Gabrovo District

Gabrovo District 

an administrative and territorial unit in the central part of Bulgaria. Area, 2,100 sq km. Population, 189,000 (1969); 60 percent of the population live in cities. The administrative center is the city of Gabrovo.

The greater, northern part of Gabrovo District is located in the northern foothills of the Stara Planina (Balkan Mountains) at an altitude of 300-800 m. The eastern part of the Kalofer Mountains, the northern slopes of the Shipka Mountains (with Shipka Pass), and the Triavna Mountains are located in Gabrovo District. The height of the ranges is 1,700-2,000 m. The rivers (the Iantra, Rositsa, Vidima, and Drianovska) belong to the Danube basin. The climate is temperate. The average January temperature is about −2° C; the average July temperature, between 22° and 24° C. The precipitation ranges from 700 mm a year in the north to 1,000-1,200 mm in the south. Oak, hornbeam, and beech forests grow in the district.

The economy of Gabrovo District is industrial. Light and heavy industries are combined here. The most developed industries are the textile and leather and shoe industries, which developed from ancient handicraft industries. In 1968, Gabrovo District produced more than 26 percent of the total national output of wool fabrics, more than 14 percent of the cotton fabrics, and more than 20 percent of the shoes. The district has a diversified machine-building industry, whose significance is systematically growing. Gabrovo District is Bulgaria’s main region for the production of looms and electric telphers; the production of cable, railroad cars, agricultural machinery, and instruments is expanding. Most of the industry is concentrated in the cities of Gabrovo, Sevlievo, Drianovo, and Triavna; a number of industrial enterprises are located in villages close to these cities. One third of the district’s area is used for agriculture; the crops planted include wheat, corn, and barley. There is also horticulture and animal husbandry. Important routes linking northern and southern Bulgaria pass through the territory of Gabrovo District (the Shipka and Triavna passes).

E. B. VALEV and R. A. ERAMOV