Haskovo is located in Northern Thrace in southern Bulgaria, near the Greek and Turkish borders. The city can be traced back to ancient settlement as far back as 5 000 BC. In 1985, it celebrated its 1000th anniversary as a city. The region’s economic activities are centred around food, machinery, and textiles. The current population stands around 228,000 inhabitants. 

Thanks to the city’s extensive history that spreads from the prehistoric period to the Byzantine Empire, it is home to an abundance of well-preserved artefacts from Thracian, Greek, Roman, and Byzantine periods. The city’s value as a historical site cannot be understated. 

The digitalisation of Haskovo’s cultural heritage began in 2013, when a team of national experts gathered their efforts to transfer old pictures of the city into a digital format, making them available to a broader audience. In order to promote Bulgarian culture and history, each image was linked to a bibliographic explanatory entry. Since then, Haskovo has exerted much efforts towards digitalising its cultural heritage.

Check out the city’s full ICC journey

Read about the city’s progress during the Intelligent Cities Challenge (2020-22) through the city’s final deliverable here.

How to join ICC?
The application period for the ICC 2023-25 edition is now closed. However, if your city is still interested in getting involved with the ICC programme, please contact the Intelligent Cities Helpdesk (helpdesk_icc@technopolis-group.com) to explore the possible options.
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