About Bansko
The municipality of Blagoevgrad is located in the southwestern corner of Bulgaria and covers an area of approximately 628
sq. km, in which Blagoevgrad itself and 25 adjacent villages are situated. The region of Blagoevgrad includes parts of
three of the biggest Bulgarian mountain ranges - Rila, Pirin and Rhodope and is well known by the name of the Pirin Region.
The city of Blagoevgrad is the major city in the region and one the most important economic and cultural centres in Southwest
Bulgaria. The main international routes connecting Bulgaria with Greece and Bulgaria with the Republic of Macedonia pass
through it. Blagoevgrad also allows easy access to the Bulgarian capital, Sofia (approximately 100 kilometers to the north)
and to all the towns in the region.
The Region of Kyustendil includes 9 municipalities: Kyustendil, Dupnitza, Bobov dol,
Sapareva banja, Rila, Kocherinovo, Nevestino, Boboshevo and Trekljano with a total of 182 settlements. The regional
administrative centre is the town of Kyustendil, situated in its southwestern part: the Kyustendil Lowland. The town also
serves as the administrative centre of the municipality of Kyustendil (with an area of 923 sq. km, this municipality
represents 30.2% 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 highway; from the FRY
on the Nis-Bosilegrad-Kyustendil highway; the oldest commercial road, which for centuries has linked Constantinople and
the Adriatic Sea, passes through Dupnitza and Kyustendil. Kyustendil has managed to preserve is historical, ecological
and cultural heritage.
It is a contemporary Bulgarian administrative centre, whose future is mostly seen in the development
of cultural tourism, and modern rehabilitation resort centres by the hot mineral water springs. Pernik is known as a
fortress which was defended by the bollyar Krakra (11th c.). The sights of the town are the Historical Museum, the Art
Gallery, the recovered Krakra fortress and many monuments. The Stoudena Reservoir is also in the vicinity of Pernik.