Kyustendil

Kyustendil (Bulgarian: Кюстендил) is a city in Central Western Bulgaria, under the slopes of the Osogovo Mountain which straddles the border with North Macedonia. With a population of about 37,000 (2021), the city is the hiking and ski tourism gateway to the mountain and, less prominently, a spa resort. The region around Kyustendil is famous for its fruit trees and has been dubbed "Bulgaria's orchard".

Understand
Kyustendil is the administrative center of the eponymous oblast (province/region), which extends to the border with Serbia and North Macedonia to the west, and to Rila Mountain to the east, including the western slopes of the mountain. The oblast includes Dupnitsa, Sapareva Banya and the Rila Monastery, a. Bulgaria's largest border crossing with North Macedonia is at Gyueshevo (Гюешево), west of Kyustendil. The same distance to the north-west is a minor crossing into Serbia, at Oltomantsi (Олтоманци).

Geographically, the Kyustendil Valley lies on the southern edge of a broader area known as Kraishte - an uneven land of many low mountains and high valleys shared between Bulgaria and Serbia. One of the major Bulgarian rivers, Struma, flows several kilometers east of the city.

Kyustendil's hot springs have attracted people since ancient times. The Thracians established a fortified settlement, which was later conquered and rebuilt by the Romans as Ulpia Pautalia. After it was destroyed by barbarian invasions, a fortress was built in a more defensible position, on the hill south of the city. It re-emerged in the historical record in the Middle Ages, as a part of the Second Bulgarian Empire, under the name Velbazhd (Велбъжд, pronounced VEL-buzshd: 'zh' (ж) pronounced like the 's' in 'treasure', and second vowel being actually the Bulgarian 'ъ' (uh) due to the transliteration convention that uses the same Latin letter for both 'а' and 'ъ').

Like many Bulgarian cities, Kyustendil has a pedestrian main street, Bulgaria Blvd. It starts from the main square (Velbazhd Sqr) and runs north-northwest to the small park in front of the train station. The square itself is surrounded by a network of smaller and shorter pedestrian streets. A small river, Banshtitsa, splits the city into a northern and a southern half.

Osogovo
Osogovo, or the Osogovska Planina (Mountain), is a roughly oblong mountain on the border between Bulgaria and North Macedonia, 100 x. About two-thirds of its area is on the territory of Macedonia, while its highest peak, Ruen ( above sea level), is right on the border line. During the snow season, avalanches may occur - tourists are urged to keep to the designated ski area.

By train
Kyustendil sits on a branch line that connects the capital Sofia with the Gyueshevo—Deve Bair border crossing to North Macedonia, one of the few lines in Bulgaria that are not electrified. It branches off near Radomir from the main line from Sofia to Kulata (on the southern border with Greece). This means that while there are several trains daily from Sofia, only one of them is direct and the rest require changing trains either at Radomir or Pernik (schedule on BDZ's website).



By bus
The bus station is very close to the railway station.

By car
European route E871 starts at Kumanovo in North Macedonia and goes east, passing through Kriva Palanka before reaching the Deve Bair—Gyueshevo border crossing. On the Bulgarian side, it follows National Road 6 through Kyustendil, Radomir and Pernik on its way to the capital Sofia, merging into Motorway A3 ("Struma") just outside of Sofia. Road 6 bypasses Kyustendil a few kilometers north of the city - in both the eastern and western outskirts, you have the choice of following it or getting off onto Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd, which runs the length of the city and merges again into Road 6 on the other end. Kyustendil is from Pernik and about  from Sofia.

From Serbia, the road from Bosilegrad crosses the border at the Ribarci–Oltomantsi crossing, turning into National Road 601 to Kyustendil.

To the east, National Road 62 connects Kyustendil to several settlements under the slopes of Rila: Dupnitsa ( away and a junction with the same Motorway A3 heading south), the spa resort of Sapareva Banya, and finally Samokov (about ), with the ski/mountain resort Borovets nearby.

