Capital: Kyustendil
Population: 173,889
Area: 3,084.30 km²
Municipalities: 9
Time zone: EET; (UTC+2; UTC+3 in summer)
Governor: Lyubomir Dermanski

General Information
The Region of Kyustendil is situated in the South-Western part of Bulgaria, extends over an area of 3084.30 sq. km (Constituting 2.7% of the total territory of the Republic of Bulgaria), and has a population of 173 889.  It borders the Regions of Sofia, Pernik and Blagoevgrad, while to the west; its limits coincide with the state borders between Bulgaria and the FYROM, and Bulgaria and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The administrative, commercial and cultural center of the Region is Kyustendil. The region features diverse surface relief - fertile valleys and canyons, separated by hillocks and mountains which is suitable for building villas for rent in Bulgaria. The northern and western parts of the territory form the so-called "Kyustendilska kraiste" (Kyustendil Cornerland), and include parts of the cross-border Milevska, Chudinska, Zemenska and - to the east - Konjavska mountains. To the south, the Kyustendilsko kraiste reaches as far as the valleys of the Dragovistitza and Bistritza rivers, as well as the Lissetz Mountain. The southern part of the region includes massifs of the Osogovo, Vlahina and North-Western Rila mountains, embracing the Kamenitza, Kyustendil and Dupnitza lowerlands.
The region is abundant with granites, clays, fossils, and ores. Polymetal ores are excavated in Ossogovo; brown coals in the famous Bobov dol mines. Clay deposits are located at the villages of Chetirtzi, Jahinovo and Dragovistitza. The region, however, is most famous for its numerous mineral water springs: hot mineral water springs in Kyustendil, Sapareva banja, the villages of Nevestino and Chetirtzi. Real marvels of nature that can be discovered in the region are the Stobski piramidi (Stob pyramids). Nearby the tourists can be accommodated in many villas for rent in Bulgaria.
For the most part, the climate is trans-continental, but at higher altitudes it is mountainous. The main drainage river is the Struma whose subsidiaries are the Trekljanska, Dragovistitza, Bistritza, Slokostitza, Novoselska, Dzherman and Rila rivers. Subterran waters level is relatively high. Near the village of Kamenichka Skakavitza, the Golemi dol river forms a 70-meter-high waterfall. The Djakovo, Bersin, Drenov dol and Bagrentzi artificial lakes (dams) are chiefly used for irrigation purposes. Soil composition is most favorable for the traditionally-developed fruit-growing.
Forest vegetation is mostly deciduous, although coniferous forests are also present. In the Gabra natural reservation (area: 89.5 metric hektars) houses the last remaining black-pine trees.
The Region of Kyustendil includes 9 municipalities: Kyustendil, Dupnitza, Bobov dol, Sapareva banja, Rila, Kocherinovo, Nevestino, Boboshevo, Trekljano with a total of 182 settlements. The regional administrative center is the town of Kyustendil situated in its Southwestern part: the Kyustendil lowerland. The town also serves as the administrative center of the municipality of Kyustendil (with an area of 923 sq.km, this Municipality represents 30л2% of the total territory of the Region), with a population of 73 346, of whom 51 300 are residents of the town area. Four main transport routes pass through Kyustendil: from the FYROM on the Skopje-Sofia high-way; from the FRY on the Nis-Bosilegrad-Kyustendil high-way; through Dupnitza and Kyustendil passes the oldest commercial road that for centuries has linked Constantinople and the Adriatic Sea. Kyustendil has managed to preserve is historical, ecological and cultural heritage. It is a contemporary Bulgarian administrative center, whose future is mostly seen in the development of cultural tourism, and modern rehabilitation resort centers by the hot mineral water springs.

