Sandanski
| Sandanski (Сандански) | |||
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| Basic data | |||
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| State : |
 Bulgaria
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| Oblast : | Blagoevgrad | ||
| Residents : | 25,054 (December 31, 2016) | ||
| Area : | 26.9 km² | ||
| Population density | 931.4 inhabitants / km² | ||
| Coordinates : | 41 ° 34 ′ N , 23 ° 17 ′ E | ||
| Height : | 296 m | ||
| Postal code : | 2800 | ||
| Telephone code : | (+359) 0746 | ||
| License plate : | E. | ||
| administration | |||
| Mayor : | Andon Totew | ||
| Website : | www.sandanskibg.com | ||
Sandanski [ sɐnˈdanski ] ( Bulgarian Сандански ) is a town in southwestern Bulgaria at the foot of the Pirin Mountains in the Sandanska Bistrica valley, not far from the town of Melnik .
Sandanski is located in the Blagoevgrad Oblast and is the third largest town in this Oblast after Blagoevgrad and Petritsch . Sandanski is the administrative seat of the municipality of the same name.
location
Sandanski is located in the Sandanski-Petritsch basin, as if in an amphitheater, on the southwestern foothills of the Pirin Mountains, on the lower reaches of the small river Sandanska Bistrica.
The distance to Sofia and Thessaloniki is about the same. The city lies on the European route 79. The railway line Sofia – Kulata – Thessaloniki also runs through the city. Kulata (a very small village) was the Bulgarian border station to Greece - until Bulgaria's accession to the EU and the associated loss of internal borders.
history
The place has had different names throughout history:
- Medius (after the Thracian tribe of the Medi) - the Thracian settlement name Medius means "between the three mountains" (Pirin, Ograschden (Bulgarian Огражден) and Alibotusch (Bulgarian Алиботуш)).
- Desudava - Roman
- Sweti Wratsch (or Sweti Vrac) - Slavic - named after the holy brothers Kosma and Damjan (Козма и Дамян) - folk healers / herbalists or doctors.
- Sandanski - since 1947 - The name of the city is dedicated to the revolutionary Jane Sandanski (Bulgarian Яне Сандански, 1872–1915), a revolutionary of the Bulgarian Macedonia-Adrianople Revolutionary Committee .
Because of the favorable climatic conditions and the occurrence of numerous thermal springs with different temperatures (80 springs, 42–81 ° С, year-round swimming in the open air), the place has been settled since ancient times. It is one of the oldest settlements in the Balkans and was already inhabited during the Trojan War (13th century BC).
The settlement next to the mineral springs originated in the 2nd millennium BC. Until the 6th century AD, the city was one of the first Christian bishoprics in Bulgaria. The city was destroyed during the barbarian invasions at the end of the 6th century. Since then it has been called Sweti Vrac - in memory of the brothers Kosma and Damjan. She kept this name until 1947.
The old city lies entirely in the area of the present city. The archaeological finds come from different periods. The city experienced its heyday in the 4th to 6th centuries. A large number of public buildings and early Christian basilicas have been uncovered from this period , including an early Christian bishop's complex. The discovered decorative mosaic carpets are interesting. Some of them are exhibited “ in situ ” in the Sandanski City Archaeological Museum.
Since 2005, the city has given its name to Sandanski Point , a headland of Livingston Island in Antarctica.
climate
With an annual average temperature of 13.9 ° C in all seasons, the city is the warmest place in Bulgaria, the sunshine duration is approx. 2,500 hours per year. Because of its mild climate and numerous mineral springs , Sandanski is a popular health resort and recreation area . The seasonal and daily temperature fluctuations are relatively small. In winter there is very rarely snow or fog.
Excursion destinations
- Melnik
- Roschen Monastery (near Melnik)
- Rila Monastery
- Melnik pyramids
- Bansko
sons and daughters of the town
- Ratko Janev (1939–2019), Macedonian nuclear physicist
- Stilijan Ivanov (* 1968), film director and screenwriter
- Ilijan Mizanski (* 1985), national soccer player
Web links
- Travel information (in many languages)
- Images by Sandanski