Kyustendil Province is one of the 28 regions of Bulgaria. It occupies an area of 3084.3 km² and has a population of 111,736 people according to Census 2021. The postal codes of settlements in the Kyustendil district are from 2500 (for the city of Kyustendil) to 2699. Its vehicle code is KN.
The terrain of the district is diverse - fertile valleys and valleys
separated by hilly lands and mountains. Its northern and western parts
occupy the so-called Kyustendilsko Kraishte and have a highly fragmented
relief, including parts of the border Milevska mountain, Chudinska
mountain, Zemenska mountain and to the east the Konyavska mountain. To
the south, Kyustendilsko Kraishte reaches the valley of the
Dragovishtitsa River, the Lisets Mountain and the valley of the
Bistritsa River. The southern part of the district covers parts of the
Osogovo mountain, the Vlahina mountain and the North-western Rila with
the enclosed lower lands between them and the Kraishte - the Kamenitsa
valley, the Kyustendil valley and the Dupnishka valley. Geologically,
the territory of the Kyustendil District belongs to the Kraishticides
and the Rhodope region (east of the Struma River).
The oldest are
pre-Paleozoic crystalline shales. Paleozoic gneisses, granites, Triassic
limestones, dolomites and sandstones, gravels, sands and clays with coal
seams, granites, diorites, rhyolites, etc. are exposed. Polymetallic
ores were discovered and mined in Osogovo, glossy brown coal in the
Bobovdol coal basin. Oil shales are discovered near the villages of
Stradalovo and Tsvarrica. In the area of the villages of Chetirtsi,
Yahinovo and Dragovishtitsa there are deposits of clay, near the village
of Pastra - of mica, near the village of Delyan - of dolomites, and near
the village of Divlya - of barite. There are many mineral springs, the
most famous of which are in Kyustendil, Sapareva Banya and the villages
of Nevestino and Chetirtsi. The beautiful Stobski pyramids are also
located in the area.
The climate is transitional continental, and in the areas with a
higher altitude - mountainous. The main drainage artery is the Struma
River, into which the Treklyanska, Dragovishtitsa, Bistritsa,
Slokoshtitsa, Novoselska, Jerman and Rila rivers flow. Groundwater is at
a relatively high level. Karst waters are found mainly in Kyustendilsko
Kraishte. Near the village of Polska Skakavitsa, the Golemi dol river
forms the Skakavitsa waterfall with a height of 70 m. The "Diakovo",
"Bersin", "Drenovdol" and "Bagrentsi" dams are mainly used for
irrigation. The soil cover is diverse – alluvial, cinnamon,
humus-carbonate, upland-meadow and chernozem-smolniks. Alluvial soils
are of greatest importance for fruit growing.
Forest fund
The
forests are broad-leaved, with conifers predominating. Black pine
forests have survived in the "Gabra" reserve with an area of 89.5 ha in
Osogovo. Rila is dominated by species characteristic of the coniferous
forest belt. The animal world is represented by forest and mountain
elements.
It is located in the Kyustendil valley, in Southwest Bulgaria, and
its area is 2.7% of the country's territory. It borders with the
districts of Sofia, Pernik and Blagoevgrad, and to the west with the
Republic of Macedonia and Serbia. The district's administrative,
economic and cultural center is the city of Kyustendil, which is 86 km
from the city of Sofia, 23 km from the border with Macedonia and 30 km
from Yugoslavia.
Kyustendil district covers 9 municipalities -
Kyustendil, Nevestino, Boboshevo, Kocherinovo, Dupnitsa, Rila, Bobov
Dol, Sapareva Banya and Trekliano, with a total number of settlements -
182.
The surface of the district is diverse - fertile valleys and valleys
separated by hilly lands and mountains. Its northern and western parts
occupy the so-called Kyustendil region and have a highly fragmented
relief, including parts of the bordering Milevska mountain, Chudinska
mountain, Zemenska mountain and to the east Konyavska mountain.