History
Pre-historic excavations
The first historical artefacts recovered on the territory of the Kyustendil Region were found in the excavations of an old Roman villa in 1904.  Later, when the rail-road was constructed in the vicinity of the Mursalevo village a Neolithic-age pre-hostoric settlement was discovered. Nonetheless, systematic archeological surveys did not start until 1977 when, at Sapareva banja, the excavations of a Neolithic-age ancient settlement commenced.  In 1978 it was ascertained that the big cave near the village of Ilija had been inhabited in the Copper and early-Iron Ages.
Although the archaeological excavations started relatively late, they quickly put together the parts of the archeological map in the region.  The area of upper Struma was part of the main road linking the Sea of Murmora and the Danube settlements in the Neolithic and Eneolithic Ages (6000-5000 years B.C.). The region also became the focal point of a number of cultures, as well as an important administrative center on the Balkans. Companies that offer villas for rent in Bulgaria are able to satisfy all the demands of the visitors here.
Kyustendil region in the Ancient Ages
In the Ancient Ages the Upper Struma region (Kyustendil and Dupnitza) were settled by the Dentelets Thracian tribe.  Numerous accounts by the ancient historians testify to the important role of that tribe in Western Thrace. At that time two major settlements were established: Pautalius (today's Kyustendil) and Germania (today's Sapareva Banja).  The important road arteries that intersected in Upper-Struma area fostered the development of important commercial and cultural contacts and transactions.  Evidence for this fact is the recovered Hellenistic Age coins.
With the advent of the Roman conquest, the Dentelets' lands were incorporated into the Roman strategies (roman administrative regions) of Lower and Mountainous Denteliticas, later merged in one strategy.  In the I-II Centuries B.C., Pautalia grew into one of the most important administrative, commercial and cultural centers in the region: in the then newly-created Province of Inner Dacia, the Roman Empire considered Pautalius to be the third most important town.  The passage of the vital Serdika-Pautalia-Stoba (Sea of Murmora) road through its territory favored the development of ore-mining, crafts, agriculture and intensive external relations with other ancient centers.
Although the town was itself surrounded by city-walls, in an attempt to counter the increasing barbaric raids, the Romans erected the formidable Hissarluka fortress on the hill by Pautalius.  This strong fort later survived through the Dark Ages.  The second-in-importance ancient settlement in the region was the town of Germania which, for a period, served as garrison center for a cohort of Roman auxiliaries guarding Pautalia.
The numerous remnants from settlements and fortifications in the region are evidence of the well-developed urban and defence systems: marketplaces in Rila, Konjavo, Bagrentzi, Tavalichevo, and other places; and well-preserved fortifications in the mountain areas.  According to the necropili found, the population in the Roman Age favored the Thracian burrial custom: various excavations of Thracian mounds have discovered exhuberant burrials of high officials with their armor and chariots.
At that time, Pautalius was unique for its religious life: the Asclepius (Roman God of Medicine) temple was a sanctuary of regional importance.  At the village of Kopilovtzi, ancient temples of Hera and Zeus have been discovered.  Apart from the deities from the Roman Pantheon, several other Eastern religious cults were also professed, of which Mitra was the most-widely revered deity. The historic remains in the region of Kyustendil are objects of interest by many foreign tourists who stay in villas for rent in Bulgaria.
Kyustendil in the Dark Ages
In all probability, Pautalius was badly-damaged when the Slavic tribes invaded the Balkans, although we have no data to ascertain when and which tribes settled the area, ousting the Romans and Thracians.  It is also not clear what happened to the town and its inhabitants.  Most likely, the town was taken and pillaged, and its population was massacred by the Slavic conquerors.  All we know for certain is that, after 553 A.D., the name Pautalius is no more found in the annals.  The town reappears much later, and by the name of Velbuzhd.
It is difficult to ascertain the origin and meaning of the town's second name: Velbuzhd.  Historians speculate that it was named by the chieftain of the tribe that conquered it, since we know this was apparently common practice among the Slavs.  It is known that between VI and VIII Centuries A.D. the town was part of the Byzantine Empire, and the local Slavs were subjects to the great Basileus. They, however, did not particularly like that and rebelled on a regular basis. Historic sources do not provide data about the exact time and circumstances of the joining of Velbuzhd and its region to the Bulgarian Kingdom, but historians speculate that most likely occurred under the rule of Khan Presian (836-852). The Slavic name of the town, Velbuzhd, is first found in the official Fief Act done by Emperor Basilius II in 1019 A.D.
During the period of ripe feudalism, the town occupied a prominent place in the commerce of Western Bulgaria, maintaining relations with Dubrovnik, Venice and others.  Sources also define it as an important clerical (bishopric) center, evidence of which are the numerous churches and monasteries preserved to date.  To XIII-XIV C. date the richest findings about the world-famous Rila Monastery, whose history between its foundation and the XIV C. is closely associated with Saint Neophyte of Rila, patron-saint of the Bulgarian people (presumably born between 876-880, i.e. one decade after the Baptism of Bulgarians).
