Благоевград

A university town at the foot of Rila and Pirin

Blagoevgrad (until 1950 - Gorna Jumaya) is an administrative center of Southwestern Bulgaria, located in the valley of the Struma River, at the foot of the Rila and Pirin mountains, 101 km south of Sofia. The city is the largest in Southwest Bulgaria and its economic and cultural center. The area has been inhabited since ancient times. Around the 3rd century BC here arose a Hellenistic Thracian settlement known as Skaptopara (from the Thracian "skaptos" - dug, and "para" - spring), which developed around the warm mineral springs, which still function today. When Thrace was incorporated into the Roman Empire (46 AD), Skaptopara became a balneological and commercial center. An epigraphic monument is known - the Scaptoparian inscription of 238 - a request of the inhabitants to the emperor Gordian III for protection from tax abuses, which is one of the most valuable testimonies of life in the Roman provinces. During the Ottoman Empire, the city was known as Yukari Jumaya (Upper Jumaya) and was an important market center. The Varosha quarter, preserved to this day, is a typical Renaissance neighborhood with Renaissance buildings from the 18th–19th centuries, including the Church of the Introduction of the Virgin (1840–1844) — a small copy of the Rila Monastery. After the Balkan Wars (1912–1913), Gorna Jumaya was included in the borders of Bulgaria with the Treaty of Bucharest (August 10, 1913). Numerous Bulgarian refugees from Aegean and Vardar Macedonia settled in the city, which shaped its unique cultural identity — a mixture of Pirin, Macedonian and all-Bulgarian traditions. The Turkish population is largely emigrating. In 1950, the city was renamed Blagoevgrad after the socialist activist Dimitar Blagoev. Today, Blagoevgrad is one of the most important educational centers in Bulgaria with two universities: Southwestern University "Neofit Rilski" (1976) — with over 10,000 students, and American University in Bulgaria (AUBG, 1991) — the only American university in Southeastern Europe, based on the liberal arts model. Thanks to the student community (over 15,000 students in a town of 70,000 inhabitants), the city has a young, dynamic and cosmopolitan atmosphere. The Bistrica River, passing through the center, has been turned into a beautiful park area. Blagoevgrad is a starting point for the Rila Monastery (45 km) — the spiritual symbol of Bulgaria and a UNESCO site, as well as for the Rila and Pirin National Parks — two of the most beautiful mountain ranges in the Balkans with high-quality ski resorts (Bansko — 60 km). The city is also known for the "Pirin-Spring" festival, which gathers folk ensembles from the entire region.