STARA ZAGORA

town, central Bulgaria. It lies in the southern foothills of the Sredna Mountains and on the fringe of the fertile Stara Zagora plain. The town has varied industries producing cotton, textiles, chemicals, fertilizers, agricultural implements, machine tools, and cigarettes as well as brewing and canning. Power is obtained from the Stara Zagora hydroelectric station. In and around the town are vineyards and cypress, fig, almond, and pomegranate orchards. Northwest of the town is Stara Zagora spa, where previously there were Roman and Turkish baths. Stara Zagora has a strong cultural tradition, especially in opera. On the site, an ancient Thracian settlement known as Beroea later became the Roman Augusta Trajana. This was devastated in the 4th5th century by barbarians. In Byzantine times it was called Irenopolis. Falling to the Turks in 1370, the town stagnated, becoming a trade, craft, and market centre. During the Russo-Turkish War (187778) the town was destroyed by the Turks before its liberation in 1878. Rebuilt as a planned town, Stara Zagora saw much new development after 1945. Pop. (1989 est.) 158,151.