Bolhrad

{{short description|City in Odesa Oblast, Ukraine}} {{Infobox settlement  | name = Bolhrad | native_name = {{lang|uk|Болград}} | native_name_lang = | settlement_type = City | image_skyline = {{multiple image | border = infobox | perrow = 1/2/2/1 | total_width = 290 | align = center | caption_align = center | image1 = Спасо-Преображенський собор, Болград 2017.jpg | caption1 = Transfiguration Cathedral | image2 = Bolhrad High School building.jpg | caption2 = Bolhrad High School | image3 = Girls gymnasium.jpg | caption3 = Bolhrad Lyceum No. 2 | image4 = Bulgarian uprising monument in Bolgrad 02.jpg | caption4 = Monument of Bulgarian volunteers | image5 = Pushkin Park, Bolgrad 05.jpg | caption5 = Pushkin Park | image6 = Rathaus Bolgrad 03.jpg | caption6 = Town hall }} | image_alt = | image_flag = Bolhrad flag.png | flag_size = 100px | flag_alt = | image_shield = Bolgrad gerb new.png | shield_size = 100px | shield_alt = | nickname = | motto = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Ukraine#Ukraine Odesa Oblast | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_map_caption = | coordinates = {{coord|45|40|2|N|28|36|46|E|display=inline,title}} | coor_pinpoint = | coordinates_footnotes = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{UKR}} | subdivision_type1 = Oblast | subdivision_name1 = Odesa Oblast | subdivision_type2 = Raion | subdivision_name2 = Bolhrad Raion | subdivision_type3 = Hromada | subdivision_name3 = Bolhrad urban hromada | established_title = Founded | established_date = 1821 | founder = | named_for = | government_footnotes = | government_type = | leader_party = | leader_title = | leader_name = | total_type = | unit_pref = | area_magnitude = | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = 94 | area_total_sq_mi = | area_total_dunam = | area_land_km2 = | area_land_sq_mi = | area_water_km2 = | area_water_sq_mi = | area_water_percent = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = 75 | elevation_ft = | population_footnotes = | population_total = 14818 | population_as_of = 2022 | population_density_km2 = auto | population_density_sq_mi = | population_est = | pop_est_as_of = | population_demonym = | population_note = | timezone1 = EET | utc_offset1 = +2 | timezone1_DST = EEST | utc_offset1_DST = +3 | postal_code_type = Postcode district(s) | postal_code = 68700—706 | area_code_type = | area_code = +380-4846 | registration_plate = | twin1 = | twin1_country = | website = | footnotes = | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 11 | mapframe-wikidata = yes }}

'''Bolhrad''' ({{langx|uk|Болград|Bolhrad}}, {{IPA|uk|bolˈɦrɑd|pron}}; {{langx|bg|Болград|Bolgrad}}; {{langx|ro|Bolgrad}}, {{Langx|gag|Bolgrad}}) is a small city in Odesa Oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, in the historical region of Budjak. It is the administrative center of Bolhrad Raion (district) and hosts the administration of Bolhrad urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine.<ref name="admreform_2020_bolhrad">{{cite web |title=Bolhrad City Council |url=https://bolgradska-gromada.gov.ua// |publisher=Bolhrad City Council official webpage|language=uk}}</ref> Population: {{Ua-pop-est2022|14,818|punct=.}}

==History== {{Quote box | width = 24em | align = left | bgcolor = #ffe066 | title = Historical affiliations | fontsize = 85% | quote = <poem> {{flag|Russian Empire}} (Bessarabia Governorate) 1812–1856 {{flagicon|Moldavia}} Principality of Moldavia 1856–1859 {{flagicon|Romania}} Romania 1859–1878 {{flag|Moldavian Democratic Republic}} 1917–1918 {{flag|Kingdom of Romania}} 1918–1940 {{flag|Soviet Union|1936}} (Ukrainian SSR) 1940–1941 {{flag|Kingdom of Romania}} 1941–1944 {{flag|Soviet Union}} (Ukrainian SSR) 1944–1991 {{flag|Ukraine}} 1991–present</poem> }}

