Dobrich

Dobrich (Bulgarian: Добрич) is the ninth most populated city in Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Dobrich Province and the capital of the region of Southern Dobrudzha. It is located in the northeastern part of the country, 30 km west of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, not far from resorts such as Albena, Balchik, and Golden Sands. In January 2012, Dobrich was inhabited by 90,375 people within the city limits, while along with the legally affiliated adjacent villages the population was 112,203 inhabitants. The city is named after the Bulgarian medieval lord of the surrounding region - Dobrotitsa. Agriculture is the most developed branch of the economy.

Dobrich Knoll on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Dobrich. A point of interest is the Dobrich TV Tower.

Etymology

The city is named after the 14th-century Dobrujan ruler Dobrotitsa, from the Slavic root dobr, "good"

History

The first evidence of settlement in what is now Dobrich dates from the 4th or 3rd century BC. Under the Latin name Abrittum, it was a city of the Roman province of Moesia Inferior, important enough to become a suffragan bishopric of the Metropolitan of the capital, Marcianopolis, but the Catholic diocese faded later. Ruins from 2nd to 4th centuries AD and the 7th to 11th centuries have also been found, including a Bulgar necropolis featuring pagan graves in the centre of the city.

Dobrich Province

Coordinates: 43°35′N 28°0′E / 43.583°N 28.000°E / 43.583; 28.000

Dobrich Province (Bulgarian: Област Добрич, Oblast Dobrich, former name Dobrich okrug) is a province in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Southern Dobruja geographical region. It is divided into 8 municipalities. At the 2011 census, it had a population of 186,016.

Municipalities

The Dobrich province (oбласт, oblast) contains eight municipalities (Bulgarian: singular: oбщина, obshtina - plural: oбщини, obshtini). The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and Cyrillic, the main town (in bold) or village, and the population of each in December 2009.

Population

The Dobrich province had a population of 215,232 (215,217 also given) according to a 2001 census, of which 7001493000000000000♠49.3% were male and 7001507000000000000♠50.7% were female. At the end of 2009, the population of the province, announced by the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute, numbered 199,705 of which 7001238000000000000♠23.8% are inhabitants aged over 60 years.

Dobrich (disambiguation)

Dobrich refers to the following places in Bulgaria: