Sandanski ( ; , formerly known as Sveti Vrach, , until 1947) is a town and a recreation center 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 south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, part of

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 ('' ...

. Named after the

Macedonian Bulgarian Macedonians or Macedonian Bulgarians (), sometimes also referred to as Macedono-Bulgarians, Macedo-Bulgarians, or Bulgaro-Macedonians are a regional, ethnographic group of ethnic Bulgarians, inhabiting or originating from the region of Ma ...

revolutionary

Yane Sandanski Yane Ivanov Sandanski (, ; Originally spelled in Reforms of Bulgarian orthography, older Bulgarian orthography as (Yane Ivanov Sandanski); 18 May 1872 – 22 April 1915) was a Macedonian Bulgarians, Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary and leader ...

, it is situated in

Sandanski–Petrich Valley Sandanski–Petrich Valley () is situated in southwestern Bulgaria along the river Struma (river), Struma and its right tributary Strumica (river), Strumeshnitsa, with a very small part of the territory extending to Greece. The valley is enclosed ...

at the foot of

Pirin Mountains 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, ...

, along the banks of

Sandanska Bistritsa The Sandanska Bistritsa () is a river in south-western Bulgaria, a left tributary of the Struma. The river is 33 km long and drains the south-western sections of the Pirin mountain range. The Sandanska Bistritsa takes its source from the so ...

River. Sandanski is about 20 km away from the Bulgaria-Greece border and 100 km away from the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

. The town has a convenient location, a mild to warm climate (with the highest average annual temperature in the country, +16

°C The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius temperature scale "Celsius temperature scale, also called centigrade temperature scale, scale based on 0 ° for the melting point of water and 100 ° for the boiling point ...

) and relatively high concentration of thermal water springs, which all make it a popular destination for relaxation and recreation.

Geography

Sandanski is located in the

, surrounded by the

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 ...

Belasitsa Belasica ( Macedonian and Bulgarian: , also translit. ''Belasitsa'' or ''Belasitza'', Ottoman Turkish: بلش Turkish: ''Beleş''), Belles (, ''Bélles'') or Kerkini (, ''Kerkíni'';), is a mountain range in the region of Macedonia in Southe ...

and Ograzhden mountain ranges. The town is about 160 km south from Bulgaria's capital

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 ...

along the major

European Route E79 European route E 79 is a road part of the International E-road network. It begins in Miskolc, Hungary and ends in Thessaloniki, Greece, also running through Romania and Bulgaria. The road is long. Itinerary The E 79 routes through ...

. Following the same route at almost the same distance is

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, Greece's second largest city. Sandanski has developed in an amphitheatrical fashion on the outer south-west flanks of Pirin Mountains along the lower reaches of

River. The town's altitude varies between 240 and 300 meters. Its geographical location between

Kresna Kresna ( ) is a town and the seat of Kresna Municipality in Blagoevgrad Province in Bulgaria. It is located in the southwestern part of Bulgaria. History The archaeological findings found testify that the area has been inhabited since ancient ...

and Rupel Gorges determines the town's mild winter and unpleasant summer temperatures. Statistically Sandanski has the warmest temperatures in Bulgaria with a total of around 2700 annual sunshine hours. Within a short drive from Sandanski is Melnik, the smallest town in Bulgaria in terms of population, but an attractive tourist destination for its authentic architecture and wine production. In a close proximity are the village of Rozhen and

Rozhen Monastery The Rozhen Monastery of the Nativity of the Mother of God (, ''Rozhenski manastir "Rozhdestvo Bogorodichno"'', Greek: Μονή Ροζινού, ''Moni Rozinou'') is the biggest monastery in the Pirin Mountains in southwestern Bulgaria, nestled in ...

. The

Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...

city of

Parthicopolis Parthicopolis () was an ancient city in Sintice region in ancient Thrace and later Macedon. During Byzantine times it was a bishopric seat. Its site is located near modern Sandanski, Bulgaria. History The city was probably founded during the Ro ...

was located nearby.

Climate

Sandanski has a

temperate climate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ra ...

(Köppen Climate Classification: Cfa). Summers are very hot and dry with occasional thunderstorms and during heat waves the temperature may exceed 40 °C reaching to 45 °C, the highest recorded temperature in the city. Winters are damp and relatively mild, lasting for about three months from December through February. Springs and falls are generally about two months each. The summer is the longest season in Sandanski, lasting 4 months – from early June to late September. Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year except for July and August when droughts often occur. Climate table:

Municipality

Sandanski is the seat of

Sandanski Municipality Sandanski Municipality is a municipality in Blagoevgrad Province in Southwestern Bulgaria. Demographics Religion According to the latest Bulgarian census of 2011, the religious composition, among those who answered the optional question on rel ...

, which includes the following 54 places:

Honour

Sandanski Point on

Livingston Island Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetland Islands, South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands north of the ...

in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands located in the Drake Passage with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the n ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

is named after the town of Sandanski.

References

External links

Sandanski Online – Information, news, articles, photography, maps, companies and services from Sandanski and the region.

Sandanski Online – The most comprehensive resource to Sandanski & Surroundings

Sandanski.org – Site of the Town Of Sandanski

Sandanski.info

Guide to Sandanski municipality, Blagoevgrad

Pictures from Sandanski
{{Authority control Spa towns in Bulgaria