Kyustendil

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Coordinates: 42°17′N, 22°41′E

Kyustendil
Кюстендил

Coat of arms

Kyustendil

Location of Kyustendil

Coordinates: 42°17′N 22°41′E / 42.283, 22.683

Country

Bulgaria

Provinces
(Oblast)

Kyustendil

Government

- Mayor

Petar Paunov

Elevation

513 m (1,683 ft)

Population (2007-06-01)

- Total

51,872

Time zone

EET (UTC+2)

- Summer (DST)

EEST (UTC+3)

Postal Code

2500

Area code(s)

078

License plate

Kyustendil (Bulgarian: Кюстендил, historically Велбъжд, Velbazhd) is a town in the very west of Bulgaria, and the capital of Kyustendil Province, with a population of 58,059 (2005 calculation). Kyustendil is situated in the southern part of the Kyustendil Valley, 90 km southwest of Sofia.

Kyustendil is a national balneological resort at an altitude of 500 m. The ancient name of the town Pautalia (a town of springs) is Thracian.

There are more than 40 mineral springs in the town. The waters are of considerable content of sulfite compounds. These are used for treatment of the locomotory system, gynecological and other kinds of diseases. The resort region includes several baths, balneological complexes and others.

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.The fortress was built by the Romans. Therms, basilicas, floor mosaics have been uncovered.

A Thracian settlement emerged at the place of the modern town in the 5th-4th century BC, which was turned into an important stronghold, balneological resort and trade junction called Pautalia by the Romans in the 1st century AD, from a Thracian word meaning "source", "spring".^[1]

The Hisarlaka fortress was built in the 4th century and the town was mentioned under the Slavic name of Velbazhd (Велбъжд, meaning "camel")^[1] 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.^[1]

The residents of Kyustendil took an active part in the Bulgarian National Revival. The town was liberated from Ottoman rule on 29 January 1878.

In the 11th century the town, known as Velbazhd, after the name of its heir, Konstantin Velbazhd, became a major religious and administrative centre. About 1355 Velbuzhd and its region were included in the semi-independent feudal Velbazhd principality of Despot Deyan. In the 15th C. the town was called Kyustendil, which means a land of Konstantin. In 1372 the Turks conquered the town. During the Bulgarian National Revival crafts and trade flourished.