Pirin Macedonia (region)
It covers an area of about 6,798 km2 which is 10.18% of the geographical region Macedonia. One of the regional centers is Blagoevgrad, also known as Gorna Dzumaya, the old name of the city. The region is bordering with Kyustendil Province and Sofia Province on the north, Pazardzhik Province and Smolyan Province on the east, Greece on the south and Republic of Macedonia on the west. The population is estimated around 325.000 people.
Geography of the Republic of Macedonia
The environment is preserved in areas impractical and sparsely populated. In addition, the country has three major national parks, created under the Yugoslav regime of 1948–1958. The parks of Pelister, Mavrovo and Galičica cover an area of and allow for the protection of natural areas by their exceptional geological setting, their fauna and flora. The ornithological reserve of Ezerani, north of Lake Prespa, is 2,000 hectares big and is home to sixty animals protected by the Bern Convention.