Blagoevgrad (Bulgarian: Благоевград, formerly: Горна Джумая, Gorna Dzhumaya) is а city in southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Province, with a population of about 76,075 (as of 2007). It lies on the banks of the Blagoevgradska Bistritsa River.

The city is the economic and cultural centre of southwestern Bulgaria. It is located in the valley of the Struma River at the foot of the Rila and Pirin Mountains, 101 km south of Sofia, close to the Greek, Serbian and Republic of Macedonia borders. Blagoevgrad features a pedestrian downtown with preserved 19th century architecture and numerous restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, and boutiques.

Blagoevgrad is home to two universities, the South-West University "Neofit Rilski" and the American University in Bulgaria. The city hosts also the "Sts. Cyril and Methodius National Humanitarian High School", the former Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki moved from Thessaloniki to Blagoevgrad (then Gorna Dzhumaya) in 1913. Attractions in the surrounding area include the resort Bodrost.

History
An ancient Thracian settlement called Scaptopara (Σκαπτοπαρα in Greek) emerged on the site around 300 BC and was later conquered by the Roman Empire. The settlement was known for the hot springs in the vicinity.

Although the history of the settlement in the Middle Ages is unknown, during the Ottoman rule of the Balkans it was initially a Muslim-majority town called Cuma-ı Bala, meaning Upper Juma in Persian and Ottoman Turkish. A Bulgarian quarter called Varosha was formed during the Bulgarian National Revival, with many of its typical houses and the Church of the Presentation of the Mother of God from 1844 being preserved to this day. A chitalishte was founded in 1866 and the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913 saw the liberation of the area from Ottoman rule and its integration in the Bulgarian state. Before the Balkan Wars, Cuma-ı Bala was bounded as kaza to Serez sandjak in Selanik vilayet.

Many Bulgarian refugees from Aegean and Vardar Macedonia arrived in the town in the subsequent decades as the town, then known as Gorna Dzhumaya (a partial translation of the Ottoman name), continued to grow in size and importance. The name Gorna Dzhumaya ("Upper Dzhumaya") contrasts the town from Dolna Dzhumaya ("Lower Dzhumaya") to the south, today called Irakleia in Serres Prefecture, Macedonia, Greece.

The town was renamed Blagoevgrad in 1950 after the founder of the Bulgarian Communist Party, Dimitar Blagoev, a Bulgarian from Aegean Macedonia.

Blagoevgrad is known for being the birthplace of Dimitar Berbatov, a current Manchester United Player. The town's football traditions are very respectable, as the local PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad (1922) and more recently PFC Pirin Blagoevgrad (1931) (the old Makedonska Slava from Simitli), have both played in the A PFG and had players such as Berbatov, Petar Mihtarski, Ivaylo Andonov, Petar Zlatinov, etc.

Skaptopara Cove in Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named for the ancient ancestor of Blagoevgrad.

Blagoevgrad Province (Bulgarian: област Благоевград, oblast Blagoevgrad or Благоевградска област, Blagoevgradska oblast), also known as Pirin Macedonia (Bulgarian: Пиринска Македония, Pirinska Makedoniya), is a province (oblast) of southwestern Bulgaria. To the north and east it borders with four other Bulgarian provinces, to the south with Greece and the west with 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
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, Maleshevo, 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.

Municipalities

Map of Blagoevgrad Province showing the municipal subdivisions and centresThe Blagoevgrad province (oбласт, oblast) contains 14 municipalities (singular: oбщина, obshtina - plural: oбщини, obshtini). The following table shows the names of each municipality in English and Cyrillic, the main town (in bold) or village, and the population of each as of 2009.

Economy
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 route 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.). Since the early 1990s, 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. There are two major infrastructural projects in the region. The Struma motorway, which is planned to connect the capital Sofia with the Greek border and the port of Thessaloniki, is going to run through the valley of the Sruma River, and will be ready in a few years. The second project is the airport of Bansko. The cost is currently estimated at around €30,000,000.


[edit] Culture, education and monuments
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.


Notable Bulgarians from Blagoevgrad Province
A number of the province's municipalities were re-named in honor of major figures such as Sandanski (after Jane Sandanski), Gotse Delchev and Blagoevgrad (named after Dimitar Blagoev).

Paisiy Hilendarski (1722–1773)
Neofit Rilski (1793 -1881)
Boris Sarafov (1872-1907)
Yane Sandanski (1872-1915)
Nikola Vaptsarov (1909-1942)
Georgi Pirinski (1948)

Demographics
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.


Sport
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 alpine features and accessible location, the northern and eastern regionof Blagoevgrad Province is also a centre of winter sports. The main centre is Bansko which is becoming a leading skiing resort at European level with rapidly rising property prices.


Ethnic Macedonians in Blagoevgrad Province
Main article: Ethnic Macedonians in Bulgaria
Blagoevgrad Province roughly corresponds to the geographical region of Pirin Macedonia. The vast majority of the Slavic population has a Bulgarian self-consciousness and a regional (geographic) Macedonian identity, similar to that of the Greeks in Greek Macedonia.[9] Moreover, the majority of Bulgarians believe that most of the population of Macedonia is Bulgarian.[10] According to a study by the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee performed in 1998, the people with a Macedonian national self-consciousness in Bulgaria were between 15,000 and 25,000.[9] In 2008, the local ethnic Macedonian political activist, Stoyko Stoykov claims their number to be between 5,000 and 10,000 in whole Bulgaria.[11] The province is comstrued by some nationalist Ethnic Macedonians as part of a United Macedonia. However, according to the last census 3,117 persons described themselves as ethnic Macedonians in Blagoevgrad province, or less than 1% from the citizens in the area.


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