The province has a territory of 6,449.5 km2 (2,490.2 sq mi) and a population of 323,552[1] (as of 2011[update]). It is the third largest inBulgaria afterBurgas andSofia Provinces and comprises 5.8% of the country's territory. Blagoevgrad Province includes the mountains, or parts of,Rila (highest point of theBalkans —Musala summit, 2925 m),Pirin (highest point —Vihren summit, 2914 m), theRhodopes,Slavyanka,Belasitsa,Vlahina,Maleshevo,Ograzhden, andStargach.There are two major rivers —Struma River andMesta River — with population concentrations along their valleys, which are also the main transport corridors.
The climate varies from temperate continental toMediterranean in the southernmost parts. Natural resources are timber, mineral springs, coal, construction materials, includingmarble andgranite. 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.
TheBalkan Wars of 1912–1913 saw the annexation of the area to theBulgarian state. Before the wars, it had been underOttoman rule for over five centuries.
Map of Blagoevgrad Province showing the municipal subdivisions and centres
The Blagoevgrad province (област,oblast) contains 14 municipalities (singular: община,obshtina - plural: общини,obshtini). The following table shows the names of each municipality inEnglish andCyrillic, the main town (in bold) or village, and the population of each as of 2011.
The region is characterized with diversified economic branch structure:food andtobacco processing industries,agriculture,tourism,transport andcommunications,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.[citation needed]
With its railway line and road connection, the region forms the heart of the land-based trading route betweennorthern Greece,Bulgaria andRomania. Since the early 2000s the province enjoys a mini boom in trade from thousands of 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 fromGreece, especially toPetrich. It was an important tourist destination during the communist years for East Germans and is slowly picking up again. The unique town ofMelnik was once a wealthy centre built on the back of exiledphanariots fromConstantinople. 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. TheStruma motorway, which is planned to connect the capitalSofia with the Greek border and the port ofThessaloniki, 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 ofBansko. The cost is currently estimated at around€30,000,000.
Historical and archaeological monuments include the ruins of antiqueThracian andRoman settlements,Early Christian basilicas, medievalByzantine and Bulgarian towns, monasteries and fortresses, as well as many preserved buildings and whole villages — examples of the architecture from theOttoman period (likeMelnik, theRozhen Monastery andBansko).
A theatre, a library with 345,000 tomes, and an opera house are situated in the provincial centre,Blagoevgrad. There are art galleries inBansko, Blagoevgrad andSandanski. Many small cultural institutions,chitalishta, are dispersed around the province. ThePirin 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.
TheSouthwestern University and theAmerican University in Bulgaria are situated in Blagoevgrad; the latter is the second largest American university campus inEurope and is located in the former headquarters of thecommunist party. Annually the city draws around 10,000 students from the country and abroad. The number of schools in the province is 182.[citation needed]
Unspecified: 40,524 (this figure is not included in the percentage.)
The ethnicBulgarian population in the province also has aregional Macedonian identity, distinct from theethnic Macedonian identity of Macedonians in theRepublic of North Macedonia.[10] According to the 2011 Bulgarian census, there were 561 ethnic Macedonians (0.2%) in the Blagoevgrad Province,[11] out of a total of 1,654 Macedonians in the entire country.[12] During the same year, a total of 429 citizens of theRepublic of North Macedonia resided in the province.[13] Since registering a permanent residence in Bulgaria is a requirement for becoming naturalized in Bulgaria, a total of 18,000Macedonian nationals were registered as residents in theBlagoevgrad Municipality alone by 2017. They are citizens of theRepublic of North Macedonia, but have alsoBulgarian citizenship, based on declared Bulgarian ethnic origin; their number in the whole of the province is higher.[14] However, the vast majority of these people do not permanently reside in the Blagoevgrad Province.
Mother tongues in the province according to 2001 census:[15]306,118Bulgarian (89.7%), 19,819Turkish (5.8%), 9,232Romani (2.7%) and 6004 others and unspecified (1.6%).
MostMuslims in the province areBulgarian Muslims, also calledPomaks. That makes Blagoevgrad Province together withSmolyan Province and the area aroundVelingrad one of the few places where Bulgarian Muslims make up the majority of the Muslims while inBulgaria general most Muslims are fromTurkish background.
Owing to the alpine features and accessible location, the northern and eastern regionof Blagoevgrad Province is also a centre ofwinter sports. The main centre is Bansko which is becoming a leading skiing resort at European level with rapidly rising property prices.
