically increases the production of iron, copper, gold, silver and lead. In Dubrovnik library was found Turkish register from 1666, which refers to the village "Chiprufcha" which consisted of 280 houses - only Bulgarians. Large caravans with goods produced in Chiprovtsi were headed on the mountain roads to the markets of Venice and Dubrovnik. The settlement was with independent administrative and financial management of the local Turkish authorities, as was possession of the sultana.

Along with major changes in the material culture of Chiprovtsi, Saxon miners make a change in the spiritual culture too. They brought in Chiprovtsi and the conquered by the Turks - Bulgaria - the Catholic religion. So Chiprovtsi became the seat of Sofia Catholic bishops. Political role of Catholicism in that period is significant because it awoke Bulgarian national consciousness and fortified faith in a recent liberation from the Ottoman rule.

Nowadays the peripheral position Chiprovska municipality, its mountainous and hilly nature, the location close to the border is defined as a very serious problem. That almost is a complex of residents of Chiprovtsi. To overcome this, it takes the initiative and perseverance of each inhabitant of the municipality and the local and central administration.

The last 15 years of transition to market economy shows that liberalism, the full withdrawal of the state from economic and regional planning leads to disastrous results in terms of sustainable development. To improve the quality of life of current and future generations in the municipality is necessary the local features to become advantages that that economic development will take in consider.

The climate in the municipality is temperate with mild mountain influence. The average temperature in January is -1 ° to 0 ° C and the average July temperature is 20 ° C. The average annual temperature in the municipality is 9,7 ° C.

Spring is relatively short and full of heavy rainfall. Last spring frost is between 20 and 25 April, which is important for people involved in gardening. Summers are hot and in many places the rainfall is insufficient. The first autumn frosts fall between 24 and 26 October.

In the field of tourism municipality participates along with six municipalities from Bulgarian side /Belogradchik, Berkovitsa, Varshets, Georgi Damyanovo, Godech Chuprene/ and 4 municipalities in the Republic of Serbia and Montenegro /Dimitrovgrad, Zaichar, Knyazhevets and Pirot/ in formal signed letter of intent and request for initiation of interstate process of signing a Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries for the development of cross-border cooperation between Bulgaria and Serbia and Montenegro in the region of the Western Stara Planina. In that letter, both parties state their willingness to cooperate in realizing the potential of the area for ecotourism and organic agriculture, culture, education and sport in order to protect the natural, cultural and historical heritage of the region, economic growth, peace and successful of the country being in the European Union.