The Svilengrad municipality lies in the southeastern corner of Bulgaria, very near the border with Turkey and Greece. It covers parts of three physic-geographic regions: the Upper Thracian Plain, Sakar and the Rhodopes. Its territory is 701 sq. km, plain in the main. The river Maritsa slowly flows through it on its way to the Aegean  Sea. 
The municipality comprises 24 settlements with a population of 27000. Svilengrad is the natural economic and administrative center of the area. 
The municipality is Bulgaria’s southern gate. The frontier check point in the village of Captain Andreevo is one of the biggest in Europe; about 4.5 million passengers and tourists go via it annually. 
The earliest evidence of human life in that area dates from the 4th century B. C. The lands around modern Svilengrad were inhabited by the Thracian tribe Odrysae. Thracian traces can be found in settlements, funeral mounds, shrines and dolmens. A monumental Thracian tomb of a Mycenaeam type in a perfectly well preserved original state has been found near the villages of Mezec. 
A road station and a fortress were built on Hissarluka hill in Roman times. A settlement sprang up there   from ancient written monuments as Burdenis (Burdepto). 
The area was a brisk crossroads and a constant battlefield after the foundation of the Bulgarian state. Well preserved 10th century rock churches have survived in the villages Matochina and Mihalich. A mediaeval 11th century fortress ear the village of Mezek has been spared the ravages of time. One of the greatest battles in mediaeval Bulgarian history was fought in that area: in 1205 Kaloyan’s armies defeated the invincible Crusaders le by Emperor Baldwin. The surviving tower near the village of Matochina dates from that period. 
A bridge wad built across the Maritsa in 1529 and even today it spans the two parts of Svilengrad. It is a most remarkable Ottoman rule. A village called Mustafa Pasha sprang around the bridge and grew into a town in the latter half of the 16th century. 
The Bulgarian population firmly upheld their national identity and waged constant struggles against the invaders. Resistance surged with great force during the National Revival. A secular school was built in the town in 1847; Zvezda reading club opened in 1870. 
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     The national poet Ivan Vazov was a principal teacher in the town in 1872-1873. A year later the school teacher Peter Stanchov  became the “godfather” of the town  giving it the sonorous and beautiful name Svilengrad (The Town of Silk). However, it was only in 1913 that it become the town’s official name. The Apostle of Freedom Vassil Levski visited Mustafa Pasha (Svilengrad) and set up a secret revolutionary committee. 
    The Russian troops liberated Svilengrad on January 7, 1878. But a year later the town and its environs were under Turkish rule again by virtue of the Berlin Treaty.
    In 1895 Peter Mitev set up a committee of the Macedonian Adrianople Revolutionary Organization. He was succeeded in the leadership by the teacher Peter Stoev, the first disseminate of socialist ideas in Mustafa Pasha. 
    During the First Balkan War (1912) a military airfield was built near the town from where the planes took off for the air-raids of the Edirne fortress. The Bulgarian army was the first in world history to use aircraft for military purposes. 
    Svilengrad region gained its national freedom forever on 1913. Before deserting the town the enraged Turks burnt in down completely. 
    Mechanical engineering, textile industry, tailoring and food industry are the leading sectors in the municipality’s economy. There are two agro-industrial complexes on the territory of the municipality. They grow cereals, tobacco, cotton, grapes and fruit in the main. Sheep-breeding, cattle-breeding, pig raising are well developed. 
    Social and technical infrastructure has acquired a number of projects. Attractive housing estates have been built in Svilengrad; new building have been erected on the villages. Today the villages in the municipality boast paved streets, clean sidewalks, green plots and children’s playgrounds. 
    Cultural life has made a good progress. The 16 community centers in the municipality carry out varied cultural activities. Eminent artists and performers’ companies of all Bulgaria participate in the Thracian Evening, cultural festivals in Svilengrad. 
    With every passing day this border region in Bulgaria grows prettier and is renewed. It has may merits but its greatest wealth is the people who in addition to their daily work respond to the call to guard the country’s southern frontier. It is a duty which they fulfil with honor. 
     
 
    Address: bl.10 Bulgaria bul., Svilengrad, Bulgaria: +359/379/72021