Blagoevgrad Municipality (, ) is the most populated municipality in

Blagoevgrad Province Blagoevgrad Province (, ''oblast Blagoevgrad'' or Благоевградска област, ''Blagoevgradska oblast''), also known as Pirin Macedonia or Bulgarian Macedonia (), (''Pirinska Makedoniya or Bulgarska Makedoniya'') is a province ('' ...

. It includes

Blagoevgrad Blagoevgrad ( ) is List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, а town in Southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Municipality and of Blagoevgrad Province. With a population of almost inhabitants, it is the economic and cultura ...

and 25 villages with population of (2011).

Geography

Blagoevgrad municipality is situated in the northwestern part of

with area of 620.12 km².It borders with

Kyustendil Province Kyustendil Province () is a province in southwestern Bulgaria, extending over an area of (constituting 2.7% of the total territory of the Republic of Bulgaria), and with a population of 106 131. It borders the provinces of Sofia, Pernik, and ...

in the north,

Razlog Municipality Razlog Municipality is located in Blagoevgrad Province, Bulgaria. It has 22,124 inhabitants. The town of Razlog is the administrative centre. Places include: Demographics Religion According to the latest Bulgarian census of 2011, the religi ...

in the east,

Simitli Municipality Simitli Municipality is a municipality in Blagoevgrad Province in Southwestern Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly sout ...

in the south and

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

in the west. The municipality is lying in the western part of the

Rila Rila (, ) is the highest mountain range of Bulgaria, the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, and Southeast Europe. It is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and forms part of the Rila–Rhodope Mountains, Rhodope Massif. The highest summit is Musala at an e ...

mountain and the northern part of the valley of

Struma river The Struma or Strymonas (, ; , ) is a river in Bulgaria and Greece. Its ancient name was Strymon (, ). Its drainage area is , of which in Bulgaria, in Greece and the remaining in North Macedonia and Serbia. It takes its source from the Vitosha ...

, 100 km from

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

in the north and

Kulata Kulata ( , , ) is a village in Petrich Municipality, Blagoevgrad Province, in southwestern Bulgaria. it has 892 inhabitants and the mayor is Dimitar Manolev. The village is a major border checkpoint on the border with Greece. The community of ...

in the south on the international road E79.

Climate

The climate is transitional-continental with strong Mediterranean influence and the weather is mild in the winter and hot in the summer in the valley of Struma river and in the lower parts – 80% of the territory of the municipality. In the higher parts of the municipality the climate is mountainous – the other 20%.

Nature

The most parts of the municipality are covered with forests. Small subsidiaries of

form the water resources of the region. The snow-melting during the spring and the summer in

and

Vlahina Vlahina () or Vlaina (), meaning "Vlachs, Vlach Mountain" is a mountain range on the border of southwestern Bulgaria and eastern North Macedonia. The highest peak is Ogreyak, also known as Kadiytsa, at 1,924 m. Nearby towns include Simitli t ...

increases the river debit. The Bistrica river flows through

and Struma river goes west of the town. There are thirty hot mineral springs in the municipality, even in Blagoevgrad.

Population and settlements

The population of the municipality is 77,441, according to the last count in 2011 year. Men are 48%, women 52% of the population. The municipality is highly urbanized – 91% of all the people live in

. The mountainous villages are very sparsely populated. The following table shows the change of the population during the last four decades.

Ethnic composition

According to the 2011 census, among those who answered the optional question on ethnic identification, the ethnic composition of the municipality was the following:

Religion

According to the latest Bulgarian census of 2011, the religious composition, among those who answered the optional question on religious identification, was the following:

Roads and transportation

The municipality has a very favorable location. E79 international road passes through Belo Pole and the western parts of

alongside the

and connects the region with

on the north and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

in the south. There is a parallel railway, which leads to Greece, but now due to the policy of the Greek rail operator there are no trains between Sofia and Athens.Greece Halts All International Trains to Bulgaria
/ref> There is also a road connection with

via

Logodazh Logodazh is a village in Blagoevgrad Municipality, in Blagoevgrad Province, Bulgaria. It is situated in the foothills of Vlahina mountain on the road between Blagoevgrad and Delčevo, North Macedonia. Between 1959 and 1993 the village was named ''S ...

. The fourth class municipal roads need improvement. Blagoevgrad has two bus stations and a train station situated in the western part of the town. Buses connect Blagoevgrad with Sofia, Plovdiv, Sandanski, Petrich, Goce Delchev, Kyustendil, Dupnitsa and other destinations in the region as well as most of the villages in the municipality. There are international bus lines to

and

. Trains connect the municipality with Sofia, Pernik, Dupnitsa and Sandanski and other smaller settlements alongside

. There is a train stop in Belo Pole, train station in

and another train stop in the southern part of Blagoevgrad.

Economy

There are few big industrial subjects in the municipality and they are concentrated in Blagoevgrad. Trade and services form significant part of the municipal economy. The presence of two universities and a lot of young people is boosting them and also providing qualified labor force. Agriculture and forestry are important parts of the regional economy too.

Tourism

There are more than 10 hotels in Blagoevgrad. Visitors can see a neighborhood with old houses "Varosha". The hot mineral water in Blagoevgrad is not widely utilized, but there is communal bath. The mountains in the region offers a lot of places for hiking and picnics. All the cultural institutions are in Blagoevgrad – the theater, museums, art galleries and cultural centers.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Municipalities in Blagoevgrad Province Rila