Closely related to the region's history is the Battle of Velbuzhd that took place in 1330 between the warring Bulgarians and Serbs.  Legend has it that, following a treachery by the Serbs, the Bulgarians were vanquished and King Mihail Shishman himself was slain.  At the end of the XIV C. the South-Western Bulgarian lands formed a semi-autonomous territorial entity, Velbuzhd Principality, headed by Despot (feudal lord) Constantine, son of Dean and son-in-law to King Ivan Alexander.  The Principality of Constantine is perhaps the last Bulgarian land to fall under the strikes of the Ottoman Turks' conquest.  Eversince the end of the XIV C. and the beginning of the XV C. the name of the town was changed to Kyustendil (a literal translation of the phrase "Konstantine's Land").  At that time, following the bloody suppression of a popular revolt against the Ottoman rule, the Turkish Sultan liquidated the relative autonomy of the region and it finally became an integral part of the Turkish Balkan Empire.  The Medieval Velbuzhd sandjak (Turkish fiefdom) became the third largest feudal entity in the Empire.
Kyustendil Region during the National Revival
The successful assaults of the Austrian and Magyar troops in 1660 and 1637 against Kyustendil and the surrounding villages (in the first of these campaigns, the foreign armies were joined by local resistance guerrillas, led by the fearsome Strahil Vojvoda), together with the Karposh Rebellion in 1689 in South-Western Bulgaria signified the yearns of local residents for liberation and self-governance.  The mass resistance against the Turkish administration found expression in the numerous guerrilla parties that harassed the Turkish garrisons, interfered with tax-collection and administration, as well as raided Turkish outposts and settlements.  Surviving to this day are legendary and authentic stories about the local “vojvodi” (guerrilla party leaders and heroes), most famous of whom are Iljo Markov (Vojvoda), and Rumena Vojvoda (a female).
Iljo Vojvoda actively took part in all stages of the struggle for national liberation and overthrown of Turkish rule: between 1850 and 1861, he terrified the Turkish landlords in the Malashevska and Rodopi mountains.  In 1862 he joined the First Bulgarian Legia (Resistance Army-in-Exile) under Rakovski, and served shoulder to shoulder with the future national hero, Vassil Levski.  During the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878) that resulted in the establishment of the new Bulgarian Kingdom, he commanded a major Bulgarian detachment that aided the army of General Gurko.  The region also yielded forces for the national April Revolt (1876): Hristo G. Medzhediev joined the guerrilla forces of Panayot Volov, and Nacho Velichkov served as Benkovski’s dispatch-courier.  With the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War, many Kyustendil-residents joined the ranks of the Opulchenie (Irregular Resistance Force) that, together with the advancing Russian forces, overtook Kyustendil a few days before the armistice was signed in Adrianople. Some of the houses built in the times of the National Revival are announced monuments of culture. Most of them are still inhabited and some of them are being offered as villas for rent in Bulgaria by certain companies.
Kyustendil Region after the establishment of the independent Bulgarian Kingdom
Following the restoration of the independent Bulgarian state, Kyustendil Region became the arena of major migration processes that significantly influenced the urban and rural development in the region.  Many parts of the area were settled by Bulgarians, fleeing the Turkish rule in Macedonia which was left under Ottoman occupation by the decisions of the Congress of Berlin.  The first commercial enterprises established in the area were the Bobov dol coal-mines (established 1891), the Balabanovi brothers’ lumber-mills in the village of Barakovo (1903), and the paper-production factory, founded in 1928.
In the period 1944-1980, Kyustendil region developed a predominantly industrial structure, whereas the industrial-to-agriculture output ratio was estimated at 86:14.  The breakdown of industrial production was as follows: 33.5% in metal works and heavy machinery, 27% for the food industry, 15,7% for electrical power production, and 10,4% for the chemical industry.  Prominent place in the industrial structure took the coal-mining with its 5,8%, as well as the paper mill in Kocherinovo, lumber-mill in Dupnitza, shoe production in Kyustendil and Dupnitza.
For that period, agriculture in the region concentrated in fruit-growing, tobacco-growing and stock-breeding.  Fruit-growing is best developed in the Kyustendil area where the Fruit-Growing Institute and the Tobacco Research Center were established.  Forests cover approximately 40% of the Region’s total territory, and are supervised by Forestry outposts. The abundance of wood material supports the companies that build villas for rent in Bulgaria and partly in the region of Kystendil.
With regard to the infrastructure condition, the total mileage of roads in the region, in 1979, was 1182 km. (3.24% of the total road mileage for Bulgaria).  Major road transport hubs are the towns of Kyustendil and Dupnitza.  Two important rail-ways cross the region: Sofia-Blagoevgrad-Kulata and Sofia-Radomir-Gyueshevo.  The Velbuzhd mountain pass provides direct connection to Macedonia.  There are two cross-border check-points in the Region: “Gyueshevo” (with Macedonia) and “Oltomantzi” (with Yugoslavia).

