Панагюриште: История, промышленность и современность.

The population believes in mainly Christianity, Eastern Orthodoxy being predominant, as are most of the churches. There is also one Evangelical church in the town. Muslims are not largely represented among the population, since during the Ottoman rule, the city was forbidden to them. This was due to two facts: during the time of the Janissary, the town was obliged to pay the Devshirme, which gave it the privilege of not being inhabited by Turks. Later, the Bulgarian population had to guard the passes through the Middle Forest, which gave the same privilege.

After the Second World War Panagyurishte was transformed into a large industrial center. The Asarel Medet copper extracting and processing plant is the largest single employer in the municipality with over 1,200 direct employees and also the biggest one in the Balkans. Annually it extracts and processes over 13 million tons of copper ore and produces 200 thousand tons of copper concentrate sold worldwide, including to the Pirdop copper smelter and refinery in Pirdop north of Panagyurishte. The town is the hub of the Bulgarian optical industry with two main companies — Opticoelectron (650 employees) and Optix (600 employees), operating production facilities in the town and in neighbouring Strelcha and Popintsi. They and manufacture a wide range of military and civilian procducts, such as optical sights; thermal imaging devices; night vision goggles, scopes and systems; surveillance cameras; infrared lenses, etc. Another company in the field, Micro View Endoskopie Optik J. S. C., was founded in 2002 as a private Bulgarian German joint stock company and specializes in the production of optical components for endoscopic equipment with applications in medicine and technology. There are two big textile plants: "Ryton" (880 employees) and "Bultex" (680 employees). There is also a plastics factory, "Bunay" with some 190 workers and a number of smaller enterprises.

There are roads leading to the north (Panagyurski kolonii), south (Popintsi), west (Oborishte) and east (Strelcha). The main road is the second class II 37 road in direction north–south, leading to Zlatitsa to the north and Pazardzhik to the south. Panagyurishte has bus connections to Sofia, Plovdiv and Pazardzhik, as well as nearby villages. The town is served by the Bulgarian State Railways as the terminus of railway line No. 81 Plovdiv–Panagyurishte.

The two largest schools are the elementary "Prof. Marin Drinov" with more than 1,100 pupils and secondary "Nesho Bonchev". Other large schools include the Optical Technikal School, Mining Technical School, "20th April" elementary school, "Sv. sv. Cyril and Metodius" elementary school and others. A large regional hospital is located in the southernmost outskirts of the town on the western banks of the Luda Yana river. There is also a large polyclinic in the center as well as numerous private doctor and dentist cabinets.

The town is a center of the Panagyurishte municipality which includes 9 villages: Popintsi, Oborishte, Banya, Bata, Elshitsa, Levski, Panagyurski kolonii, Poibrene and Srebrinovo, as well as the town itself.

Panagyurishte is overshadowed in tourism by nearby Koprivshtitsa, which has a much larger collection of conserved Bulgarian Revival style houses because they paid off their city to the Ottomans instead of fighting. Like Koprivshtitsa, Panagyurishte has a picturesque location in the Sredna Gora mountains, and is one of the towns associated with the historic April Uprising in 1876. The town also gained fame for the Panagyurishte golden treasure discovered there in 1949 and the Apriltsi National Memorial Complex erected in 1976 in honor of the 100th anniversary of the April Uprising. It is situated on the historic hill above the town known as Manyovo Bardo. It is also near the mineral water spas of Banya, and recreational facilities in Panagyurski kolonii.

In the courtyard of the house, an inscription preserved there states that the Middle Gothic asymmetrical house was made in 1673 and its first owners were Taso and Miho. After 200 years, Rayna Knyaginya was born in the house on 18 January 1856. She is known for her sewing of flag of the April Uprising of 1876. The house was opened as a museum on 3 May 1950 and during 1979 1981, the house had major restorations carried out. The first floor includes a documentary for the life of Rayna Knyagina. The second includes the example of the environment where she lived. In 1992, the heirs of Rayna Knyagina gifted the house to the Panagyurishte Municipality. It is now preserved as a monument of national importance and culture.

