Belogradchik
city in Belogradchik municipality, Vidin oblast, Bulgaria
Belogradchik (Bulgarian: Белоградчик, lit. 'Small White Town'; pronounced [bɛɫoɡrɐtˈt͡ʃik]) is a town in Vidin Province, northwestern Bulgaria, and is the administrative centre of the homonymous municipality. The town is situated in the foothills of the Balkan Mountains just east of the Serbian border and about 50 km south of the Danube River. The town is close to the Belogradchik Rocks, which are major tourist attraction. As of 2024, it had a population of 4,601.
Geography
Belogradchik is situated at an altitude of 520 m in the western part of the Fore-Balkan, a mountainous chain straddling north of and in parallel with the Balkan Mountains. The town lies next to the Belogradchik Rocks, a major rock formation reaching some 30 km in length that contains outcrops reaches up to 100 m in height, which form a dramatic outline of the town. Close to the town is the source of the Gradska reka, a tributary of the Salashka reka, itself a tributary of the Archar of the Danube drainage.
Belogradchik falls within the temperate continental climatic zone, moderated by the surrounding elevations, which makes the mean annual temperatures higher in comparison with settlements at the same altitude; the average January temperature is −1.4 °C, while in July it is 21.6 °C. The predominant winds are northwestern, northern and western. The annual precipitation reaches 673 mm, with a maximum in January (79 mm) and a minimum in February (32 mm). Snow cover lasts for about 60 days.
The public source identifies “Belogradchik” as city in Belogradchik municipality, Vidin oblast, Bulgaria. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Belogradchik, city and municipality.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Belogradchik”, the useful work is to connect “city in Belogradchik municipality, Vidin oblast, Bulgaria” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q407234. VIAF identifies the subject as 127831525. The Library of Congress control number is n79099496. Authority coordinates are 43.625, 22.687. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2024.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Belogradchik”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Belogradchik primary sources, Belogradchik archive and Belogradchik research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Belogradchik”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Belogradchik” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.