Dimitrovgrad

Country: Bulgaria
Year founded: 1947
Planned population: ca. 35,000 (Plan Tonev, 1947); 70,000 (Plan Tashev, 1953)
Current population: ca. 30,280 (31 December 2024)
Purpose: founded as a propaganda showcase to illustrate the transition to state socialism, industrialisation, and urbanisation
Special feature: Motto: “I am and I will be”

Dimitrovgrad is named after communist Bulgaria’s first prime minister Georgi Dimitrov.

The town was founded in 1947 with the help of youth work brigades. It was a symbol of socialist Bulgaria. All the official delegations visited it. The residents worked in mine, cement factory, chemical plant and thermal power station. They lived in different parts of the city depending on where they worked.

Initially, the town had 34,000 people. In the late 1980s, the number rose to 50,000. Nowadays, the population stands at 32,000. Most have moved to Spain and Sofia.

After 1989, the fall of state industry brought decline but also new activity — markets, small enterprises, and new cultural scenes — turning Dimitrovgrad into a city negotiating between its industrial legacy and future sustainability.

Avtor: New Towns New Narratives Network

Kraj: Dimitrovgrad