Regional Plan for Development of Regional of Kyustendil
The Region with administrative center – Kyustendil (hereinafter Region of Kyustendil) is situated within the South-Western Planning Region.  The Region of Kyustendil extends over an area of 3.084,30 sq. km., constituting 2.7% of the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria.  To the North, it borders the Region of Pernik, to the East – Sofia Region, to the South – Blagoevgrad Region, and its western boundary coincides with the state borders with the Republic of Macedonia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
From a geo-strategic point of view, it is important to note that the Region falls into the cross-border cooperation area with the Republic of Macedonia, as well as in the contact zone of the cross-border cooperation territory with Greece.  The town of Kyustendil, administrative center of the Region, is located 86 km. away from Sofia, only 23 km. from the state border with the Republic of Macedonia, and 30 km. from the state border with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.  The traditionally important route: Western Europe – Balkans – Asia Minor has passed through the Region of Kyustendil since the Dark Ages.
The territory of the Region is crossed by International Transport Corridors (ITC) No.4 and No.8.  The development of ITC No.4 and the construction of the Danube bridge at Vidin (an element of the National Plan for Development) further increase the opportunities for cross-border cooperation and impact, based on optimized communication networks.
The Region enjoys rich cultural and historical heritage from the ancient past, through the Dark Ages to the epoch of the National Revival. Kyustendil Region is also characterized by extremely favorable conditions for the development of tourism and cross-border cooperation in the fields of social service, economic development, SME support, and other activities such as offering villas for rent in Bulgaria.
The total population of the Region is 170.559 of whom 50.8% female; 96% are ethnic Bulgarians, 0.2% ethnic Turks and 3.34% - Gypsies.  Most populous is the central Municipality of Kyustendil, and the least populous is the Municipality of Trekljano.  Urbanization is predominant, and there is a general tendency for negative demographic growth, with the possible exception of the Municipality of Bobov Dol.  Administratively, the Region is divided into 9 municipalities, 140 mayoralties, and 182 settlements.  As of 30 June 2000, 78.337 of the total population have been economically active, of whom 13.611 are unemployed (17.37%), whereas the highest unemployment rates are registered in the Municipalities of Kyustendil (20,87%), Nevestino (24,16%), and Trekljano (19.6%).  Lowest unemployment rates are enjoyed by the Municipalities of Bobov Dol (7.24%), and Dupnitza and Kocherinovo (15-16%).
The Regional Strategy for Development of the Region of Kyustendil employs the fundamental principles of strategic planning.  The Municipal Strategies for Development served as the bases for defining the most critical problems, general vision as well as the main strategic primary and secondary goals, whose successful accomplishment holds the key to the future sustainable development of Kyustendil Region.
In its core, the Regional Strategy for Development is based on a comprehensive analysis of all factors, bearing impact on regional development: geo-strategic, natural and anthropogenic resources, social and economic parameters, eco-systems, cultural and historical traditions, as well as on insuring optimal conditions for their sustainable development through adequate regional planning.
The foregoing SWOT analysis clearly leads to the conclusion that the future development of Kyustendil Region is feasible by means of a universal strategy intermixed with aggressive tendencies. This analysis and subsequent conclusion served as the basis for outlining the Strategy and Priorities for the Development of Kyustendil Region. 
The Region of Kyustendil – the “Orchard of Bulgaria,” a cultural and balneological center, an area attractive for tourism, sustainable and multi-dimensionally developed, is benefiting broad-based cross-border cooperation both with neighboring regions and the rest of the world. Tourists book rooms in the well developed net of hotels and villas for rent in Bulgaria.
In pursuit of this vision, our main strategic goal will be: Creating favorable conditions for the balanced and sustainable development through economic and social progress and the transformation of the Region into an attractive area for living, career-building, investment, and cross-border cooperation. The priorities that have been identified are: Achievement of a stable economic growth and improving human development index; Development of cross-border cooperation and tourism; Rehabilitation and sustainable development of fruit-growing and agriculture; Building a wide net of villas for rent in Bulgaria.
The following are some of the main primary and secondary objectives that have been set: Opening Kyustendil Region for national and cross-border cooperation;
Establishment of a viable economic structure, and development of infrastructures corresponding to European standards;
Development of social infrastructure, improvement of living standard through introduction of alternative employment;
Preservation of environmental resources and sustainable ecological equilibrium.

