Sliven - Sliven (English spelling)

The capital of Sliven County in central-eastern Bulgaria. A city at the southern foot of the Stara Planina (Balkan) Mountains. Population 136,148 (2001). Located at the entrance to a mountain pass, it developed as a market in the late Roman period. During the Second Bulgarian Empire, 24 monasteries were built and the city flourished religiously and culturally, but was destroyed during the Ottoman invasion at the end of the 14th century. It was rebuilt as a handicraft town in the 17th century, and in the late 18th century it became the center of a sanjak (county) and prospered as a commercial center and in the firearms, metal processing, and textile industries. Around this time, a large-scale regular market was held every June for a month, and in 1832 the first modern woolen factory was built, using weaving machines. However, as the Bulgarians gained economic power, they came into conflict with the Turks, and many haiduks (righteous bandits) were born who fled to the mountains to resist. The textile industry is still the main industry today, but the city is also known for food and wine brewing. The mountainous area in the northern suburbs has been designated a national park, and hot springs bubbling up to the southwest of the city are used for recreation and recuperation.

[Kenji Terashima]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

ブルガリア中東部、スリベン県の県都。スタラ・プラニナ（バルカン）山脈南麓(なんろく)の都市。人口13万6148（2001）。峠越えの街道の入口にあって、ローマ時代後期に市場として発展した。第二次ブルガリア帝国時代に24の修道院が建設されて宗教、文化的に繁栄したが、14世紀末のオスマン帝国侵入の際に壊滅した。17世紀に手工業の町として再興され、18世紀後半にサンジャク（県）の中心となり、銃器、金属加工、繊維産業や商業地として繁栄した。このころ、毎年6月に1か月続く大規模な定期市も開催され、1832年には織機を導入した最初の近代的な毛織物工場が建設された。しかし、ブルガリア人が経済力をつけてくると、トルコ人と対立するようになり、山に逃亡して抵抗するハイドゥク（義賊）が多数生まれた。繊維業は、現在でも主要産業だが、食品、ワイン醸造などでも知られる。北郊の山地は国立公園に指定されていて、市の南西には温泉も湧出(ゆうしゅつ)し、保養や療養に利用されている。

［寺島憲治］

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