Kuklen

Kuklen Куклен
Town
View of Kuklen from the road to the Kuklen Monastery
Coat of arms
Kuklen Kulken in Bulgaria
Coordinates: 42.033°N 24.783°E / 42.033; 24.783
Country	Bulgaria
Province	Plovdiv
Municipality	Kuklen
Government
• Mayor	Maria Belcheva (GP)
Area
• Total	31.524 km2 (12.171 sq mi)
Elevation	393 m (1,289 ft)
Population  (2015)
• Total	6,046
Postal code	4101
Area code	03115
Vehicle registration	РВ

Kuklen (Bulgarian: Куклен [ˈkuklɛn]) is a town in southern Bulgaria, part of Plovdiv Province. It is located 7 km to the south of the nearest major city, Plovdiv, and is approximately 140 km south east of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. Kuklen was proclaimed a town on 23 May 2006, and as of 2005 had a population of 6,877. It is the center of Kuklen Municipality.

Kuklen is notable for having, despite its low population, not only a majority Bulgarian Orthodox population with several Orthodox churches, but also Muslim residents and a mosque, as well as a Greek Catholic community and a Catholic place of worship, with all three religious communities living on good terms with each other.

Geography

Kuklen is located in the plains of the Rhodopes, 7 km. east of Plovdiv.

Population

The number of permanent residents in Kuklen is 6,881, and 6,000 more are temporary.

As of February 2011, Kuklen has 5,858 residents.

Born in Kuklen

• Recep Küpçü, Bulgarian poet of Turkish origin

The war memorial in Kuklen.

Honor

Kuklen Point on Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands is named after Kuklen.