Simeonovgrad

Simeonovgrad (Bulgarian: Симеоновград, "town of Simeon") is a town in southern Bulgaria, located in Haskovo Province on both banks of the Maritsa River. Three bridges connect the town's two parts. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Simeonovgrad Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 7,049 inhabitants.[1]

Simeonovgrad
Simeonovgrad Location of Simeonovgrad
Coordinates: 42°2′N 25°50′E
Country	Bulgaria
Provinces (Oblast)	Haskovo
Government
• Mayor	Rumyana Bozukova
Elevation	80 m (260 ft)
Population  (31.12.2009)[1]
• Total	7,049
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal Code	6490
Area code(s)	03781

Near Simeonovgrad lie the ruins of the Ancient Roman and Byzantine fortress of Constantia from the Late Antiquity (4th century AD), which developed into one of the large towns of Northern Thrace until the beginning of the 13th century.

The dominant religion is Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The town has two churches, the Church of the Most Holy Mother of God in the town centre and the Church of St Nicholas the Thaumaturge in the Zlati dol quarter.

The town's historical names were Seymen and later, during 1872–1929, Tarnovo–Seymen (Bulgarian: Търново-Сеймен) – named after a Turkish warriors and members of paramilitary guardian units from western Anatolia (see seymen). For most of the Socialist period, between 1946–1981, the town was named Maritza (Bulgarian: Марица), for the river on which it is placed.