KARNOBAT

Karnobat municipality is located in the southeastern part of the Republic of Bulgaria and is included in the administrative-territorial boundaries of the Bourgas region. To the north it borders Sungurlare municipality,to the east with the municipalities of Aitos and Kameno,to the south with  Sredets municipality and to the west with the municipality of Straldzha. The administrative center of the municipality is Karnobat and includes 30 settlements with a population of 28, 000.In its geographical location the municipality occupies a significant place in the transport-communication system of the country.Important transport corridors in the east and west, as well as connections to the northern and southern parts of Bulgaria, pass through its territory.Both borders,where there is a customs post with Turkey-Malko Tarnovo and Lesovo are 130 km.The Riskshi Pass connects the municipality with Northern Bulgaria.The relief is for the most part flat, cut from the valleys of the Mochuritsa and Rusokastrenska rivers.The average altitude of the municipality is 217 m.

The economic activities concentrated in Karnobat municipality are the agricultural,forestry and fisheries, processing industry using local recourses,machine-building and warehousing,trade and repair of automobiles.The enterprises operating on the territory of Karnobat municipality are mainly micro enterprises with up to 9 employees,their number remaining relatively unchanged in the last three years.The small enterprises are 61,9 are the middles sized ones one and 3 are the enterprises with over 250 employees.

The municipality of Karnobat is among the few municipalities in Bulgaria where the unemployment problem is insignificant. There are only 800 unemployed registered in the Labor Bureau-mostly people with extremely low qualifications.The tendency to increase unemployment rates and to deepen labor market problems to find suitably qualified staff and to open new jobs is alarming.But under good working conditions, such as payment and social benefits, young people will stay in the town. Besides secondary schools, we also have a vocational high school for agriculture and light industry where young people are trained for these sectors.

On the territory of the municipality there are natural conditions suitable for the development of the plant growing and stock breeding  – favorable climate, soils (reeds) and relief. The municipality has a long tradition and experience in the development of agriculture. The most used for permanent use are the fields, followed by meadows and pastures. The soils are suitable for growing crops, fruit growing and vine-growing. The main driving force in Karnobat is the processing industry, which develops on the basis of strong agriculture. Approximately 540,000 acres of agricultural land are cultivated. The territory of the municipality is cultivated with wheat, barley, technical crops such as coriander, sunflower, rape, but also many perennial crops. Plantations from vineyards are already 26 thousand decares. Fruits are also grown: peaches, apricots, cherries, apples, almonds. Vegetable production is also well-developed by growing seed onions, onions and garlic. Stock breeding is also developed, with the development of sheep breeding, pig breeding, cows, poultry, rabbits and bees. The livestock breeding in the municipality is with a very good development potential. There is an Institute of Agriculture, which carries out genetically-selective and biotechnological and agro technical research.

Structurally defining sectors for the municipality are the food and beverage industry, the machine-building industry and the clothing industry. The capacities are mainly concentrated in the town of Karnobat, in the industrial zone of the town.

Enterprises specializing in food processing mainly build their capacities close to raw materials.The food industry includes the production of alcohol, vegetable and fruit tins (in recent years with limited fruit production),flour and bakery products, dairy products, meat products, freshwater fish, there are some green crop workshops. Larger businesses target part of their output for export.The machine-building is represented by the following companies: to equip electrical equipment for western cars,to produce tillage machines and drive axles for carpentry production. There is a production of waste bins and metal barrels of 200 liters. Production of medium-heavy metal structures of welding type  for all sectors of the economy. Textile industry is traditional for Karnobat municipality. It is represented by two companies specializing in the production of men’s shirts and ladies blouses. Over the last few years, the following production capacities have been found: Fruit-drying Company with main activity and salt packing plant in different packages. Among the relatively new investors in the city is Mehmed Kalachoglu, who in 2013 built a sanitary materials factory “Suordsan”, which has opened 100 jobs so far. The city also has large transport companies.

The opening of new businesses, in addition to opening new jobs, moves and diversifies the economy of the municipality and uses local production. It will be positive if the focus of the enterprises on the food industry is maintained.

An important sector is the service of the population. Karnobat is located near major tourist centers, located on the Black Sea coast. Its tourist potential is expressed in clean and preserved nature, historical, architectural and cultural landmarks, museums, traditional livelihoods and crafts, etc., suitable for cultural and cognitive and eco tourism. The most famous landmark in the municipality is the medieval Byzantine fortress Markeli, which is visited by an average of 2,000 tourists per year. It is an episcopal center and one of the centers of Christianization of Northeastern Thrace.The Turkish Bath,also called the Sinan bey hamam,was built in the third quarter of the 15th century.It is one of the earliest Ottoman-Turkish monuments built on today’s Bulgarian lands, the only one from the 15th century on the territory of today’s southeastern Bulgaria.The clock tower (The “Sahat”),built in 1875. In the town of Karnobat,is an expression of the economic prosperity of the city’s artisan-trade group in the third quarter of the 19th century. The Tower was built in the center of the Turkish part of the town. The construction was carried out by Tryavna craftsmen and the materials used are from Karnobat.

The municipality of Karnobat is distinguished in terms of the ethnic structure of  the country and Bourgas region. In percentage terms, the Bulgarian ethnic group is below the average for the country. The Turkish ethnic group’s share is higher than the average for the country. The Roman ethnic group is distinguished by  higher percentage than the average for the country and the region.

The water supply of the population is carried out by “Water Supply” EAD – Bourgas. All settlements on the territory of the municipality are water-supplied, with the exception of the village of San Stefano.Most industrial plants use water for technological and drinking needs from the urban water supply network, some of which have their own drilling wells. The maintenance of the electricity and electricity distribution as well as the electricity supply is carried out by “ENV Bulgaria”. All settlements in the municipality are electrified. In October 2008 the construction of a blue-fuel delivery route begins. The three national mobile operators MTel, Globul and Vivatel provide 100% coverage with a signal on the territory of the municipality. This provides a full range of services .