To the south, the Kyustendil region reaches the valley of the
Dragovishtitsa river, the Lisets mountain and the valley of the
Bistritsa river. The southern part of the district covers parts of the
Osogovo mountain, the Vlahina mountain and the Northwestern Rila, as
well as the Kamenitsa, Kyustendilska and Dupnishka valleys.
The
climate is transitional continental, and in the areas with a higher
altitude - mountainous. Winter is mild with comparatively higher
temperatures. In the higher altitude areas, the climate is characterized
by long winters with permanent snow cover and cool summers.
The
main drainage artery is the Struma river, into which the Treklyanska,
Dragovishtitsa, Bistritsa, Slokoshtitsa, Novoselska, Jerman and Rila
rivers flow.
Karst waters are found mainly in the Kyustendil
region. Near the village of Kamenichka Skakavitsa, the river Golemi dol
forms the waterfall Skakavitsa with a height of 70 m. The reservoirs
"Dyakovo", "Bersin", "Drenovdol" and "Bagrentsi" are mainly used for
irrigation.
The forests are broad-leaved, with conifers
predominating. Black pine forests have survived in the "Gabra" reserve
with an area of 89.5 ha in Osogovo. Rila is dominated by species
characteristic of the coniferous forest belt. The animal world is
represented by forest and mountain elements.
The territory of Kyustendil region with its geographical position,
natural features, specific cultural and historical heritage and with the
development of the European transport corridors E-4 and E-8 is extremely
suitable for tourism. The magnificent combination of a favorable
climate, mineral waters, an ecologically clean environment rich in
natural sights and unique cultural monuments characterize Kyustendil and
the region as a "gold mine" for the development of complex tourism: Spa,
balneological, cultural, mountain, hunting, winter, rural and others.
forms of tourism.
On the territory of the Kyustendil region there
are warm mineral springs, which, in combination with the rehabilitation
centers, could be utilized from a tourist point of view.
There are 1,052 cultural monuments in the Kyustendil region, most of
the half of which are concentrated in the Kyustendil municipality. The
combination of the natural sights and the cultural and historical
heritage of the Kyustendil region, the river Struma river and the
Osogovo mountain is favorable.
Near the southern part of
Kyustendil is the Hisarlka Park with the remains of a Roman fortress
from the II-III centuries. 13 km from the city near the village of
Nevestino is the remarkable architectural facility Kadin (Nevestin)
Bridge on the Struma River. 10 km to the north is the village of
Shishkovtsi, where there is a rich collection of paintings by Vladimir
Dimitrov - the Master.
39 km from Kyustendil is the Zemensky
Monastery, whose frescoes are the most interesting monument from the
14th century. For 22 km, from the town of Zemen to the village of
Rajdavitsa, there is an incredibly beautiful gorge called the Zemen
gorge, a miniature copy of the Iskar gorge.
Within Kyustendil
district is also the famous Rila Monastery, declared a Cultural Monument
of World Importance - one of the oldest, large church monasteries on the
Balkan Peninsula. The monastery is located among the mountain massifs of
Rila mountain and offers excellent conditions for tourism.
The
Stob pyramids are also part of the Kyustendil region. They are located
shortly after the town of Kocherinovo and the turnoff for the village of
Stob. They have been declared a natural landmark.
The South-West planning region has the greatest economic development
and the highest GDP, but the greatest intra-regional disparities.
Kyustendil District ranks after Sofia City, Sofia District and
Blagoevgrad Districts and before Pernik District.
The following
sectors of the economy have the highest indicators of gross added value
(GVA) for the Kyustendil region:
transport and communications
processing industry
government
trade and repairs
energy
The smallest BDS is observed in
construction and in the financial and credit sector.
There are three main road arteries that lead to the Kyustendil region
- from the Republic of Macedonia along the Skopje-Sofia highway, from
Serbia along the Nis-Bosilegrad-Kyustendil highway, and from Dupnitsa to
Kyustendil passes the oldest trade road, which for centuries connected
Constantinople with Bos and Adriatic.
The economic geostrategic
advantage of the district is concentrated in the zone of cross-border
cooperation with Macedonia and in the contact zone of the territory with
Greece.