| Vidin Видин | ||
 | ||
Coat of arms  | ||
| State | Bulgaria | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Northwest Bulgaria | |
| Inhabitants | 68.506 (2005) | |
| Prefix tel | 359 94 | |
| POSTAL CODE | 3700 | |
| Time zone | UTC 2 | |
Position
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| Institutional website | ||
Vidin is a city of Northwest Bulgaria.
To know
Geographical notes
Vidin stands in the northwestern corner of the Bulgaria in the center of a wine-growing region. It is a river port on the Danube almost opposite the city Romanian of Calafat to which it is connected by a road and railway bridge.
Vrska Cuka, the border crossing with Serbia it is less than 50 km to the southwest
Background
Vidin was founded by the Romans in all probability around the third century AD. C. It constituted a castro known as Bononia which was part of the defensive system of the Danube. The center was razed to the ground by the Goths but reappeared under the name of Vidin at the time of the First Bulgarian Empire.
After the fall of Tarnovo it became the capital by the will of Ivan Sisman, the last Bulgarian tsar. The Ottomans took over the city in 1396. Under them Vidin experienced a remarkable development and came to count 32 mosques. In 1793 an Ottoman noble named Osman Pazvantoğlu turned against the sultan and managed to keep Vidin until his death (1807). The Turks definitively evacuated the city in 1878 in application of the treaty of Adrianople.
How to orient yourself
Vidin - Old Town: full screen map.The old town, where Vidin's major attractions are grouped, extends over the Danube. It is separated from the river bank by a well-kept park where the medieval fortress of Baba Vida is located.
The train station is close to the south of the old town.
How to get
By car
- 1 "New Europe" Bridge (Мостът „Нова Европа“). Road and rail bridge over the Danube opened in 2013. It is located a couple of kilometers north of the center. Bicycles can also ride it.
How to get around
What see
- 1 Baba Vida Fortress. Built at the time of the Second Bulgarian Empire on a pre-existing Roman fortification, the fortress has preserved nothing of its past except the structure. This, as we see it today, dates back to Ottoman rule. The Austrians reinforced it in 1863, when they managed to occupy the city for a short time
- Osman Pazvantoğlu Mosque.
- Church of San Nicola.
- Mausoleum of Antem.
- 2 Konaka Museum, 13, Tsar Simeon Veliki. Housed in barracks arranged in 1801, the museum boasts small collections of archeology and numismatics plus an ethnographic section housed elsewhere, in a building that served as the Janissaries barracks.
Events and parties
What to do
Shopping
How to have fun
Where to eat
Where stay
Average prices
- Rovno Hotel, 70 Tzar Alexander II (South of the train station), ☎ 359 94 690990.
- Avramov, 63 Tsar Aleksandar II (near the hotel Rovno), ☎ 359 94 606680.
Safety
How to keep in touch
Around
- Lom - Port on the Danube 56 km from Vidin, on the site of the Roman castrum of Almus.