By bus
There's a surprisingly informative page about Kyustendil's bus network on the Municipality's website, including maps and schedules, but most of the information is in Bulgarian. All bus lines start from the square in front of the central bus station. Only lines 1 and 2 run within the city - both follow the same looping circuit around the city core without crossing it; the difference is that Line 1 goes round clockwise and Line 2 goes in the opposite direction. As they are optimized to serve workers, the intervals between buses are irregular - 35 min in the morning and the evening and 120 min mid-day. Most travellers are probably better off walking, unless you want to get from the railway station to the market on the opposite side of the city or something like that.

All other numbered lines are to other settlements in the area. Of interest to travellers are mainly two: Line 12 goes to the village of Bogoslov, on the hill just south of the city (sequoia trees, see below); Line 13 goes to Hotel Ruen in the Osogovo Mountain, south of Kyustendil.

The municipal transport company also maintains lines to destinations further away, such as Dupnitsa and the Rila Monastery (Рилски манастир, Rilski manastir), which may be suitable for a day trip.

See

 * The other sites managed by the museum include the Ahmed Bey Mosque (temporary exhibitions), three house-museums (Dimitar Peshev, Ilyo Voyvoda and the Emfiedzhi), and the medieval church of St. George (see below).
 * House-Museum of Ilyo Voyvoda
 * Ethnographic Museum (Emfiedzhieva House)
 * Surrounding the mosque are the ruins of the Roman Thermae (baths). Reportedly, the second in Bulgaria by area, after the Large Thermae in Varna, but only a part of them has been exposed.
 * West of the mosque, 30 m/yd across the street, on a narrow side street is the Pirgova Kula (Pirgova Tower) - a square stone tower built in the 15th-16th century as a stand-alone stronghold of a local feudal lord. It's assumed that the name derives from the Greek word "pyrgos" - "tower", making it the "Tower Tower".
 * Zoo - right next to the ruins of the fortress, to the east. As of 2021, it was closed to visitors due to licensing issues and insufficient funds for renovation; no updates were found in the media, so if you check it out, please report if it's open.
 * Surrounding the mosque are the ruins of the Roman Thermae (baths). Reportedly, the second in Bulgaria by area, after the Large Thermae in Varna, but only a part of them has been exposed.
 * West of the mosque, 30 m/yd across the street, on a narrow side street is the Pirgova Kula (Pirgova Tower) - a square stone tower built in the 15th-16th century as a stand-alone stronghold of a local feudal lord. It's assumed that the name derives from the Greek word "pyrgos" - "tower", making it the "Tower Tower".
 * Zoo - right next to the ruins of the fortress, to the east. As of 2021, it was closed to visitors due to licensing issues and insufficient funds for renovation; no updates were found in the media, so if you check it out, please report if it's open.
 * Zoo - right next to the ruins of the fortress, to the east. As of 2021, it was closed to visitors due to licensing issues and insufficient funds for renovation; no updates were found in the media, so if you check it out, please report if it's open.
 * Zoo - right next to the ruins of the fortress, to the east. As of 2021, it was closed to visitors due to licensing issues and insufficient funds for renovation; no updates were found in the media, so if you check it out, please report if it's open.
 * Zoo - right next to the ruins of the fortress, to the east. As of 2021, it was closed to visitors due to licensing issues and insufficient funds for renovation; no updates were found in the media, so if you check it out, please report if it's open.
 * Zoo - right next to the ruins of the fortress, to the east. As of 2021, it was closed to visitors due to licensing issues and insufficient funds for renovation; no updates were found in the media, so if you check it out, please report if it's open.
 * Zoo - right next to the ruins of the fortress, to the east. As of 2021, it was closed to visitors due to licensing issues and insufficient funds for renovation; no updates were found in the media, so if you check it out, please report if it's open.

Do

 * Kyustendil Spring festival

Hiking

 * Peak Ruen
 * Bulgaria-Macedonia-Serbia border tri-point - off the beaten track

Pools and spas

 * "Soldiers' Bath"
 * "Soldiers' Bath"

Sleep
There's a number of hotels and other accommodations.


 * Park Hotel Kyustendil
 * Strimon Garden Spa Hotel - 5-star
 * Strimon Garden Spa Hotel - 5-star

In the mountain

 * Hotel Ruen
 * Osogovo Hut
 * Iglika Hut

Go next

 * North Macedonia: Kriva Palanka