“THE MODERN CITY” IN THE VIEWS OF THE OTTOMAN REFORMERS DURING THE TANZIMAT ERA: IDEAS AND IMPLEMENTATION IN THE BULGARIAN LANDS UNDER OTTOMAN RULE
Études balkaniques (Sofia) 2026, N 2, pp. 391-408
DOI: https://doi.org/10.62761/645.EB.LXII2.06
Ventsislav MUCHINOV 
Institute for Population and Human Studies – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Bulgaria
E-mail: vencim_80@abv.bg
Abstract: The article examines the initiatives of the Ottoman authorities to modernize the cities in the Balkan provinces of the Ottoman Empire inhabited by Bulgarians in the period from the mid-19th century until the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1878. These activities were part of the policy of the Ottoman reformers of the Tanzimat era to modernize and improve the cities of the Ottoman Empire in line with the European model. The article traces the main strands in the policy of the Ottoman authorities of upgrading and planning the cities in the Bulgarian lands in the third quarter of the 19th century, including the formation of new urban centres built as per modern urban development design. The major issues impeding the implementation of this policy are pointed out, and the outcomes achieved as a result of its implementation are analysed.
Keywords: Ottoman Empire, Bulgarian lands, modernization, urbanization, town planning