Kresna ( bg, Кресна ) is a town and the seat of

Kresna Municipality Kresna Municipality is a municipality in Blagoevgrad Province in southwestern Bulgaria. The administrative center is the town of Kresna. Towns and villages The following towns and villages are located in Kresna Municipality: * Kresna ( Крес� ...

Blagoevgrad Province Blagoevgrad Province ( bg, област Благоевград, ''oblast Blagoevgrad'' or Благоевградска област, ''Blagoevgradska oblast''), also known as Pirin Macedonia or Bulgarian Macedonia ( bg, Пиринска Маке� ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. It is located in the southwestern part of Bulgaria.

Geography

The town of Kresna lies in

Sandanski–Petrich Valley Sandanski–Petrich Valley ( bg, Санданско-Петричка котловина, Sandansko-Petrichka kotlovina) is situated in southwestern Bulgaria along the river Struma and its right tributary Strumeshnitsa, with a very small part of ...

at the north end of the

Kresna Gorge Kresna Gorge ( bg, Кресненско дефиле) is a steep valley in south-western Bulgaria, stretching about 18 km. The gorge has been formed by the Struma River, which flows from the Vitosha mountains. Kresna gorge has a rich biodiversity, ...

of the

Struma River The Struma or Strymónas ( bg, Струма ; el, Στρυμόνας ; tr, (Struma) Karasu , 'black water') is a river in Bulgaria and Greece. Its ancient name was Strymṓn (Greek: Στρυμών ). Its drainage area is , of which in Bulgaria, ...

at the foot of

Pirin , photo=Pirin-mountains-Bansko.jpg , photo_caption=Pirin scenery in winter , country= Bulgaria, , parent= , geology= granite, gneiss, marble, limestone , area_km2=2585 , range_coordinates = , length_km=80 , length_orientation= north-s ...

mountain. The Melo hills are striking sandstone formations. There are also larger sandstone hills near Melnik, the

Melnik Earth Pyramids The Melnik Earth Pyramids ( bg, Мелнишки пирамиди) are rock formations, known as hoodoos, situated at the foothills of the Pirin mountain range in south-western Bulgaria. They span an area of 17 km2 near the town of Melnik, ...

. The old name of Kresna is Pirin.

Transportation

Kresna lies on the route E79, which leads from

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

to the Greek border.

Namesakes

Kresna Gully Kresna Gully (Kresnenska Padina \'kre-snen-ska pa-'di-na\) is a heavily crevassed depression in Perunika Glacier extending 2.25 km westwards from Rezen Knoll in eastern Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The gully ...

Livingston Island Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of Antarctic islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was the first land discovered south of 60 ...

in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 195 ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

is named after Kresna. Towns in Bulgaria Populated places in Blagoevgrad Province {{Blagoevgrad-geo-stub