Strategic Primary and Secondary Objectives
Objective 1: Opening Kyustendil Region for national and cross-border cooperation:
1.1. Creation of a tourist information system and development of tourism in the following directions:
Eco-educational tourism and eco-tourism;
Mineral water medical treatment;
Cultural and historical heritage, cultural exchange and exhibition of cultural identity.
1.2. Economic cooperation: Joint utilization of resources and SME support.
Objective 2: Establishment of a viable economic structure, and development of infrastructures corresponding to European standards:
2.1. Restructuring of economy and development of private enterprises;
2.2. Rational exploitation of available resources, material base, premises and qualified human potential;
2.3. Development of technical infrastructure in transport, energy, water-supply and communications;
2.4. Development of alternative sources of energy: geothermal resources;
2.5. Development of underdeveloped rural areas through rehabilitation and modernization of agriculture and stock-breeding, and introduction of agricultural innovations;
2.6. Development of marketing and trade with agricultural products;
2.7. Development of building branch of villas for rent in Bulgaria.
Objective 3: Development of social infrastructure, improvement of living standard through introduction of alternative employment:
3.1. Education;
3.2. Health care;
3.3. Social care;
3.4. Culture;
3.5. Implementation of employment programs: qualification and re-qualification; support of entrepreneurs;
3.6. Development of institutional framework;
Objective 4: Preservation of environmental resources and sustainable ecological equilibrium:
4.1. Establishment of a system for monitoring and control of the environment in the following aspects: Ecological status and anthropogenic status;
4.2. Preservation of the sites of cultural, historical and architectural heritage and importance.

