Blagoevgrad Province

41°45′N 23°15′E / 41.750°N 23.250°E / 41.750; 23.250

Blagoevgrad Province Област Благоевград
Province
Location of Blagoevgrad Province in Bulgaria
Country	Bulgaria
Capital	Blagoevgrad
Municipalities	14
Area
• Total	6,449.47 km2 (2,490.15 sq mi)
Elevation	555 m (1,821 ft)
Population  (Census February 2011)
• Total	323,552
• Density	50/km2 (130/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
License plate	E
Website	www.bl.government.bg

Blagoevgrad Province is a province (oblast) of southwestern Bulgaria. The administrative centre is Blagoevgrad.

The province has 14 municipalities with 12 towns. Significant towns include Bansko, Gotse Delchev, Melnik, Petrich, Razlog, Sandanski, and Simitli.

There are several mountains, or parts of mountains, in the province. These are Rila, Pirin, the Rhodopes, Slavyanka, Belasitsa, Vlahina, Maleshevo, Ograzhden and Stargach. There are two major rivers, Struma River and Mesta River.

Municipalities

The Blagoevgrad province has 14 municipalities. The following table shows the names of each municipality, the main town (in bold) or village, and the population of each as of 2011.

Notable people from Blagoevgrad Province

• Paisiy Hilendarski (1722–1773)
• Neofit Rilski (1793–1881)
• Georgi Izmirliev (1851–1876)
• Boris Sarafov (1872–1907)
• Jane Sandanski (1872–1915)
• Nikola Vaptsarov (1909–1942)
• Georgi Pirinski (1948)
• Rosen Plevneliev (1964)

References