Blagoevgrad Province
Blagoevgrad Province (
Bulgarian: област Благоевград,
oblast Blagoevgrad or Благоевградска област,
Blagoevgradska oblast), also known in certain contexts as Pirin Macedonia
[Despite a history of use by Bulgarian nationalists, the term 'Pirin Macedonia' is today regarded as offensive by certain Bulgarians, who assert that it is widely used by Macedonists as part of the irredentist concept of United Macedonia. However, many people in the country also think of the name as a purely geographical term, which it has historically been. Its use is, thus, controversial.] (
Bulgarian: Пиринска Македония,
Pirinska Makedoniya), is a province (
oblast) of southwestern
Bulgaria. Part of the wider
Macedonian region, it borders four other
Bulgarian provinces, as well as
Greece and the
Republic of Macedonia. It has 14 municipalities with 12 towns. The province's major city is
Blagoevgrad, while other significant towns include
Bansko,
Gotse Delchev,
Melnik,
Petrich,
Razlog,
Sandanski and
Simitli.
Geography
[[Image:Blagoevgrad Oblast map EN.PNG|right|thumb|250px|Map of Blagoevgrad Province showing the municipal subdivisions and centres]]
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Kamenitsa Peak and the lake Tevno ezero in Pirin |
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Melnik and the famous sand pyramids |
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The Church of the Holy Trinity in Bansko |
The province has a territory of 6,449.5 km² and a population of 341,245. It is the third largest in Bulgaria after
Burgas and
Sofia Provinces and comprises 5.8% of the country's territory. Blagoevgrad Province includes the mountains, or parts of,
Rila (highest point of the
Balkans "
Musala summit, 2925 m),
Pirin (highest point "
Vihren summit, 2914 m), the
Rhodopes, Slavyanka,
Belasitsa, Vlahina, Maleshevska,
Ograzhden and Stargach. There are two major rivers "
Struma River and
Mesta River " with population concentrations along their valleys, which are also the main transport corridors.
Climate
The climate varies from temprerate continental to
Mediterranean in the southernmost parts. Natural resources are timber, mineral springs, coal, construction materials, including
marble and
granite. The beautiful and preserved environment is widely considered an important resource. A number of national parks and protected territories care for the biodiversity. Arable land is 38.8% and forests constitute 52% of the province's territory.
The region is characterized with diversified economic branch structure:
food and
tobacco processing industries,
agriculture,
tourism,
transport and
communications,
textile industry, timber and furniture industries, iron processing and machinery industry, construction materials industry, as well as pharmaceuticals, plastics, paper and shoes production. Approximately 10% of the population is unemployed (close to the national average). There are 4 major hospitals in the province.
With its railway line and road connection, the region forms the heart of the land-based trading root between northern Greece, Bulgaria and Romania. Since the early 2000s the province enjoys a mini boom in trade from thousands Greek day-trippers from across the border, purchasing cheaper goods and services (dental, opticians, etc.). The region has also attracted Greek manufacturers who moved their production line from
Greece, especially to
Petrich. It was an important tourist destination during the communist years for East Germans and is slowly picking up again. The unique town of
Melnik was once a wealthy centre built on the back of exiled
phanariots from
Constantinople. Now it is a centre for wine production and offers eco-tourism.
Infrastructure remains relatively underdeveloped, especially regarding road and rail communications. It remains an important target for potential EU funding.
Historical and archaeological monuments include the ruins of antique
Thracian and
Roman settlements,
Early Christian basilicas, medieval
Byzantine and Bulgarian towns, monasteries and fortresses, as well as many preserved buildings and whole villages " examples of the architecture from the
Ottoman period (like
Melnik, the
Rozhen Monastery and
Bansko).
A theatre, a library with 345,000 tomes, and an opera house are situated in the provincial centre,
Blagoevgrad. There are art galleries in
Bansko, Blagoevgrad and
Sandanski. Many small cultural institutions,
chitalishta, are dispersed around the province. The Pirin State Ensemble is the most prominent among the numerous folklore and music bands. There are 10 museums in the province that preserve the rich historical, ethnographic and archaeological heritage. Cultural events include the Theatre Festival in Blagoevgrad, the Jazz Festival in Bansko and the Melnik Evenings of Poetry.
The
Southwestern University and the
American University in Bulgaria are situated in Blagoevgrad; the latter is the second largest American university campus in Europe and is located in the former headquarters of the
communist party. Annually the city draws around 10,000 students from the country and abroad. The number of schools in the province is 182.
According to the 2001 census, the population of the province consists of 286,491
Bulgarians (including a number of
Muslim Bulgarians), 31,857
Turks (also including a number of
Muslim Bulgarians), 12,405
Roma and 3,117 ethnic
Macedonians, among others. 4,242 people did not specify their ethnicity.
268,968 of the province's residents are
Eastern Orthodox, 62,431 are
Muslims, 1,546 "
Protestants. 7,018 people did not idenfity their religion in the census.
Bulgarian is the mother tongue of 306,118 people,
Turkish is spoken by 19,819, while 9,232 identified as speakers of
Romany. 2,921 specified their mother tongue as "other" and 2,424 did not identify their language.
Blagoevgrad Province is currently one of the best-represented provinces in Bulgarian football, with 3 teams playing in the
Bulgarian A PFG (second only to
Sofia with 4) "
FC Vihren Sandanski,
PFC Belasitsa Petrich and
PFC Pirin 1922 Blagoevgrad. One more team from the province,
PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad (as distinct from Pirin 1922), began the 2005/06 season in the highest Bulgarian division, but disbanded shortly afterwards due to financial problems.
Owing to the high mountainous areas in the north and east, Blagoevgrad Province is also a centre of
winter sports, with Bansko being a popular skiing resort.
The region is regarded by many of the people living in the
Republic of Macedonia as part of an irredentist imaginary state that unites the whole geographical
region of Macedonia.
However, these claims are due to the long period of propaganda-like
history in the Republic Macedonia.
Today the idea of
"united" Macedonia is part of the doctrines only of extremely right-orientated parties and organizations in the
Republic of Macedonia. Only a negligible 3,117 of the province's population of 341,245 described themselves as
ethnic Macedonians in 2001, Bulgarians being an overwhelming majority of 286,491.
This low number of ethnic Macedonians in the region is explained by supporters of
Macedonism as being a result of repression. They also assert that the number of Macedonians in the province was much larger as recorded by the 1948 and 1956 censuses, claiming that then-
Stalinist Bulgaria recognised a distinct Macedonian minority and allowed free self-determination (and implying this is not the case today). This is explained by Bulgarians as being part of the
Comintern's and the
Bulgarian Communist Party's policy of the time, which supported a
USSR-backed admission of Bulgaria to
Yugoslavia with the corresponding incorporation of Pirin Macedonia into the Macedonian Socialist Republic. With the easing of this trend the idea of promoting a separate national consciousness in Pirin Macedonia lost support.
*
Provinces of Bulgaria
*
Blagoevgrad Province " information on all of cities and villages*
Provincial administration of Blagoevgrad Province*
Municipality of Blagoevgrad*
Municipality of Gotse Delchev*
Municipality of Sandanski*
Municipality of Petrich*
Official website of Bansko*
Pirin National Park*
Rila National Park*
Neofit Rilski Southwestern University*
American University in Bulgaria*
Pirin Folk song and dances State Ensemble*
Historical and Architectural Reserve Village Kovachevitza*
Rozhen Monastery St Nativity of Virgin Mary*
Bansko Ski Zone
