Regional Historical Museum "Academician Yordan Ivanov" - Bulgaria
Blvd. No. 55 (opposite Hotel "Velbuzhd"). The archaeological exhibition
(Asclepius Hall) includes exhibits from the entire Kyustendil region
from the VII-VI millennium BC. to the 17th century
House Museum
"Emfiedzhieva House" - 24a Gorosvetna St. The house - an architectural
monument from the Renaissance era, houses the museum exhibition "Urban
way of life and culture of the population in Kyustendil from the end of
the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century".
"Ilyo Voivoda" House
Museum - 189 Tsar Osvoboditel St. In the restored house of Ilyo Markov,
one of the most prominent figures of the Bulgarian national liberation
movement, an exhibition is arranged on the theme: "The national
liberation struggles of the population of the Kyustendil region".
Dimitar Peshev House Museum - 11 Tsar Simeon I Street. Permanent
exhibition with original items, photographs and facsimiles, about the
events of March 1943 and the world-renowned merits of Dimitar Peshev and
his fellow citizens Petar Mihalev, Asen Switchmezov, Vladimir Kurtev and
Ivan Momchilov, who contributed to the rescue of the Jews in Bulgaria.
House of Georgi Goranov - the house of the composer Georgi Goranov, who
composed the song "Friendly Song" (Work Song). It is located at 2 Georgi
Goranov St. A museum collection has been arranged.
Art Gallery
"Vladimir Dimitrov - Master" - 20 Patriarch Evtimii Street. The gallery
has the main and largest collection of works by Vladimir Dimitrov -
Master, arranged in a permanent exhibition. It preserves and
periodically organizes exhibitions of other prominent Kyustendil artists
such as Stoyan Venev, Moritz Benzionov, Nikola Mirchev, Asen Vasiliev,
etc.
Roman baths. They are located in the central part of the city, next
to the "Ahmed Bey" mosque. The Roman baths - public baths, were built in
the 2nd - 3rd centuries and are part of a large asclepion complex. They
are one of the symbols of the city of Kyustendil. A monument of culture
with the category of "national importance".
"Dervish bath". Turkish
public bath, built in 1566. It functioned for more than 400 years -
until 1992. In 2005, it was completely restored. Architectural monument
of culture.
"Double bath". Late medieval Turkish bath, built in 1489
on the foundations of the Pautalian Asclepion. In 1910, it was partially
demolished and a new modern city bath was built, the remodeling and
reconstruction of which was completed in 1913.
"Alai bath". Late
medieval Turkish bath, partially destroyed after the Liberation,
restored in 1912-1914 and rebuilt in 1928.
Late antique and medieval fortress "Hisarlaka". It is located on the
highest flat part of the hill "Hisarlaka", rising 2 km southeast of
Kyustendil. The fortress was built at the end of the IV-beginning of the
V century. Repaired in the VI century, it survived the First and Second
Bulgarian states and was demolished by the Ottoman conquerors in the XV
century. A cultural monument with the category of "national importance".
Pyrgo tower. Medieval defensive tower in the town of Kyustendil. It is
located in the central part of the city next to the Roman baths. The
name "Pirgova" originates from the Greek word - "pyrgos", which means
tower. It refers to the time between the end of the 14th and the first
quarter of the 15th century. A cultural monument with the category of
"national importance".
Medieval Church of St. George. It is located in the southwestern part
of the town of Kyustendil, in the Kolusha district. The church is
cross-domed, of the "inscribed cross" type. According to its
architectural features and the recently discovered medieval frescoes,
its dating can be attributed to the end of the 10th - the beginning of
the 11th century. It is a national cultural monument of great
archaeological, artistic and historical value as the oldest preserved
medieval church in South-West Bulgaria.
Revival Church of the
Assumption. It is located in the central part of the city, in close
proximity to the central square. It was built in 1816 on the site of the
medieval church "St. Nicholas". According to the plan, a single-apsed,
three-nave pseudo-basilica, with a wooden covering, was excavated. It
has been declared an architectural and artistic monument with the
category of "national importance". A working temple.
Saint Demetrius
Revival Church. It was built in 1866 in the eastern part of Kyustendil.
The author of most of the icons is the famous Samokov artist Ivan
Dospevski.
Saint Mina Revival Church. It is located in the western
part of the city. It was built in 1859 as a monastery church. It is a
three-nave pseudo-basilica without a narthex. A portico from the south
leads to a small underground chapel with ayazmo - holy water.
