43°30′N26°45′E / 43.500°N 26.750°E /43.500; 26.750

TheLudogorie (Bulgarian:Лудогорие)^[a] orDeliorman (Делиорман;Turkish:Deli Orman,lit. 'mad forest' and Bulgarian: lud - "mad", "crazy" and gora - "forest"), is a region in northeasternBulgaria stretching over the plateau of the same name. Major cities in the region areTargovishte,Razgrad,Dulovo,Novi Pazar,Pliska,Preslav, andIsperih. Part of theDanubian Plain, the region is hilly in the east, reaching up to 485.70 metres (1,593.5 ft) in height near the village ofSamuil, but merges with the plains ofDobruja and theDanube to the north, with the lowest point nearYuper (39.14 m (128.4 ft)). The region is bordered to the west by theProvadiya River and theBeli Lom; to the east it transitions into theDobruja plateau. The region has a significant ethnicTurkish minority.

The plateau was formed ofKarstlimestone from theLower Cretaceous covered byloess material. Among the region's geological resources arekaolinite,fireclay andmica. The climate is temperatecontinental, with up to 650 millimetres (26 in) ofprecipitation yearly. Although the Ludogorie is poor in overground water resources, with only a few low rivers such as the Krapinets and the Kulak, it is rich in underground waters.

In ancient times, Ludogorie was inhabited by theThracian tribes of theGetae who left behind local architectural landmarks such as theThracian Tomb of Sveshtari, a richly-decorated 3rd-century BC tomb that is aUNESCOWorld Heritage Site. Until the end of the 18th century, the Ludogorie was largely dominated by forests that merged with the ones of theBalkan Mountains (Stara Planina) to the south, giving the name of the region both in Bulgarian and Turkish, literally translated as "region of wild forests" inEnglish. In recent times, the forests have been nearly completely replaced byarable land and only the woods in theVoden Reserve are the reminiscent of the former larger forest area. The soil from the chopped down forests is a rich soil withhumus, very eligible for agriculture.

Ludogorie is a relatively new name, aBulgariancalque of the older Turkish nameDeliorman; it was officially introduced in 1950. In 1942, the name had been changed toPolesie,^[1] a Slavictoponym meaning "place by the woods", but this name never entered common use. The Turkish name is etymologically and semantically akin to the name ofTeleorman County in southernRomania.

Ludogorie mostly belongs toRazgrad,Targovishte andShumen Provinces, while containing parts ofRuse,Silistra andVarna Provinces. The region has a mixed population ofBulgarians,Turks andRomani. Ludogorie has attained fame for itsoil wrestlers throughout time, includingKoca Yusuf,Katrancı Mehmet Pehlivan andHergeleci Ibrahim.

Ludogorie Peak onLivingston Island in theSouth Shetland Islands,Antarctica bears the name of the region.^[2]PFC Ludogorets Razgrad, the football club of Razgrad, was also named after the Ludogorie region.

• "Лудогорие, Лудогорско плато".Българска енциклопедия А-Я (in Bulgarian). БАН, Труд, Сирма. 2002.ISBN 954-8104-08-3.OCLC 163361648.

• Ludogorie.org, website of the Native Ludogorie Cultural and Educational Association(in Bulgarian)
• Razgrad and the Ludogorie, online news portal also offering online publications of theLudogorski Vestnik newspaper(in Bulgarian)