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

Chifte Banya (Bath)

Partially restored ruins of the Hisarlaka Fortress

The Church of St. George

Pirgova Kula (Pyrgos Tower)

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 UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bulgaria's largest border crossing with North Macedonia is at Gyueshevo (Гюешево), 20 km (12 mi) 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 by 50 kilometres (62 mi × 31 mi). About two-thirds of its area is on the territory of Macedonia, while its highest peak, Ruen (2,251 m (7,385 ft) 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.

Get in

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).

• 1 Train Station. (updated Feb 2024)

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 56 km (35 mi) from Pernik and about 100 km (62 mi) from Sofia.

From Serbia, the road from Bosilegrad crosses the border at the Ribarci–Oltomantsi crossing, turning into National Road 601 to Kyustendil (30 km (19 mi)).

To the east, National Road 62 connects Kyustendil to several settlements under the slopes of Rila: Dupnitsa (40 km (25 mi) away and a junction with the same Motorway A3 heading south), the spa resort of Sapareva Banya, and finally Samokov (about 80 km (50 mi)), with the ski/mountain resort Borovets nearby.

Get around

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, 14 km (8.7 mi) 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

• 1 Regional History Museum, bul. "Bulgaria" 55 (in the northern end of the main street, opposite Hotel Velbazhd; the yard has a distinctive fence with museum symbol). Apr-Sep: 09:30 – 12:00 and 12:30 – 18:00; Oct-Mar: 09:30 – 12:00 and 12:30 – 17:00. Pretty standard (for Bulgaria) regional history museum. The archaeological exhibits include a Thracian chariot, Roman artefacts from Pautalia and medieval artefacts from Velbazhd. Together with some of its sub-sites and the art gallery, it's one of the 100 National Tourist Sites of Bulgaria (№26). Adults: 5 лв, various discounts apply; package ticket for all sites: 12 лв; guide/lecture (in English): 20 лв. (updated Feb 2024)
  • 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).
• 2 Iron Bridge (Железния мост). Originally built in 1909, this utilitarian bridge was rebuilt in 1969 and decorated with four statues of naked women created by Bulgarian sculptor Lyuben Dimitrov (1905-2000). (updated Feb 2024)
• 3 House-Museum of Dimitar Peshev (Къща-музей "Димитър Пешев"). Dimitar Peshev (1894-1973) was a Bulgarian politician born in Kyustendil. Twice Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, he's notable for his role in saving the Bulgarian Jews from the Holocaust during World War II. He was declared "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem shortly before his death. (updated Feb 2024)
• House-Museum of Ilyo Voyvoda
• Ethnographic Museum (Emfiedzhieva House)
• 4 Ahmed Bey Mosque, ul. "Stefan Karazha" 2. An Ottoman mosque originally built in the 15th century and expanded in the 18th. Now it serves as the temporary exhibitions hall of the Regional History Museum. As of late 2023, the exhibition was dedicated to city life in the period when both Ottoman Turks and Bulgarians started adopting elements of the Western way of life (alafranga - "like the Franks", i.e. Europeans). (updated Feb 2024)
  • 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 15.5-metre (51 ft) 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".
• 5 Vladimir Dimitrov Art Gallery. Valdimir Dimitrov (1882-1960), nicknamed Maystora ("the Master"), is one of the most celebrated Bulgarian painters. He was born in a village near Kyustendil. While many of his works are exhibited elsewhere, this gallery hosts the largest collection in a single place, as well as works by other Bulgarian artists. The building itself dates to the 1960s - reportedly, it's the first building in Bulgaria specifically designed and built to be an art gallery. (updated Feb 2024)
• 6 Dervish Banya (Turkish: Derviş Hamam, Dervish Bath). A small Ottoman public bath, built in the mid-16th century. It's one of the oldest still-standing buildings in the city. No entry. (updated Feb 2024)
• 7 Medieval Church of St. George (Sveti Georgi). Originally built in the 10th or early 11th century, with partial restorations throughout the ages, but some of the original murals have survived. It's listed as a cultural monument of national importance. Still functions as an East Orthodox church? A building in the yard houses a small museum of religious art and artefacts. (updated Feb 2024)
• 8 Hisarlaka Fortress. (updated Feb 2024)
  • 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.
• 9 Sequoia Grove (by the village of Bogoslov (Богослов) on the hill south of Kyustendil, about 4 km (2.5 mi) south-west of the city centre "as the crow flies"). A small protected area with with Sequoiadendron giganteum trees (giant redwood). The three oldest trees were planted in the late 19th century, so today they are over 100 years old and quite tall. They are surrounded by a hundred or so younger sequoias. Access via a paved alley, there's also a bust monument of the local forester Yordan Mitrev (1866-1838). To get there, follow the same Road 6202 out of the city that leads to Hisarlaka, but on the Y-junction turn south-west instead of north towards the fortress. There are signs, variously pointing to "СЕКВОИ" (sekvoi), "Sequoiadendron giganteum", and/or "ЮЧБУНАР" (Yuchbunar, the name of the area). It's also possible to get there by hiking through Hisarlaka Park. (updated Feb 2024)

Do

• Kyustendil Spring festival

Hiking

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

Pools and spas

• 1 Chifte Banya (Чифте баня) (300 m/yd east of Velbazhd Sqr, right next to the ruins of the Roman Thermae and the Ahmed Bey Mosque). Public bath with pools fed by a hot mineral spring. The pretty old building was built in 1910, after demolishing a medieval Ottoman bath from which it inherited the name (Turkish: çifte hamam - "paired bath"). It's surrounded with a small park. (updated Feb 2024)
• "Soldiers' Bath"
• 2 Plazhna Fiesta (Beach Fiesta), ul. "Spartak" 59. Regular public swimming pool, with a water slide, sunloungers, etc. (updated Feb 2024)

Sleep

There's a number of hotels and other accommodations.

• 1 Hotel Velbazhd (Хотел "Велбъжд") (200 m/yd south-west of the railway station, across the small park in front of it). Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. 3-star hotel, a typical high-rise "main city hotel" from the Communist era (13 floors). Its main advantages are the views of the city and the surrounding mountains and its proximity to the railway station and the main street (right on it, the history museum is just across the street). Single: 70 лв, twin/double: 100 лв, suite (double bed with balcony): 120 лв. (updated Feb 2024)
• Park Hotel Kyustendil
• Strimon Garden Spa Hotel - 5-star

In the mountain

• Hotel Ruen
• Osogovo Hut
• Iglika Hut

Go next

• North Macedonia: Kriva Palanka