Church
"Saint Great Martyr Mina". It was built in 1934 next to the old revival
church "Saint Mina" according to the project of arch. Anton Tornyov. One
of the most impressive and representative churches in Bulgaria. The
church is a functioning temple.
Fatih Mehmed Mosque. The mosque was built by Kharaji Kara Mehmed bin
Ali, one of the famous builders of public buildings in Kyustendil. It is
assumed that it was built in the middle of the 15th century. The date -
1531, inscribed in bricks on the eastern part of the dome, probably
refers to a later reconstruction. The mosque is not operational.
Ahmed Bey Mosque. The Ahmed Bey Mosque, also known as the Injili
(Christian) Mosque, was built in the middle of the 15th century. The
entrance arcade, covered with three small domes, has been preserved in
its original form. In 1734, it was rebuilt and expanded. It is currently
an exhibition hall of the museum in Kyustendil.
Mutual School "St. St. Cyril and Methodius". It is located in the
courtyard of the Assumption Church. It has now been restored. Known as
the "cell school", although the cell school that existed in the first
half of the 19th century in the same churchyard has not been preserved.
The Procopius House - the house of Chorbadji Davidko Yachkov, built in
the 18th century, located in the central part of the city, near the town
square.
The Doctor's House - the house of the Renaissance doctor Ivan
Lekarski (1812 - 1878), built in the 1950s, a cultural monument. It is
located on St. Gen. Krum Lekarski № 13.
House of Kostandii Berovski -
the house of the revivalist Kostandii Popgeorgiev Berovski, Chetnik of
Ilio Voivode. It was built in the middle of the 19th century, a cultural
monument. It is located at 238 Tsar Osvoboditel St. (next to the "Ilyo
Voivoda" museum house).
House of Tonche Kadinmostki - the house of
the revivalist Tonche Kadinmostki, a standard-bearer in Ilio Voivode's
company. It was built in the 1930s, a cultural monument. It is located
at 191 Tsar Osvoboditel St. (next to the "Ilyo Voivoda" museum house).
Major's House - the house of Major Yosif Angelov (1857 - 1913), built in
1870, a cultural monument. It is located at 81 Tsar Osvoboditel St.
House of Donna Kovacheva. During the period 1895 - 1903, the
headquarters of Gotse Delchev was housed in Dona Kovacheva's house. The
house was restored in the late 1970s and is a cultural monument.
Architectural sculptural monument to the fallen soldiers of the
Thirteenth Rila Infantry Regiment in the wars of 1912-1913 and
1915-1918.
Architectural sculptural monument of Todor Aleksandrov -
"Everything for Macedonia" (1927, restored 1991), dedicated to those who
died in the wars for national unification and liberation of Macedonia.
"Weeping Macedonia" monument (1932), dedicated to the fighters who died
in the struggle for the liberation of Macedonia, located in the city
cemetery.
Monument to Vladimir Dimitrov – Master. Opened on November
24, 1972, authors z.h. Boris Gondov and arch. Sl. Vassilev. Made of
bronze in full height (height 3.20 m). The monument was erected in front
of the Art Gallery.
Architectural monument of Ilio Voivode.
Bust-monument of Ilio Voivode.
Monument to Vasil Levski.
Bust-monument of Peyo Yavorov. It was erected in 1929 in the Bath
garden. The monument is a copy of the poet's monument in Freedom Park,
Sofia. The author of the monument is Grigor Agaronian.
Bust-monument
of Dimitar Peshev.
"Hisarlaka" Forest Park. It is located on the hill of the same name,
immediately above the city. A pedestrian walkway has been built
especially for pedestrians, starting from Osogovo Stadium. The city's
zoo is also located in the park, where you can see different types of
animals.
"Bath garden" park. It was created in 1912 in connection
with the reconstruction of the Central City Bath, according to the
project of arch. Hristo Kovachevski.
Zoo (Kyustendil) - forest park
"Hisarlaka", 8 Neofit Bozveli Street
Others
Popnikolov's House
- the former house of the Kyustendil lawyer V. Popnikolov, built in
1911-1912, in modern style, now the "Architect's House". It is located
at 27 Demokratsia St.
The iron bridge - a bridge over the Banshtitsa
river, built in 1909 according to the project of arch. Rudolf Fischer.
It connects the railway station with the central city square. At its
four ends, there are sculptural female figures made of white Vratsa
stone, with the sculptor Lyuben Dimitrov (1969) as the author.