Prioritization of the Projects and Implementation. Key Projects:
1. Continuing the work on the building of ITCs No.4 and No.8, and the auxiliary cross-border infrastructure: electric transmission network, oil pipeline, gas conduit pipe, and modern communications;
2. Creation of new Cross-Border Customs Check Points at the village of Vetren (Municipality of Nevestino) and in the Slavcheto area (Municipality of Trekljano);
3. Establihment of a duty-free area in Kyustendil;
4. Creation of a Center for business support, telecommunications, Internet, and cultural exchange in Kyustendil;
5. Rehabilitation and development of fruit-growing in the Region;
6. Establishment of market-places for agricultural products and animal stock;
7. Building tourist villages in the mountains of Rila and Ossogovo as well as a wide net of villas for rent in Bulgaria;
8. Recreational part “Struma”
9. Restoration of historical and cultural sites in the Region;
10. Building garbage depots and scrap processing plant in Kocherinovo-Dupnitza and Kyustendil-Bobov Dol;

Projects of Regional Importance:
1. Rehabilitation of the Kocherinovo – Rila – Rila Monastery road;
2. Expansion and reconstruction of the Sapareva Banja – Panichiste road;
3. Completing the centralized water-supply system Eleshnitza – Rila – Kocherinova;
4. Water-supply group Dragodan;
5. Completing the construction of a waste-water treatment plant in Kocherinovo and building a collector in Rila – Kocherinovo; reconstruction of the waste-water treatment plant in Kyustendil; building new waste-water treatment plants and collectors in Bobov Dol, Dupnitza and Sapareva Banja;
6. Completing the construction of a mountain lift to the Sedemte Rislki Ezera mountain hut (hija);
7. Preparation of programs for the development of: Tourism industry and especially villas for rent in Bulgaria; Employment; SMEs; Non-traditional sources of energy.
8. Building a medical facility (hospice) in the Municipality of Bobov Dol;
9. Completing the water-supply system for the town of Bobov Dol and an adjanced group of settlements;
10. Re-cultivation of the Djerman River between Sapareva Banja and Dupnitza;
11. Completing the upgrade of the Vladimir Dimitrov – the Master Art Gallery in Kyustendil.

Kyustendil
Kyustendil (Bulgarian: Кюстендил, historically Велбъжд, Velbazhd) is a town in the very west of Bulgaria, the capital of Kyustendil Province, with a population of 47,196 (2005 calculation).

Geography
Kyustendil is located at the foot of the Osogovo Mountain, on both banks of the Banska River, and is a well-known centre of balneology and fruit growing. The town is 80 km southwest of Sofia, 69 km northwest of Blagoevgrad and 22 km from the border with the Republic of Macedonia.

History
A Thracian settlement emerged at the place of the modern town in the 5th-4th century BC, which was turned into an improtant stronghold, balneological resort and trade junction called Pautalia by the Romans in the 1st century AD.
The Hisarlaka fortress was built in the 4th century and the town was mentioned under the Slavic name of Velbazhd (Велбъжд) in a 1019 charter by Byzantine emperor Basil II. During the reign of Kaloyan, the town became part of the Second Bulgarian Empire, acquiring its modern name after the local feudal lord Konstantin Dragash in the 16th century.
The residents of Kyustendil took an active part in the Bulgarian National Revival. The town was liberated from Ottoman rule on 29 January 1878.

Dupnitsa
 
Province (oblast): Kyustendil
Population: 43 791 (13.09.2005)
Altitude: 535 m
Geographic coordinates: 42° 16' north, 23° 7' east
Time zone: EET; (UTC+2; UTC+3 in summer)
Mayor: Parvan Dangov