Bolhrad was founded in 1821 by Bulgarian settlers in Bessarabia, under the direction of General Ivan Inzov who is "revered" by Bolhrad residents as the "Founder of Our City."<ref>Куемжи, Мария, Болградский Историко-Этнографический Музей (Bolhrad, Odes'ka Oblast, Ukraine; Фонд им. И.Н. Инзова, 2007)</ref> Bolhrad became part of Moldavia from 1856 to 1859, Romania from 1859 to 1878, then becoming part of the Moldavian Democratic Republic, from 1917 to 1918.

Home to a significant Romanian ethnic community at that time, the citizens of Bolgrad played an important role in supporting the unification of Greater Romania. Through cultural institutions and political activism—especially during the events of 1917–1918—Romanians from Bolgrad strongly advocated for the union of Bessarabia with Romania, contributing meaningfully to the formation of Greater Romania.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jelavich |first=Barbara |date=1992 |title=Romania in the First World War: The Pre-War Crisis, 1912-1914 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40106597 |journal=The International History Review |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=441–451 |issn=0707-5332}}</ref> From 1918 to 1940, Bolgrad was part of the Kingdom of Romania, being considered an important cultural center in the region, before occupied by the USSR, during the Occupation of Bessarabia by the Soviet Union, then being incorporated in the territory of the Ukrainian SSR, and later, after the dissolution of the soviet union, being part of independent Ukraine.

<gallery mode="packed" caption="Images of Romanian Bolgrad"> File:Bolgrad, Sveto Preobrazenie, katedrala, 1938.jpg|Transfiguration Cathedral File:Historical image of Bolhrad High School (Romania time).jpg|Bolhrad High School </gallery>

==Demographics== {{Historical populations |type = |align = none |footnote = |1897|12300|1930|14280|1941|10713 |2001 | 17353 |2011 (est.) | 15479 |source=<ref name=c1897/> }} The surrounding Bolhradsky district is predominantly populated by ethnic Bulgarians (a majority of 61%). Bolhrad itself is inhabited by a large number of Bessarabian Bulgarians and is considered by locals to be the unofficial capital of the Bessarabian historic district of Budjak.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

In 1897, the linguistic make-up was 68.9% Bulgarian, 11.3% Moldavian, 7,1% Jewish, 5.0% Russian, 5,1% Ukrainian, 1.0% Turkish, and 0.8% Polish.<ref name=c1897>{{cite book|author=|title=Первая Всеобщая перепись населения Российской империи, 1897 г.|volume=III|year=1905|language=ru|pages=70–73}}</ref>

As of the 2001 Ukrainian census, Bulgarians still constitute the largest ethnic group in the city, accounting for almost half of the population. The second largest group are Ukrainians, closely followed by Russians. The town also has a significant Moldovan/Romanian and Gagauz population.<ref>See the 2001 census results by language by city at https://datatowel.in.ua/pop-composition/ethnic-cities</ref><ref>The Ukrainian census of 2001, ethnicity/nationality data by localities, at http://pop-stat.mashke.org/ukraine-ethnic2001.htm</ref> {{bar box|title=Ethnic groups in Bolhrad|titlebar=#ddd|left1=|right1=percent|bars={{bar percent|Bulgarians|turquoise|45.50}} {{bar percent|Ukrainians|dodgerblue|22.58}} {{bar percent|Russians|purple|22.51}} {{bar percent|Gagauz|lightgreen|3.34}} {{bar percent|Moldovans|pink|2.48}} {{bar percent|Belarusians|red|0.72}} {{bar percent|Armenians|brown|0.50}} {{bar percent|Poles|yellow|0.10}} {{bar percent|Jews|black|0.07}} {{bar percent|Georgians|green|0.06}} {{bar percent|Romanians|orange|0.06}}}} According to the 2001 census, there was no language spoken by the majority of the population, which was composed of speakers of Russian (48.7%), Bulgarian (32.65%), Ukrainian (13.92%), Gagauz (2%) and Romanian (1.15%).<ref name="socialdata.org.ua">See the 2001 census results by language by locality at https://socialdata.org.ua/projects/mova-2001/</ref> Most ethnic Ukrainians, Bulgarians and Gagauz were native speakers of the languages of their respective groups, but most ethnic Moldovans were Russian-speakers in 2001.<ref name="socialdata.org.ua"/>