January 29 – official holiday of the city of Kyustendil. Day of
Liberation of the city of Kyustendil from Ottoman rule. It was declared
a public holiday by Decision No. 358/January 29, 2009 of the Kyustendil
Municipal Council.
March 21 - "Kyustendil Spring" holiday: welcoming
spring. It has been celebrated since 1966. A beauty contest is held to
choose the most beautiful girl: "Girl of Kyustendilska Prelet". The "day
of spring" is celebrated - March 21, with an outing in the "Hisarlaka"
area
June - "Cherry Festival". It is held for three consecutive days
from the month of June. The first fruit growing exhibition in the
country was in the town of Kyustendil in 1896, when the First National
Fruit Growing Exhibition was established. The festival-exhibition was
restored in 2008.
August 15 - On the church holiday "Assumption of
the Blessed Virgin Mary" in Kyustendil, the "Panagia - raising of the
bread" is also celebrated. An iconographic exhibition is being
organized, accompanied by an exhibition of ritual breads.
October -
"Feast of Fertility". It takes place over three consecutive days in
mid-October. There is an exhibition of fruit and vegetable producers
from the Kyustendil region.
Kyustendil belongs in ecclesiastical-administrative terms today to
the Sofia diocese. The city is the center of the Episcopal Vicarage and
of the Kyustendil Spiritual District. In the past, Kyustendil was the
seat of the Kyustendil diocese, which was closed in 1884.
The
predominant part of the urban population professes Eastern Orthodoxy
today; there are several Christian denominations affiliated with
Protestantism, as well as a small Jewish community. During the Ottoman
rule, Kyustendil had a predominantly Muslim Turkish population, but of
the many mosques from that time, only two are now preserved. Today,
there are only Christian churches in operation in the city.
Kyustendil is located in the southern part of the Kyustendil valley, at the foot of Mount Osogovo, at 527 meters above sea level, on both banks of the Banshtitsa River, a right tributary of the Struma River. South of the city rises the hill "Hisarlaka" - a northeastern branch of Osogovo. The distance from Kyustendil to the capital Sofia is 103 km, to Plovdiv is 259 km, to Varna is 547 km, to Burgas is 498 km, to the border with North Macedonia is 22 km, to the border with Serbia - about 30 km. The city is an important road junction on the Sofia-Skopje road and a railway station on the Sofia-Pernik-Gyueshevo line. Pan-European transport corridor 8 passes through Kyustendil (Vlora - Tirana - Skopje - Sofia - Burgas - Asia).
Two shallow rivers flow through Kyustendil - Banshtitsa and its
tributary - Kolushka, the bed of the latter being completely covered. On
the territory of the city, many warm mineral springs with healing
properties gush forth. They are concentrated in the fault separating the
Osogovo mountain from the Kyustendil valley in a strip about 1 km long
and 200-250 m wide. The springs (40 in number) are captured in a common
tank. Their flow rate is 35 l/sec. The mineral water at the catchment
has a temperature of 74 °C – one of the hottest in the country. It is
clear, colorless, with a strong smell of hydrogen sulfide. It has proven
healing properties for certain kinds of diseases. Kyustendil mineral
springs are favorable for the treatment of diseases of the respiratory
tract, musculoskeletal system and gynecological diseases. According to
their chemical composition, they are: bicarbonate-sulfate-sodium with an
alkaline reaction.
The numerous mineral springs combined with the
moderate climate, the beautiful nature and the rich cultural and
historical heritage are favorable conditions for the development of
various forms of tourism.
Kyustendil falls into a zone of transitional-continental climate with Mediterranean influence (mainly along the Struma River). The average annual temperature is 12.5 °C. The highest average monthly temperature is in July (21.8 °C) and the lowest in January (-0.8 °C). The annual temperature amplitude is 22.6 °C. It is relatively large and is an indicator of the predominant continental nature of the climate. Summer is warm and long, winter is short and mild to slightly cold (only 30 days with an air temperature of 0 °C), spring comes early and persists after the first days of March, and autumn is long, warm and sunny, with remained stable until the end of November. Precipitation is moderately pronounced - an average of 624 mm per year, with the snow cover lasting an average of 30-40 days in winter. Due to the moderately pronounced cloudiness and low fog (an average of 22 days a year), the duration of sunshine is significant - about 2300 - 2400 hours per year. The second half of summer and the beginning of autumn in Kyustendil are the sunniest of the year, and the cloudiness is greatest in winter. Air humidity is moderate. It ranges between 65 and 70% and is relatively low in the summer months (especially in August). Kyustendil and the valley are characterized by low wind. Spring is the windiest and autumn is the quietest. The average annual wind speed is 1.4 m/s. During the winter and spring months, the warm and gusty wind "fön" appears in the city, which causes a sudden warming of the weather. The temperature regime is characterized by some features. In winter, temperature inversions are observed, and in summer, as a result of overheating of the atmospheric air, the maximum daily temperatures rise to 35-37 °C. The lowest (extreme) temperature in the city was measured in January and was -27 °C, and the highest in August and was 41 °C.