The history museum was created on 20 January 1951 and was approved by the Collegium of the Committee on Culture and Art on 27 December 1966. It includes over 6000 volumes of scientific literature and a depository organized in a separate building. The exposition of the museum includes documents and objects from the 19th century, also preserved archaelogical finds from excavations of the lands near Panagyurishte. The gold treasure is also kept in the museum. The history museum complex includes the houses of Petar Dudekov, Ivan Tutev and Marin Drinov.

The house of Ivan Tutev was built in the period 1873 1874. The owner was a local craftsman, merchant and revolutionary Ivan Doychev Tutev. The original building was constructed in the 17th century which was burnt down after the Kirdzhalis attacks of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The house was painted by Markov Galabov and in 1947, it was donated to the municipality for it to be a museum. In 1950, the first partial restoration was made, then a second one in 1975 1976. In the period 1988 1991, a third and final major restoration of the house was carried out. It is now a monument of culture.

The house of Marin Drinov was created in the 1830s and was owned by the Drinov family. They were described as examples for the struggles for national liberation, cultural uplift and restoration of the Bulgarian state. Vasil Levski and Georgi Benkovski took shelter in the house between 1 and 2 February 1876. In 2008, it was opened as a museum which included ethnographic exhibitions.

The church was built in the period 1856 1860, when the economy was rising in the town. During its construction period, many citizens from the upper neighbourhoods in Panagyurishte were supporting it financially. The most generous of all was Pencho Hadzhilukov, later died in the April Uprising. The masters of the church were Nikola German and Gancho Trifonov, from the small village of Smolsko. The technicians were from Constantinople. The church's iconostasis and its carved decoration was made by the Debar Art School. It was consecrated in 1860. During the April Uprising, Ottoman artillery shelled the church, burning everything and leaving only the walls. After liberation, many people gathered to reconstruct the church and a new iconostasis was made by woodcarving masters from Struga. Two bell towers were erected in 1882, with one serving was the town clock.

The church was built in the period 1818 1823, replacing the old church of St. Todor, since it couldn't accommodate its population. The new one, had masters building it from Bansko and its carved wooden decoration from the Debar Art School. In 1834, the church was damaged, but later fixed. During the April Uprising, the church suffered severe damage, when it was burnt and most of the iconostasis was destroyed. After liberation, thanks to masters from Bratsigovo and carvers from Struga, the church was rebuilt in 1878 1880. The church's architecture consists of a three aisled pseudo basilica, an apse and narthex. The roof has a semi cylindrical vaulted roof. Also there is a bell tower in the corner of the churchyard.

The Apriltsi Memorial Complex which commemorates the April Uprising dominates the sky line of the town and can be seen from almost every neighbourhood. It was built on the top of a hill just above the central square and includes several granite compositions which encircle the main figure. It can be reached from the center by numerous stairs. There are several places of interest in the vicinity of the town. The resort village Panagyurski kolonii, literally "the colony of Panagyurishte" is located at 15 km north of the town. It is very popular with the local population, as many of the citizens have summer houses there. There is a ski run and dense beech forests rich in different species of berries and mushrooms. At 6 km to the east is the famous Oborishte locality where the plan of the April uprising was discussed and accepted by delegates from all over the province. Today there is a monument there which is popular tourist attraction.

One frosty morning on 8 December 1949 three brothers – Pavel, Petko and Michail Deikovi – worked together in the region of "Merul" tile factory near Panagyurishte. At about ten o’clock in the morning, while processing a new layer of clay, they came across unusual glossy objects. With all of its magnificence a fabulous set of vessels glittered in front of the workers. When finally unearthed, it was found to consist of a phial and eight rhytons, one shaped like an amphora and the others like heads of women or animals. Dated to the turn of the fourth and third century BC, the find was sensational, not only for its weight in gold — over 6.146 kg of pure gold, but also for the originality of its forms. It is now a world famous Thracian treasure and one of the most valuable possessions of the National Historical Museum.

Panagyurishte Nunatak on Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Panagyurishte.