==Economy== As of 1920, Bolhrad has had a coal industry.<ref name=Kaba>{{cite book|last=Kaba|first=John|title=Politico-economic Review of Basarabia|year=1919|publisher=American Relief Administration|location=United States|page=27|url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/7313/view/1/27/}}</ref>

==Education== The Georgi Sava Rakovski Bolhrad High School founded in 1858 is the oldest high school of the Bulgarian National Revival.<ref name="aba">{{cite web|url=http://www.aba.government.bg/BOLGRAD/index.htm |title=150 години Болградска гимназия |last=Манолова |first=Надя |author2=Красимира Табакова |year=2008 |publisher=Държавна агенция за българите в чужбина |language=bg |access-date=2009-10-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090411112711/http://aba.government.bg/BOLGRAD/index.htm |archive-date=April 11, 2009 }}</ref><ref name="bgenc">{{cite book |title=Българска енциклопедия А-Я |publisher=БАН, Труд, Сирма |language=bg |year=2002 |chapter=Болградска гимназия „Свети свети Кирил и Методий“ |isbn=954-8104-08-3 |oclc=163361648 }}</ref>

==Notable people== ===Natives=== * Dimitar Grekov (1847–1901), Bulgarian politician * Danail Nikolaev (1852–1942), Bulgarian general * Georgi Todorov (1858–1934), Bulgarian general * Vladimir Cavarnali (1910–1966), Bulgarian Romanian poet, journalist, and political figure * Petre Cișmigiu (1915–2006), Romanian sports shooter and civil engineer * Nicolae Văcăroiu (born 1943), former Prime Minister of Romania<ref>{{cite web|title=Cetăţenia română şi trecerea frontierei după aderarea României la UE|trans-title=Romanian citizenship and border crossing after Romania's EU accession|language=ro|last=Metaxa|first=Maia|date=25 September 2006|publisher=BBC|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/romanian/news/story/2006/09/printable/060925_moldova_romania_ue.shtml|access-date=11 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://evz.ro/romanul-care-a-fost-premier-si-presedinte-are-o-batranete-lipsita-de-griji-pensia-de-toata-frumusetea.html | title=Românul care a fost premier și președinte are o bătrânețe lipsită de griji. Pensia, de toată frumusețea | date=10 November 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.amosnews.ro/arhiva/nicolae-vacaroiu-curriculum-vitae-20-04-2007 | title=Nicolae Văcăroiu - Curriculum Vitae }}</ref> * Irina Molokanova (born 1957), Transnistrian politician * Petro Poroshenko (born 1965), fifth President of Ukraine, entrepreneur and business oligarch

===Residents=== * Mykola Shmatko (1943–2020), Ukrainian visual artist

==References== {{commons|2=Bolhrad}} {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160904135500/http://www.bghome.hut2.ru/bolgrad.php More about Bolhrad on the web-site of Bolhrad gymnasium]

Category:Cities in Bolhrad Raion Category:Populated places established in 1821 Category:Cities of district significance in Ukraine Category:Populated places established in the Russian Empire Category:1821 establishments in the Russian Empire Category:Bulgarian communities in Ukraine Category:Bessarabia Governorate Category:Ismail County Category:Bolhrad urban hromada *