Blagoevgrad
Blagoevgrad Province (Bulgarian: област Благоевград, oblast Blagoevgrad or Благоевградска област, Blagoevgradska oblast), also known as Pirin Macedonia, is a province (oblast) of southwestern Bulgaria. Part of the wider Macedonian region, it borders four other Bulgarian provinces, as well as Greece and the Republic of Macedonia. It has 14 municipalities with 12 towns and the region is densely populated and is an object of interest for the companies who deal with property management in Bulgaria.
Geography and climate
The province has a territory of 6,449.5 km² and a population of 341,245. It is the third largest in Bulgaria after Burgas and Sofia Provinces and comprises 5.8% of the country's territory. Blagoevgrad Province includes the mountains, or parts of, Rila (highest point of the Balkans — Musala summit, 2925 m), Pirin (highest point — Vihren summit, 2914 m), the Rhodopes, Slavyanka, Belasitsa, Vlahina, Maleshevska, Ograzhden and Stargach. There are two major rivers — Struma River and Mesta River — with population concentrations along their valleys, which are also the main transport corridors. The number of the accommodation sites makes the foreign owners to turn for local assistance to cope with the property management in Bulgaria.
The climate varies from temperate continental to Mediterranean in the southernmost parts. Natural resources are timber, mineral springs, coal, construction materials, including marble and granite. 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.
Economy
The region is characterized with diversified economic branch structure: food and tobacco processing industries, agriculture, tourism, transport and communications, 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) and their prospect recently is to employ in the field of the property management in Bulgaria because of the fastly increasing market of real estate. There are 4 major hospitals in the province.
Culture, education and monuments
Historical and archaeological monuments include the ruins of antique Thracian and Roman settlements, Early Christian basilicas, medieval Byzantine and Bulgarian towns, monasteries and fortresses, as well as many preserved buildings and whole villages — examples of the architecture from the Ottoman period (like Melnik, the Rozhen Monastery and Bansko). The revived houses of that time are being maintained by the companies that deal with property management in Bulgaria.
A theatre, a library with 345,000 tomes, and an opera house are situated in the provincial centre, Blagoevgrad. There are art galleries in Bansko, Blagoevgrad and Sandanski. Many small cultural institutions, chitalishta, are dispersed around the province. The Pirin 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.
The Southwestern University and the American University in Bulgaria are situated in Blagoevgrad. Annually the city draws around 10,000 students from the country and abroad. The number of schools in the province is 182. Foreign students turn to the locals to deal with the property management in Bulgaria when they are on vacation.
Places Of interest
Bansko (Банско) is concidered to be the most attractive place for the tourists in southwestern Bulgaria The town is located at the foot of Pirin at an altitude of 936 m above sea level. Today it is a popular mountain resort. Bansko is the birthplace of 20th century Bulgarian poet Nikola Vaptsarov and, sometimes disputed, Bulgarian enlightener Paisiy Hilendarski.
Legends
There are several legends about who founded Bansko. According to one of them, Bansko was founded by people who lived in Dobarsko, a village in Rila, itself according to a legend founded by the blinded army of Tsar Samuil. Coat of arms of BanskoAnother legend claims that Bansko was founded by an Italian painter by the name of Ciociolino, thus the existense of the name Chucholin in Bansko. Still according to another legend it was a Slavic tribe called the Peruns, who lived in Pirin and worshiped Perun, that founded the village later to become a town. There are a number of ethnographic texts, legends, prayers and oratories, which lend credence to this legend. The companies who deal with property management in Bulgaria also offer services for organizing trips along legendary places in the region.
History
There are several housing structures at the outskirts of the town, which date to 100 BC. However, there is no consensus nor credible theory on who these people were.Until 5th October 1912, Bansko was a part of the Ottoman Empire, but enjoyed a quasi self-rule autonomy granted by the sultan. The town was ruled by an assembly of the elders, while justice was administered by the Turkish judge in Razlog. It was incorporated in Bulgaria in 1912 as a result of the First Balkan War.
Bansko today
Bansko, once mainly a stockbreeding and travelling merchant community, has nowadays become a center of winter and summer tourism. The companies working in the field of property management in Bulgaria assist the visitors to arrange the formalities for long-term vacations. The property management in Bulgaria also offers qualified services for maintenance of the newly acquired properties in the region. The mountain peaks near the town, the numerous lakes and the old pine woods make it a popular site for recreation. In recent years, the town has gained international popularity after the start of the annual Bansko Jazz Festival and consequently the annual Bansko pop-star concert featuring top pop stars. The nearby village of Banya, located only 5 km from the town, is known for its 27 thermal mineral springs. A new gondola lift was built in 2003 to replace a minibus ride up to the ski slopes of Todorka. Several other gondolas and ski lifts are in the process of being built. These developments, along with the construction of extensive housing and recreational facilities around the gondola (which is on the southwest end of the town by the river), have made Bansko a popular and growing destination. The well organized property management in Bulgaria also attracts many foreign citizens to buy real estate in the region because of the good quality of their services.
