Pleven Province is located in central northern Bulgaria, bordering the Danube river, Romania and the Bulgarian provinces of Vratsa, Veliko Tarnovo and Lovech. Pleven region embraces a territory of 4,333.54 sq.km and a population of more than 310 000 people. The administrative center is the city of Pleven. The district consists of 11 municipalities: Belene (with the town of Belene and the villages of Byala voda, Dekov, Kulina voda, Petokladentsi and Tatari), Cherven bryag municipality (Breste, Glava, Gornik, Deventsi, Koynare, Lepitsa, Radomirtsi, Rakita, Reselets, Ruptsi, Suhache, Telish, Cherven bryag and Chomakovtsi), Gulyantsi (towns and villages - Brest, Gigen, Iskar, Gulyantsi, Dolni Vit, Dabovan, Zagrazhden, Kreta, Lenkovo, Milkovitsa, Somovit and Shiyakovo), Dolni Dabnik municipality (Barkach, Gorni Dabnik, Gradina, Dolni Dabnik, Krushovitsa, Petarnitsa, Sadovets), Dolna Mitropoliya (Baykal, Bivolare, Bozhuritsa, Bregare, Gorna Mitropoliya, Gostilya, Dolna Mitropoliya, Komarevo, Krushovene, Orehovitsa, Pobeda, Podem, Riben, Slavovitsa, Stavertsi and Trastenik), Iskar municipality (Dolni Lukovit, Iskar, Pisarovo, Staroseltsi), Knezha (Brenitsa, Enitsa, Knezha, Lazarovo), Levski municipality (Asenovtsi, Asparuhovo, Bozhurluk, Balgarene, Varana, Gradishte, Izgrev, Kozar Belene, Levski, Malchika, Obnova, Stezherovo and Tranchovitsa), Nikopol (Asenovo, Batsova mahala, Vabel, Debovo, Dragash voyvoda, Evlogievo, Zhernov, Lozitsa, Lyubenovo, Muselievo, Nikopol, Novachene, Sanadinovo, Cherkovitsa), municipality of Pleven (Beglezh, Bohot, Brestovets, Brashlyanitsa, Bukovlak, Varbitsa, Gortalovo, Grivitsa, Disevitsa, Koilovtsi, Kartozhabene, Kashin, Laskar, Mechka, Nikolaevo, Opanets, Pelishat, Pleven, Radishevo, Ralevo, Slavyanovo, Todorovo, Tuchenitsa, Tarnene and Yasen), and Pordim municipality (Borislav, Valchitran, Zgalevo, Kamenets, Kateritsa, Odarne, Pordim and Totleben) The area of Pleven has been inhabited since the Neolitic period. Traces of human settlement near the city of Pleven date from the 5th millennium BC. Furthermore, numerous archaeological findings, among them the largest golden treasure found in Bulgaria, evidence for the rich culture of the Thracians, who inhabited the area for thousands of years. In the beginning of the new era, the region became part of the Roman province of Moesia, and a road station called Storgosia arose near present-day Pleven on the road from Oescus (near modern Gigen) to Philippopolis (now Plovdiv). It later evolved into a fortress. One of the most valued archaeological monuments in Bulgaria from the period is the Early Christian basilica from the 4th century discovered near the modern city. During the Middle Ages, Pleven was a well-developed stronghold of the First and the Second Bulgarian Empire. When Slavs populated the region, they gave the settlement its contemporary name (Pleven is derived either from the Slavic word "plevnya" ("barn") or from "plevel", meaning "weed", which share the same root). Later on, during the Ottoman rule, Pleven, known as Plevne in Ottoman Turkish, preserved its Bulgarian appearance and culture. Many churches, schools and bridges were built at the time of the Bulgarian National Revival. In 1825, the first secondary school in the town was opened, followed by the first girls' school in Bulgaria in 1840, as well as the first boys' school a year later. Pleven was the place where the Bulgarian national hero Vasil Levski established the first revolutionary committee in 1869, part of his national revolutionary network. The city was a major battle scene during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 that Russian Tsar Alexander II held for the purpose of the liberation of Bulgaria. The joint Russian and Romanian army paid dearly for the victory, but it paved the path to the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in this war, and the restoration of Bulgaria as a state. It cost the Russians and Romanians 5 months and 38,000 casualties to liberate the town after four assaults in what was one of the decisive battles of the war. The events of the Russo-Turkish War proved crucial for the development of Pleven as a key town of central northern Bulgaria. The town experienced significant demographic and economic growth in the following years, gradually establishing itself as a cultural centre of the region. Nowadays, the region is a major centre of oil processing, metalworking, machinery construction, light and food industries. After 1989 Pleven found itself in an economic crisis, with many of the major enterprises (such as the Plama oil refinery) closing or practically ceasing to work. However, the late 1990s and early 2000s saw a revival of light industry and the development of branches such as knitwear and store clothes production. Tourism, which had attracted many people from the Soviet Union prior to 1989, and had experienced a slump in the following years, is on the rise again. Other economic branches have also improved in the 2000s. The city has seen a number of major foreign investments in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Particularly noticeable is the mass construction of hypermarkets, with two Billa stores, a Praktiker outlet and a number of technology hypermarkets being opened as of 2006. In 2005, the investments in the economy of Pleven amounted to around 250 million leva (around €125 million). The city of Pleven and the whole region is also often referred as an important centre of sports in Bulgaria, with many noted Bulgarian sportspeople having been born and/or trained in the town, including Tereza Marinova and Galabin Boevski. The sports school in Pleven is considered as one of the most prominent in the country. Pleven is famous for its Kaylaka (where the ruins of the Storgosia fort can be found) and Skobelev parks. The latter is home to the Pleven Panorama and is situated on the original location of the battle during the Russo-Turkish War.