Yakoruda

Yakoruda Якоруда
Sunset in Yakoruda
Yakoruda Location of Yakoruda
Coordinates: 42°1′N 23°41′E / 42.017°N 23.683°E / 42.017; 23.683
Country	Bulgaria
Provinces (Oblast)	Blagoevgrad
Government
• Mayor	Nuredin Kafelov
Elevation	888 m (2,913 ft)
Population  (15.06.2010)
• Total	6,299
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal Code	2790
Area code	07442
License plate	E

Yakoruda (Bulgarian: Якоруда [jɐkoˈrudɐ]) is a Bulgarian town located in the southwestern part of the country. A part of the Blagoevgrad Province, it is the seat of Yakuroda Municipality which is the north-easternmost in the province. The town lies in the Rhodope Mountains, along the Mesta River, 26 km west of the town of Velingrad. Yakoruda was proclaimed a town on 9 September 1964, having previously been officially classified as a village.

A plurality of the residents are Muslim Bulgarians (Pomaks), the rest being for the most part Eastern Orthodox.

Notable natives are Survivor BG season one runner-up Ahmed Shuganov, Minister of Labour and Social Policy Emiliya Maslarova, and Dr. Anna Petrova-Mayor, Professor of Physics at California State University Chico.

Yakoruda Glacier on Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Yakoruda.

• 
  Entrance road to Yakoruda from Yundola
• 
  View of Yakoruda central parts
• 
  Yakoruda Orthodox church and town school
• 
  Yakoruda Lukoil gas station at the exit road to Yundola

• Unofficial website (in Bulgarian)