Ivaylovgrad | |
|---|---|
  Ivaylovgrad Location of Ivaylovgrad | |
| Coordinates:41°32′N26°8′E / 41.533°N 26.133°E /41.533; 26.133 | |
| Country | Bulgaria |
| Provinces (Oblast) | Haskovo |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Diqna Ovcharova |
| Elevation | 104 m (341 ft) |
| Population (2022-09-15).[1] | |
• Total | 3,132 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Postal Code | 6570 |
| Area code | 03661 |
Ivaylovgrad (Bulgarian:Ивайловград, "city ofIvaylo",Greek:Ορτάκιοϊ,Turkish :Ortaköy, "Middle Village") is a town inHaskovo Province in the south ofBulgaria set near the riverArda in the easternmost part of theRhodope Mountains, and is the administrative centre of the homonymousIvaylovgrad Municipality. The border withEvros, Greece is around two miles from the town centre.
Byzantine eparchial lists from the time of the 9th-10th century mention a bishop's centre by the name of Lyutitsa on the site of present-day Ivaylovgrad. According toJohn VI Kantakouzenos (1347–1354), his infantry reached the fortress in 1342–1343. The settlement was destroyed by theOttoman Turks during their invasion of theBalkans in the 14th-15th century.
Information about the town during theOttoman rule of Bulgaria is scarce, but it was the centre of akaza under the name ofOrtaköy inEdirne Province. Much of the Bulgarian population moved from the region due to organized robberies and internecine wars in the empire.
Despite theLiberation of Bulgaria in 1878 and theUnification in 1886, the town remained a part of the Ottoman Empire until theBalkan Wars in 1912–1913 and suffered greatly frombashi-bazouk attacks.
Landmarks in Ivaylovgrad and the surrounding area include theIvaylovgrad Reservoir, the 2nd-3rd centuryRomanVilla Armira, the medieval Byzantine and Bulgarian fortressLyutitsa, the 16th-century bridgeAterenski, as well as a number of ancientThracian sites, and 19th-century churches.
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