Information about Vidin

The town is situated at 199 km north-west of Sofia, on the right bank of Dunabe it is linked with Kalafat town (in Romania) by a ferry. A major factor making the city a resort is the availability of mineral water. Vidin is one of the oldest towns along the Bulgarian Danube bank. It appears as the Roman fortress of Bononia on the foundations of a Thracian settlement. During the First Bulgarian Kingdom it is known as Budin (Bdin). Bishop's centre. During the Second Bulgarian Kingdom it is a strong fortress and after 1371 a capital of the Vidin Kingdom under Tsar Ivan Sratsimir. To this day the following sites have been preserved: Baba Vida fortress, built in the 9th-10th centuries on the ruins of a Roman fortress (rebuilt many times, its present appearance dating back to the 18th C.), the Turkish konak (the second half of the 18th C.), the mosque and library of Osman Nuri Pasha, the cruciform barracks of 1798, old Renaissance buildings, a synagogue. The town is a starting point for excursions along the Danube. Balkan Mountains and, down the lower course of the Timok River, reaches the Danube River. To the South - East, the district neighbors the Montana District. The North - Eastern parts of the Vidin District are dominated by the Danubian lowlands.

The Vidin District is located in the North - Western part of Bulgaria. It covers a territory of 3,034 km2, which is 2.8% of the country's total surface. To the West the district borders Yugoslavia and the Pre-Balkan Mountains and, down the lower course of the Timok River, reaches the Danube River. To the South - East, the district neighbors the Montana District. The North - Eastern parts of the Vidin Dstrict are dominated by the Danubian lowlands.

The population of the district is approximately 131,000 inhabitants, representing 1.7% of the country's population. The main industrial activities from Vidin are: food-processing industry, production of building materials and machine building and the products manufactured in the district are: row gypsum, irrigation pumps, tobacco products, telephone sets, china products.