Shipka (town)

Infobox Settlement
official_name = PAGENAME
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = BUL
subdivision_type1 = Provinces
(Oblast)
timezone=EET
utc_offset=+2
timezone_DST=EEST
utc_offset_DST=+3
map_caption = Location of Shipka (town)
pushpin_

pushpin_label_position =
pushpin_map_caption =Location of Shipka (town)
pushpin_mapsize =
leader_title =Mayor
postal_code_type =Postal Code|native_name=Шипка
|subdivision_name1=Stara Zagora
population_total=1398|population_footnotes=
population_as_of=2005
elevation_m=650
postal_code=6150
area_code=04324
blank_info=CT|blank_name= License plate|
latd=42|latm=42|lats=|latNS=N|longd=25|longm=23|longs=|longEW=E|leader_name=Stoyan Ivanov
website=http://www.shipka.org/

Shipka ( _bg. Шипка, "Rosa canina") is a town in central Bulgaria, part of Kazanlak municipality, Stara Zagora Province. It lies in the Central Balkan Mountains, at coord|42|42|N|25|23|E, 650 metres above sea level. As of 2005, Shipka has a population of 1,398 and the mayor is Stoyan Ivanov.

The town is known for being located at the historic Shipka Pass, the location of several key battles in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. Local sights include the Shipka Memorial (1934) on Stoletov Peak and the Russian-style Shipka Memorial Church (1885–1902) and the recently discovered Thracian tomb Golyamata Kosmatka.

The population is overwhelmingly Eastern Orthodox and ethnically Bulgarian, with a notable minority of Karakachans (a Greek-speaking transhumant people of obscure origin).

Gallery

References

External links

* [http://www.shipka.org/ Website about the town of Shipka] bg icon

Shipka Memorial Church

The Memorial Temple of the Birth of Christ ( _bg. Храм-паметник „Рождество Христово“, "Hram-pametnik „Rozhdestvo Hristovo“"), better known as the Shipka Memorial Church or Shipka Monastery is a Bulgarian Orthodox church built near the town of Shipka in Stara Planina between 1885 and 1902 to Antoniy Tomishko's design in the seventeenth-century Muscovite style, under the direction of architect Alexander Pomerantsev. It is, together with the other parts of the Shipka Monument complex, dedicated to the Russian, Ukrainian and Bulgarian soldiers that died for the liberation of Bulgaria in the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-78.

The temple was officially opened on 28 September 1902 in the presence of Russian Army generals and many honourable guests. The opening and consecration of the Shipka Memorial Church coincided with the 25-year anniversary of the Battles of Shipka Pass. In 1970, the temple was proclaimed a national monument of culture.

The church's bell tower reaches a height of 53 m and its bells, the heaviest of which weighs 12 tons, were cast from the cartridges that were collected after the battles. In the temple itself, the names of the Russian regiments and Bulgarian volunteers are inscribed on 34 marble plates. The remains of the perished are laid in 17 stone sarcophagi in the church's crypt.

Gallery

Shipka Memorial

The Shipka Memorial ( _bg. паметник „Шипка“) is a memorial to those who died for the Liberation of Bulgaria during the Battles of Shipka in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. It is located on Peak Stoletov in Stara Planina, central Bulgaria, and was opened with a ceremony in 1934 and designed by architect Atanas Donkov and sculptor Aleksandar Andreev.

The monument is a 31.5-metre (98-foot) high stone tower in the form of a truncated pyramid. A giant bronze lion, 8 m (26 feet) long and 4 m (13 feet) high, stands above the entrance to the tower, and a figure of a woman represents the victory over the Ottoman forces. A marble sarcophagus housing some of the remains of the Russian and Bulgarian casualties is located on the first floor. There are four other floors where one can find replica of Bulgarian military flags and other relics, and the top of the tower reveals a panorama of Shipka Peak and the surrounding area.

Shipka Pass

Infobox Mountain Pass
Name = Shipka Pass
Photo =View from Shipka.jpg
Caption =View from Shipka
Elevation = 1150 m./3820 ft.
Location = BUL
Range = Balkan Mountains
Coordinates = coord|42|46|N|25|19|E|region:BG_type:pass
Topographic

Traversed by = Road and railroad

Shipka Pass ( _bg. Шипченски проход, Shipchenski prohod) (el. 1150 m./3820 ft.) is a scenic mountain pass through Balkan Mountains (Stara Planina) in Bulgaria. It connects Gabrovo and Kazanlak.

It is crossed by a road and railroad, which run from Ruse on the Danube River to Stara Zagora and then on to Edirne in Turkey.

During the Russo-Turkish War, Shipka Pass was the scene of a series of conflicts collectively named the Battle of Shipka Pass.

Honour

Shipka Valley and Shipka Saddle on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Shipka Pass.

References

External links

* [http://www.abvg.net/Shipka/ Shipka – The Pass, Monument, Village and Monastery]