Predel ( ) is a mountain saddle (pass) in western

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

between the mountain ranges of

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 ...

to the north and

Pirin The Pirin Mountains ( ) are a mountain range in southwestern Bulgaria, with the highest peak, Vihren, at an altitude of . The range extends about from the north-west to the south-east and is about wide, spanning a territory of . To the north ...

to the south. It is situated on the territory of the

Simitli Simitli ( ) also known as Simitliya (), is a town in Blagoevgrad Province in southwestern Bulgaria. It has a population of 7,454 and is located 17 km south of Blagoevgrad. It is the seat of Simitli Municipality. Geography The town is locate ...

and Razlog municipalities 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 ('' ...

. The pass is 20 km long with a maximum altitude of 1140 m. It connects of the valley of the river Struma in the west with the

Razlog Valley The Razlog Valley () is a valley in southwestern Bulgaria, Blagoevgrad Province, containing the Razlog, Bansko, and Belitsa municipalities. It is bounded by the Rila Mountains to the north and northwest, the Pirin Mountains to the south and south ...

in the east. It begins to the north-east from the village of

Gradevo Gradevo is a village in Simitli 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 ...

at 531 m altitude and runs in eastern and south-eastern direction upstream of the Elovitsa valley of the Struma basin. It reaches its highest point in 12.9 km and then descends along the valley of the river Iztok of the

Mesta The ''Mesta'' () was a powerful association protecting livestock owners and their animals in the Crown of Castile that was incorporated in the 13th century and was dissolved in 1836. Although best known for its organisation of the annual migrat ...

drainage. After 7.1 km it enters the westernmost area of the Razlog Valley at an altitude of 890 m. A 20 km long section of the II-19 second-class road

–

Bansko Bansko ( ) is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, located in Blagoevgrad Oblast near the city of Razlog. Once mainly a stockbreeding and travelling merchant community, the town is now an international centre for winter and summer tourism. More rec ...

–

Gotse Delchev Georgi Nikolov Delchev (; ; 4 February 1872 – 4 May 1903), known as Gotse Delchev or Goce Delčev (''Гоце Делчев''),Originally spelled in older Bulgarian orthography as ''Гоце Дѣлчевъ''. - Гоце Дѣлчевъ. ...

– Ilinden traverses the pass. Due to the increased tourist traffic to the ski resort of Bansko the road was thoroughly rehabilitated and expanded in 2005. In the vicinity of the Predel Saddle there are about ten holiday homes with more than 1000 beds. There is a 1300 m long ski track named Kulinoto. Since 1965 there is a folklore festival "Pirin Sings" that gathers folk groups from around the nation. Predel has an important place in Bulgarian history, because the

Kresna–Razlog uprising The Kresna–Razlog uprising (), also known as the Kresna uprising or Macedonian Uprising (), was an anti-Ottoman Bulgarian uprising that took place in Ottoman Macedonia, predominantly in the areas of modern Blagoevgrad Province in Bulgaria in l ...

of 1878 broke out there. The rebellion was a spontaneous action of the local population in opposition to the decisions of the

Congress of Berlin At the Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878), the major European powers revised the territorial and political terms imposed by the Russian Empire on the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of San Stefano (March 1878), which had ended the Rus ...

that left the region outside the borders of newly liberated Bulgaria.

Citations

References

* * {{cite book , ref={{harvid, Dushkov, 1972 , title = Пирин. Туристически речник , trans-title = Pirin. Tourist Dictionary , last1 = Душков (Dushkov) , first1 = Добри (Dobri) , year = 1972 , language = Bulgarian , publisher = Наука и култура (Nauka i kultura) , location = София (Sofia) , isbn = Mountain passes of Bulgaria Pirin Rila Landforms of Blagoevgrad Province