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Northwest Bulgaria > Mezdra > History
History of MezdraMezdra is a successor of ancient culture. Remains from the Stone-CopperAge and the Thracian period were found there. During Roman domination there was a big town with a castle on the rocks up above the river Iskar (remains of it can be seen south of the railway station, in the Kaleto area). It protected the roads to Sofia, Vratsa and Montana. The town declined with the collapse of the Roman Empire. During the Bulgarian Middle Ages the settlement recovered, but only to be burnt to ashes in 1393, when the ottoman hordes devastated the area. A document dating back to the 15th century marked the place as Mezra Torbaritsa, meaning an empty bag. The life in the settlement revived during the 18th century, yet it remained small and insignificant. Immediately after the Liberation (1878) there were only about twenty houses in Mezdra totalling 86 inhabitants. When the railway line from Sofia to Varna was constructed in 1897, the village started its rapid development, while with the construction of the railway Mezdra - Vratsa Lom (Vidin) during the period 1913-1923, it turned into an important distribution point for this part of the country. The village was proclaimed a town in 1950.
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