Dupnitsa (Дупница) is a town in western Bulgaria. It is located in Kyustendil Province, at the foot of Rila, about 65 km south of Sofia.
The town has been existing since Antiquity. The names Tobinitsa, Doupla and Dubnitsa were originally mentioned, the last one surviving until the Liberation of Bulgaria, when the official name was changed to Dupnitsa. In 1948 the town was renamed to Stanke Dimitrov, for a short period in 1949 was called Marek, but the name was once again changed to Stanke Dimitrov in 1950. After the democratic changes, the old name Dupnitsa was adopted.
 Traces of the Thracian culture (a mound necropolis), an antique settlement and a Roman tomb were discovered in and around the town of Doupnitsa. As a result of archaeological research in a place called Koulata (The Tower) - a hill in the north-east part of the town, from1993 to 1995, were uncovered the foundations of a fortress which existed in c. 4-5 AD. A tower for defence was erected in the middle of the hill after which the place was named. The name Doupnitsa appeared for the first time in an Ottoman register from the third quarter of c. 15. Later descriptions of the town and its population can be found in the travel notes of   travellers who passed through it - the knight Arnold fon Harf (1499 ), Evlia Chelebi (c. 18), Hupe (c. 17), Amie Boie  (c. 19).
The economic life of Doupnitsa in the pre-National Liberation era was chiefly connected with ore-mining. As early as c. 18 there existed iron mines in the town's surroundings. A considerable amount of iron was still mined in the region in the beginning of c. 19. In 1660 Evlia Chelebi counted 100 shops and workshops in the town. In 1867 the Doupnitsa teacher Bisserov wrote that they were 494, including 4 shops, 27 bakeries, 26 inns, 5 tanners' workshops, which shows the prosperity of the crafts and the economic growth of the settlement over a period of 200 years. There were 1433 houses at Bisserov's time. There existed various craft-guilds - bakers', fur-dressers', frieze-weavers', blacksmiths', builders', goat's-hair weavers'. Most of the houses are served by companies that offer villas for rent in Bulgaria.
The beginning of the town's industrialization was laid in the sixties and seventies of c. 19, when three factories of the manufacture type started working - a freeze-weaving, a woodworking and a tobacco factory. The town started developing as one of the big producing-producing centres. The tobacco industry and the tobacco trade were the chief source of livelihood for a large part of the population up to the thirties of c. 20.
The craft-guilds were rich and gave financial support to the building of churches, the maintenance of schools, etc. During the first half of c. 19 there existed in the town four churches, the Rila-Monastery Cloister and the cloisters of the Hilendar and Zograf monasteries, and by the end of the century there were also eight schools, one of which was for girls. Along with developing their cultural and educational work the inhabitants of Doupnitsa took part in the struggle for national liberation, they joined the Volunteer Forces in the Russian-Turkish War and the subdivisions for the liberation of the town and the region under the command of Major Iv. P. Orlinski.
The socio-political life of the liberated Doupnitsa in the period from 1878 to 1912 was dominated by the idea of obtaining national unity, of supporting the Bulgarians who had remained under the power of the Sultan in Macedonia. Charities were founded. The town sheltered thousands of refugees and became one of the centres for organization and preparation of armed subdivisions for the liberation of Macedonia.
The cultural uplift of Bulgaria during that period also left its mark on Doupnitsa. The traditions that were created during the National Revival have been preserved to this day.
The town's educational system, which has been developed and improved for decades, now has an affirmed structure consisting of primary schools, secondary schools and the Pedagogical College "St Ivan Rilski", which has up to now prepared over 15 thousand of pictorial and plastic arts teachers and primary school pedagogues. The small inhabitants of the town receive their first knowledge of the world under the guidance of qualified pedagogues in the kindergartens, and well-prepared professionals take care of the smallest citizens in the nurseries.
Doupnitsa is a well-developed industrial centre. The leading industrial branches are the chemical and pharmaceutical, the tobacco, the canning, the clothing and the shoe industries as wll as tourism and letting villas for rent in Bulgaria.


Bobov Dol
 
Province (oblast): Kyustendil
Population: 6969 (15.12.2004)
Geographic coordinates: 42° 22' north, 23° 01' east
Time zone: EET; (UTC+2; UTC+3 in summer)
Mayor: Yordanka Kalenichkova

Bobov Dol (Bulgarian Бобов дол) is a town in Western Bulgaria. It is located in Kyustendil oblast. Bovov dol is famous with its coal mines and Thermal Power Plant.


Boboshevo

Province (oblast): Kyustendil
Population: 1495 (15.12.2004)
Altitude: 386 m
Geographic coordinates: 42° 9' north, 23° 1' east
Time zone:  EET; (UTC+2; UTC+3 in summer)
Mayor: Dimitar Sotirov

Boboshevo (Bulgarian Бобошево) is a town in Western Bulgaria. It is located in Kyustendil region and is close to the towns of Kocherinovo and Rila. The town of Boboshevo is situated 85km to the south of Sofia and just 65km from Bulgaria's prime skiing destination Bansko. A short 4km away from Boboshevo is from the main road that connects Sofia to the Greek border.
Boboshevo lies in the lowest part of the southwestern ridge of the Rila Mountain, in the fertile valley of the Struma River (where it meets with the German River). Thanks to its favourable location and mild climate, the area of Boboshevo has been populated since antiquity.
The Boboshevo region is known also as the Bulgarian Jerusalem due to its role of a cultural centre during the 15-17th c. The region is rich in churches and monasteries, most of which date back to that period.
The most famous of these is the St Dimitar monastery, which lies in the lower eastern part of the Ruen Mountain. It is an extremely precious representative of medieval architecture, possessing the highest value - a monument of national importance - according to the Bulgarian criteria of listing. The church (as it now stands) was constructed during the last quarter of the 15th century. It has one nave, one round apse, and is covered by a semi-spheric vault. The wall paintings cover both the walls and the ceiling entirely, as well as the western façade. They are dated to 1488 and have extremely high value, which goes beyond national cultural boundaries and provokes the interest of many Balkan researchers, tourists and pilgrims.
St Dimitar is one of the oldest monasteries in Bulgaria having existed since the 1st Bulgarian Kingdom, around the 10th c. After being destroyed during the Ottoman invasion in Bulgaria in the late 14th c., it was reconstructed in 1488.
The monastery is not only significant because of its age. It is treasured also because one of Bulgaria's greatest heroes, St Ivan Rilski, got his start there. St. Dimitar had hosted St Rilski during his early years of monkhood, before he moved to live as a hermit in a nearby cave and then founded the famous Rila monastery.
In 2002-2003, patriotic Bulgarians built another monastery in the region. It is located in the neighbourhood of the village Skrino and is named after St Ivan Rilski for his being born in the same village. A steep path starts from the monastery and leads up in the mountains to the cave where St Ivan Rilski used to live.
Located nearby in the neighbourhood of the Slatino village, an Eneolithic settlement with valuable objects of the early 5th millennium BC was uncovered during excavations. In addition to more than 500 ceramic objects, qualified as true masterpieces of fine art, there is a unique finding of an oven model with a lunar calendar painted on its bottom. The calendar is the oldest of its kind found anywhere in Europe.
Today, Boboshevo is a quiet little town with picturesque houses (some of them serve as villas for rent in Bulgaria), a few coffee shops and bars, and a majestic history waiting to be rediscovered.

