Blagoevgrad (blägô'ĕvgrät), city (1993 pop. 72,853), SW Bulgaria, is a farming region known especially for its tobacco. The city has one of the largest tobacco-fermentation factories in the Balkans. In Thracian times a settlement was established around the warm mineral springs that still attract visitors to Blagoevgrad. The city is named for Dimiter Blagoev, founder of the Bulgarian Communist party.
Blagoevgrad
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| Blagoevgrad Благоевград |
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  Blagoevgrad
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| Coordinates: 42°01′N 23°06′E / 42.017°N 23.1°E | |||
| Country |  Bulgaria |
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| Province (Oblast) |
Blagoevgrad | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Kostadin Paskalev | ||
| Elevation | 410 m (1,345 ft) | ||
| Population (2007-09-14) | |||
| - Total | 76,075 | ||
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | ||
| Postal Code | 2700 | ||
| Area code(s) | 073 | ||
Blagoevgrad (Bulgarian: Благоевград) is а city in southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Province, with a population of about 76,075 (as of 2007[update]). 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
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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 became 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 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", "Cuma-i Zir" in Turkish) 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 refugee 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.
Twin cities
Blagoevgrad is twinned with:[1]
Auburn, United States
Delčevo, Republic of Macedonia- Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
Serres, Greece
Székesfehérvár, Hungary- Thessaloniki, Greece
Nagasaki, Japan
Batumi, Georgia
Gallery
 The centre of the town |
 Houses in Varosha, the old quarter of Blagoevgrad |
 Petition to Roman Emperor Gordian III from the inhabitants of ancient Scaptopara |
 Monument to the Bulgarian revolutionary Gotse Delchev |
External links
- Blagoevgrad Information Portal
- Blagoevgrad Municipality website
- American University in Bulgaria, situated in Blagoevgrad
- South-West Neofit Rilski University
- Struma, local newspaper
- Blagoevgrad travel information
- Blagoevgrad District information
- Pictures from Blagoevgrad
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Learn More
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| Macedonia (region, Europe) |
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 | Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/. Read more |
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