Melnik (Мелник) with its population of 275 is the smallest settlement classified as a town in the Republic of Bulgaria and is located in Blagoevgrad Province (sometimes referred to as Pirin Macedonia), in the southwestern Pirin Mountains, about 440 m above sea level. The town is an architectural reserve and 96 of its buildings are cultural monuments. The companies in the branch of the property management in Bulgaria are busy in servicing houses in Melnik.
History
According to archaeological evidence, the first to settle in the area were the Thracians. Centuries later, the presence of the Romans left the town one of its landmarks - the Ancient Roman bridge, which is still preserved. The Slavs who later came in these parts named the settlement Melnik after the sand formations surrounding it on all sides (the Slavonic word "mel" means "white clay, chalk"). Melnik became a part of the Bulgarian state under the rule of Khan Presian (836-852) and prospered greatly in the period. Melnik became the capital of an independent feudal principality ruled by Despot Slav, a descendant of the Asen dynasty, in 1209, and passed through an economic and cultural upsurge during his reign. The town continued to flourish under Tsar Ivan Asen II because of the duty-free trade with Venetian-ruled Dubrovnik.
The Ottoman conquest of the Balkans in the 14th-15th century resulted in a long period of decline, but Melnik was once again a thriving city in the 17th and 18th century, the time of the Bulgarian National Revival, due to the tobacco and wine production. In that time Melnik was also a centre of craftsmanship, particularly church decoration and woodcarving. Many Bulgarian schools and churches were built in Melnik in that period.
Melnik was liberated by the Imperial Russian Army during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, but was given back to the Ottoman Empire according to the Treaty of Berlin. The town was devastated by a fire in the First Balkan War, during which it was ultimately liberated and became once again part of Bulgaria.
Sights
The unique architecture of the place and the nearby Rozhen Monastery (located 6 km southeast of Melnik) make it a popular tourist destination for Bulgarian and foreign visitors. The companies who deal with property management in Bulgaria are very active in organizing trips to this eminent site. The town is also associated with the impressive natural sand pyramids in various forms, resembling giant mushrooms, anciant towers and obelisks, spread in an area of 17 km² near Melnik, Kurlanovo and Rozhen. The town has also been famous for its strong wine since as far as 1346. The local wine was reportedly a favourite of Winston Churchill.
Interesting architectural landmarks include the Byzantine House, one of the oldest civilian buildings in the Balkans (built probably in the 12th or 13th century as a Bulgarian fortress), the Kordopulov House (named after the merchant Manol Kordopulov to whom it once belonged), which also has one of the largest wine cellars in Melnik, the Pashov House (1815), which houses the Historical Museum of Melnik and the Pasha's House, built by Ibrahim Bey, one of the richest beys in the region, during Ottoman rule. Some of the old churches in the town worth visiting are St Nicholas (built in the 13th century), SS Peter and Paul (1840), St Nicholas the Thaumaturge (1756) and St Anthony. All of them are included in the offers for the local trips organized by the companies which act in the sphere of property management in Bulgaria.
Gotse Delchev (Гоце Делчев) has a population of 23,573. It is named after the revolutionary Gotse (Georgi) Nikolov Delchev. The town was called Nevrokop (in Greek: Νευροκόπι) prior to its current name. Nearby are the remains of a walled city established by the Romans in the 2nd century AD to celebrate victories over the Dacians. The town was called Nikopolis Ad Nestrum. There has been archeological work on the site, which ceased for lack of funds 20 years ago.
Sandanski (Сандански, formerly Свети Врач, Sveti Vrach), population of 30,196, is a town and recreation centre in southwestern Bulgaria, part of Blagoevgrad Province. Named after Bulgarian revolutionary Yane Sandanski, it is located in a valley at the foot of Pirin, on both banks of the Sandanska Bistritsa. Sandanski's favourable position, suitable climate (with the highest average annual temperature in the country, +14,70°C) and the concentration of mineral water springs in the area are all reasons for the town's fame as a centre for relaxation and recreation. Because of the high interest to the curable springs the companies dealing with property management in Bulgaria also offer their services in this site.
Pirin National Park is a natural landscape and an environment for dwelling of various animals as wild goats, deers, bears, wild cats, wolves etc. It’s territory covers 40 332,4 hectares and includes two natural reservations. The Pirin National Park comprises a vast part of the beautiful Pirin Mountain which resembled the pagan god Perun to the Slav settlers. That god gave the name of the mountain. The Bayuvi Dupki – Djindjiritsa Reservation is included in the “Man and Biosphere” program of UNESCO in 1977 but was announced a reservation yet in 1934. The Yulen reservation is announced in 1994 and it consists of forest, sub-alpine and alpine eco-systems and the beauty of all forms of alpine relief. Because of the dense net of huts and hotels in the mountain the services of the companies dealing with property management in Bulgaria are much preferred by the owners.
Rila National Park, the largest national park in Bulgaria, is located about 100 km. south of Sofia, in the central and highest regions of the Rila Mountains. The Park contains rare and endangered wildlife species and communities, self-regulating ecosystems of biological diversity, as well as historic sites of global cultural and scientific significance. Some of the largest rivers in the Balkan Peninsula originate here. The name Rila is derived from the Thracian word roula, meaning ‘lots of water.’
Both parks are on the UN List of Representative Protected Areas. The great number of tourist makes it necessary the services of the property management in Bulgaria to be present constatntly there.