Rila Monastery
 
The best-known of Bulgaria’s monasteries, famed for its architecture and mountainous setting, Rila receives a steady stream of visitors, many of whom come on excursions from Sofia. You can treat Rila as a day-trip from the capital if you book a coach tour with a travel agent in Sofia, or travel with the (summer-only) daily bus service. The single road to the Rila Monastery runs above the foaming River Rilska, fed by innumerable springs from the surrounding mountains, which are covered with pine and beech trees beneath peaks flecked with snow. Even today there’s a palpable sense of isolation, and it’s easy to see why Ivan Rilski – or John of Rila – chose this valley to escape the savagery of feudal life and the laxity of the established monasteries at the end of the ninth century. The current foundation, 4km from John’s original hermitage, was plundered during the eighteenth century and repairs had hardly begun when the whole structure burned down in 1833. Its resurrection was presented as a religious and patriotic duty: public donations poured in throughout the last century, and the east wing was built as recently as 1961 to display the treasury.
Ringed by mighty walls, the monastery has the outward appearance of a fortress, but past the west gate this impression is negated by the beauty of the interior, which even the crowds can’t mar. Graceful arches above the flagstoned courtyard support tiers of monastic cells, and stairways ascend to top-floor balconies which – viewed from below – resemble outstretched flower petals. Bold red stripes and black-and-white check patterns enliven the facade, contrasting with the sombre mountains behind and creating a harmony between the cloisters and the Church within. Richly coloured frescoes shelter beneath the porch of the monastery church and cover much of its interior. The iconostasis is particularly splendid, almost 10 m wide and covered by a mass of intricate carvings and gold leaf.
Beside the church is Hrelyo’s Tower, the sole remaining building from the fourteenth century. Cauldrons, which were once used to prepare food for pilgrims, occupy the kitchen on the ground floor of the north wing, where the soot-encrusted ceiling has the shape and texture of a huge termite’s nest. Things are more salubrious on the floors above, where the spartan refectory and some of the panelled guest rooms are open for inspection. The ethnographic collection (daily 8 am–5 pm) is notable for its carpets and silverware, while beneath the east wing there’s a wealth of objects in the treasury (same hours). These include icons and medieval Gospels, Rila’s charter from Tsar Ivan Shishman, written on leather and sealed with gold in 1378, and a miniature cross made by the monk Raphael during the 1970s. Containing more than 1 500 human figures, each the size of a grain of rice, the cross took Raphael twelve years to carve with a needle, and cost him his eyesight. Besides the monastery a tourist can use the villas for rent in Bulgaria and to enjoy the fresh air of Rila Mountain.
For snacks, delicious bread can be obtained at the bakery (which is run by monks), just outside the monastery’s east gate. For more substantial meals, the restaurants at the hotels Tsarev Vrah and Rilets are preferable to the outlets near the monastery gates, which sometimes overcharge stray foreigners. Nightlife is limited to the plush bar of the Rilets, where there’s sometimes a disco.