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Kyustendil




Kyustendil (, 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 , 70 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 .


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