Vratsa Province
|
|
Vratsa is a province of north western Bulgaria, neighbouring Romania. Its main city is Vratsa, while other towns include Knezha and Mezdra.
The region is bordered to the north by the Danube, and to the south by the Sofia region. It has an area of 3,621.8 km². The population of 235,189 inhabitants is distributed over 10 communities.
| Contents |
Infrastructure - gas, water, electricity supply, telecommunications network
The Regional road system consists of 1277 km of the Republican road system. Predominating are the IVth class roads. Their maintenance and control are under the responsibilities of the Municipalities. The rehabilitation of these roads is a priority of the regional policy. Mezdra town is a major railroad station connecting the major cities in Bulgaria. The passenger's transport is ensured by 116 buses and 26 trolleys. The telecommunication network consists of 4 regional post stations- Vratsa Biala Slatina, Mezdra and Kozloduy, and 116 local post offices. They offer universal post services including express mail and international courier services EMS, SKYPAK, DHL. In the town of Vratsa there are two branch offices of Mobiltel and Mobicom. The water supply system was envisaged to be improved and sewerage was mostly built, but there is a program for modernization all over the Region / in the small villages incl./. The Nuclear Power Plant Kozloduy, in the Northern part of the Region, is the major supplier of electricity in Bulgaria.
Logistics - roads, railroads, airports
The administrative capital of the Region is Vratsa town, in the Southern part of the Region, about 116 km from Sofia .The distance to the Major cities is as follows : -Vratsa - Varna 414 km; Vratsa - Plovdiv 217km; Vratsa- Pleven 108 km; Vratsa Bourgas - 416 km. The International road E79 passes through the Region. The major European port and the Ferry complex Oriahovo-Becket, on the River Danube, is situated in Oriahovo municipality.
Workforce-employment rates, average salaries in different sectors
The economically active population is 48 892 employed as follows : in the Services sector - 27 685, in Industry - 19 020, in Agriculture - 2 187. The population has increased since the year 2000, and are mostly in private labour employment. The rate of unemployment is higher than the Bulgarian average, and the aim of the Regional policy is to implement programs to resolve this problem. The labour force distribution in the basic economic sectors is the following - in Industry - 38.9%, in Agriculture - 4.5 % and in Services - 56.6%. The decrease of the number and relative share of the employees in the public sector is matched by an increase in the private sector. The proportion of workforce in State and Private sectors is 44.2 % to 55.8%. ?The higher level of education stipulates a higher employment rate. In the Region predominates the number of employees of secondary education? - What do these sentences mean? . On the labour market the number of the specialists of higher education decreases in favour of those without education. The average salary level for the Region is 297leva.
Current priority industry sectors
The natural peculiarities of the Vratsa Region contribute to the development of agriculture /mostly in private farms/, lumber industry and electricity production. Major companies are the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant, of national importance; Chimco AD - fertilizer factory, Beloizvorski cement - cement factory and brewery; Ledenika AD -joint stock company; Centromet AD - centrifugal casting; Vratitsa LTD - yarns, raw and finished fabrics, sewing articles; OMK Holding - machining and machinery, tooling equipment, foundry, special production; Hemus -M AD - limestone, slabs, tiles, blocks, columns; Sunnytex - AD - production of household linen, weaving etc.; Metizi AD - steel wires, ropes and their products, spare parts; Variana LTD - concrete articles, greyiron cast, metal safes; Enemona Holding - civil engineering.
Sectors for development
The main Projects are related to the development of the transport infrastructure, water supply and sewerage, agriculture - vegetables, cattle breeding, silk-worm breeding, mushroom cultivation, development and strengthening of the existing industrial plants, development of alternative forms of tourism - rural, ecotourism, cultural, religious, spaeology, mountaineering, hang gliding etc. The long term strategy for the Regional economy is to promote Small and Medium enterprises as alternative way to develop the industry.
Schools Universities Job training
Because of the close distance to the capital Sofia (site of the main Universities in Bulgaria), in the Region there exists only one Local center of New Bulgarian University, one pedagogical college - branch of the Veliko Tirnovo University and one Medical college. The Vocational schools have their main disciplines mostly in agricultural technics, mechanics and electrotechnics, chemical technologies, civil engineering and construction, language school and mathematical secondary school. The total number of the primary schools in the Region is 54, 14 of them situated in the Municipality of Vratsa. All of them are State owned. There is only one Private School Europe for English language and management.
Financial institutions-banks
At the present moment there are 12 branches of Bulgarian Banks having their central offices in Sofia. The insurance companies have their 9 branches in the Region.
Hospitals-number, specialization, number of beds and staff
The medical servces are provided in 6 hospitals - 2 of them in the main city of the Region - town Vratsa. During the reforms in the health care there are also private medical services available as well as stomatological services.
Cultural,Recreation Resources
Three hotels are available within the Region - Valdi-palace, hotel Tourist in the town Vratsa, and hotel Istar in the town of Kozloduy. In the surroundings of the town Vratsa - 12 kilometers in the mountain there is a Modern center for recreation hotel with facilities such as sauna, fitness suite and others. Within the territory of the Region is the Vratchanski Balkan Natural Park that offers excellent opportunites for recreation; there is Vratchanski Karst reserve, cave ledenika of international importance, and Vratsa gorge near the town of Vratsa.
Places to visit, tourist info
On the territory of the State Forestry Board Vratsa the following protected natural attractions and historical monuments are located:
The Vrachansky Karst reserve - including the beautiful rocky forms of the Vratsa Mountain; The Natural Park Vrachansky Balkan - covers part of the State Forestry territory of the Stara Planina mountain; The Ledenika cave is a National tourist attraction; The Ponora cave in the region of Chiren village; The Vratsata gourge of the Leva river by the town of Vratsa; The Gods Bridges - a natural rocky bridge and the karst spring in the Liliache village region; The Borovanska mogila - an ancient Thracian fortress; The Botev pat memorial; The highest waterfall Skaklia - height 141 meters.
External links
- Pictures from from the cave Ledenika near Vratsa (http://www.pbase.com/ngruev/ledenika)bg:Врачанска област