{{short description|Blagoevgrad Province of Bulgaria}} [[File:Tevno ezero i Kamenica.jpg|thumb|Tevno Lake in [[Pirin Mountain]]]] [[File:Bulgaria Blagoevgrad Province topographic map.svg|thumb|Pirin Macedonia on the map of Bulgaria]]
'''Pirin Macedonia''' or '''Bulgarian Macedonia'''{{#tag:ref|Despite a history of use by Bulgarian nationalists,<ref name= VMRO-BND>{{cite web |url=http://vmro.bg/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=138 |title=VMRO-BND (Bulgarian National Party) |access-date=21 July 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928021832/http://vmro.bg/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=138 |archive-date=28 September 2007 |url-status=dead |language=bg}}</ref>{{bcn|date=November 2023}} the terms "''Pirin Macedonia''" or "''Bulgarian Macedonia''" are today regarded as offensive by certain Bulgarians,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://cfi.hit.bg/bulgarian/b_5_3.htm |access-date=21 July 2006 |title=Club for Fundamental Initiatives |website=КАК СТАВАХ НАЦИОНАЛИСТ |language=bg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20050117041112/http://cfi.hit.bg/bulgarian/b_5_3.htm |archive-date=17 January 2005 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>{{bcn|date=November 2023}} who assert that it is widely used by [[Macedonist]]s as part of the [[irredentist]] concept of [[United Macedonia]]. However, many people in the country also think of the name as a purely geographical term, which it has historically been. Its use is, thus, controversial.{{cn|date=November 2023}}|group=Note}} ({{langx|bg|Пиринска Македония or Българска Македония|Pirinska Makedoniya or Bulgarska Makedoniya}}), which today is in southwestern [[Bulgaria]], is the third-biggest part of the geographical region of [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]]. This part coincides with the borders of [[Blagoevgrad Province]], as well as the surrounding area of [[Barakovo, Bulgaria|Barakovo]] from [[Kyustendil Province]]. After [[World War I]], [[Strumica]] and the surrounding area were broken away from the region and were ceded to [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia|Yugoslavia]].
It covers an area of about 6,798 km<sup>2</sup>, which is 10.18% of the geographical region of Macedonia. One of the regional centers is [[Blagoevgrad]]. The region borders Kyustendil Province and [[Sofia Province]] to the north, [[Pazardzhik Province]] and [[Smolyan Province]] to the east, [[Greece]] to the south, and [[North Macedonia]] to the west. The population is estimated around 290,000 people.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}
==Etymology== The name of this region comes from the [[Pirin|Pirin Mountains]] which are spread in the central part of Pirin Macedonia. The mountain name Pirin comes from [[Perun]] ({{langx|bg|Перун}}), the highest god of the [[Slavic mythology|Slavic pantheon]] and the god of [[thunder]] and [[lightning]]. In [[Classical antiquity|antiquity]] the range was called ''Orbelos'' by the [[Thracians]], meaning "snow-white mountain" in [[Thracian language]].{{Citation needed| date=October 2020}}
==History== It usually refers to the part of the region of [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]] attributed to the [[Kingdom of Bulgaria]] by the [[Treaty of Bucharest (1913)]]. Until [[World War I]], the region included the areas of present-day [[Strumica Municipality|Strumica]] and [[Novo Selo Municipality]], today in [[North Macedonia]]. After World War I, they were broken away from [[Kingdom of Bulgaria|Bulgaria]] and ceded to the [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]].{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}
==Religion== {{main|Religion in Bulgaria|Eastern Orthodoxy in Bulgaria}} [[File:Church of St Nicholas Melnik Klearchos 2.jpg|thumb|right|220px|[[Church of St Nicholas, Melnik|Saint Nicholas Church]], in [[Melnik, Bulgaria|Melnik]] (12th century)]] The main [[religion]] in the region of Pirin Macedonia is [[Christianity]], with majority of population belonging to the [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church]]. During the early centuries of [[Christianity]] this region belonged to the ancient Roman province of [[Macedonia (Roman province)|Macedonia]], and later it was under the jurisdiction of the [[Archbishopric of Ohrid]], up to the 1767. During the period of [[Ottoman Bulgaria|Ottoman]] rule, a partial [[islamization]] was also recorded. In the middle of the 19th century a Bulgarian national revival was initiated, and the newly created [[Bulgarian Exarchate]] also included the region of Pirin Macedonia.{{Citation needed|date=October 2020}}
==See also== * [[Aegean Macedonia]] * [[Macedonia (region)]] * [[Vardar Macedonia]]
==Notes== {{reflist|group=Note}}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{coord missing|Bulgaria}}
[[Category:Geographical regions of Bulgaria]] [[Category:Macedonia (region)]] [[Category:Historical regions in Bulgaria]]