Chirpan

The town is a centre for wineries and viticulture.

• Official Name — Chirpan • Image Skyline — Галерия Манев.jpg • Image Shield — Coat of Arms of Chirpan - Muted.png • Image Flag — Знаме община Чирпан.png • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — Bulgaria • Subdivision Type1 — Province (Oblast) • Timezone — EET • Utc Offset — +2 • Timezone Dst — EEST • Utc Offset Dst — +3 • Map Caption — Location of Chirpan • Pushpin Map — Bulgaria • Pushpin Map Caption — Location of Chirpan • Leader Title — Mayor • Postal Code Type — Postal Code • Subdivision Name1 — Stara Zagora • Population Total — 13391 • Population As Of — Census 2021 • Elevation M — 168 • Postal Code — 6200 • Area Code — 0416 • Leader Name — Ivaylo Kracholov Chirpan (pron) is a town on the Tekirska River in Stara Zagora Province of south-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Chirpan Municipality. As of 2021, the town had a population of 13,391, down from 15,109 in 2013. Chirpan is located north of the Maritsa River on the Chirpan highlands, southeast of the Sredna Gora mountains. The town is a centre for wineries and viticulture.

The modern town is the successor of the Ancient Roman settlement of Sherampol and re-emerged in the beginning of the 15th century, its current name likely being derived from the Roman one. Upon his return from the Council of Serdica, Saint Athanasius established the first Christian monastery in Europe circa 344 near modern-day Chirpan in Bulgaria. There has been extensive archaeological excavation at the Karasura (Carasura) site. During the Ottoman rule of Bulgaria, Chirpan (Çırpan) was known for its craftsmen and agriculture. The town suffered badly from an earthquake on 18 April 1928. Chirpan was the birthplace of Ottoman Turkish soldier Abdülkerim Nadir Pasha, and the Bulgarian poet Peyo Yavorov, whose native house is now a museum. Chirpan was the home of painter George Danchov. His house in the centre of the town is an excellent example of Bulgarian National Revival architecture.

There are 18,859 (2021) people in the municipality, two thirds of whom live in the town. 53% of the land is in cultivation, with major crops from wheat, sunflowers, cotton, grapes, and fruit trees. There is a 139 hectare Natura 2000 Special Protection Area for preservation of avian habitat along the Tekirska River.

• Georgi Danchov, revolutionary • Ivan Dimov, actor • Ivan Kolev (wrestler) • Peyo Yavorov, poet • Stoyan Zaimov, revolutionary