Kyustendil is one of the most ancient Bulgarian cities. The city has an eight-thousand-year history of settlement life and more than 1,900 years of urban tradition. In history, it is known by the names Pautalia, Ulpia Pautalia, Pautalia Aurelius, Velbzhd, Konstantinova Banya, Uladzha, Banya, Kotka, Kolasia, Kyustendil.
The presence of the Thracians in the Kyustendil valley dates back to
the end of the Bronze Age (second half of the 3rd millennium BC). The
area is inhabited by the Thracian tribes Peoni, Agriani, Denteleti, etc.
After the largest of them, the whole area is called Denteletics. In the
5th - 4th centuries BC attracted by the healing mineral springs, the
Thracians founded a settlement.
After the fall of Thrace under
Roman rule (45 AD), the Romans turned the settlement into an important
commercial center and a famous balneological resort, which they called
Pautalia (in Latin Pautalia). Pautalia is a city with intense life and
is an administrative, economic and cultural center of a vast territory.
During the reign of Emperor Marcus Ulpius Trajan (98 – 117) in 106,
Pautalia received city rights and added the prefix "Ulpia" (in Latin
Ulpia Pautalia) to its name. During the period from the time of Emperor
Antoninus Pius (138 – 161) to Emperor Caracalla (198 – 217), the city
minted its own coins, which are a rich source of information about city
life.
After the Milan Edict of 313, Pautalia became an episcopal
center, and its urban territory a diocese of the Pautalia Bishopric.
In the 4th century, after frequent raids by barbarian tribes, the
fortress of Hisarluk was built, rebuilt during the Byzantine emperor
Justinian I (527 - 565), it was used until the 15th century. It is not
known whether the city was conquered by Goths, Avars, Visigoths or
Slavs. After 553 the name Pautalia is not found.
Written information about the city during the time of the First
Bulgarian State (VII-XI centuries) has not been preserved. It is not
known when Velbuzhd was annexed to the newly founded Bulgarian state,
but it probably happened during the reign of Khan Kardam (777 – 802) or
Krum (803 – 814). In the 9th century, Velbuzhd was already a Bulgarian
city, and after the conversion, under Prince Boris I (852 – 89), it
became an important episcopal center of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
and remained so throughout the existence of the First Bulgarian State.
Towards the end of the 10th and the beginning of the 11th century,
Velbuzhd was located within the borders of the Samuil state. Among the
episcopal thrones listed in the apse of the Prespa Basilica, subordinate
to the Bulgarian Patriarchate in Prespa, is the episcopal throne of
Velbzhd.
In 1018, the Bulgarian state fell under Byzantine rule
and Velbuzhd was included in the boundaries of the Byzantine Empire. In
the charter given by Emperor Basil II the Bulgar Killer (976 – 1025),
which confirms the privileges of the Bulgarian bishoprics found at the
time of the kings Peter I (927 – 969) and Samuel (997 – 1014), the
bishop of Velbazhd is also mentioned, in whose subordination, in
addition to the city of Velbzhd itself, also includes the fortified
cities of Suteska, Germania, Terimer, Stob, Dolna Suteska and Razlog.
Velbuzhd was an important spiritual center at that time. In the
episcopal lists from the time of Emperor Alexius I Comnenus (1081 –
1118), the bishop of Velbažd is mentioned in third place before the
bishop of Sredets.
In 1204, during the reign of King Kaloyan
(1197 - 1207), Velbzhd was captured by the Bulgarian army and again
became part of the Bulgarian state. And during this period, the city
continued to be one of the important administrative-economic and
episcopal centers. At that time it belonged to the Prilep or Skopje
people according to the Dubrovnik charter of Tsar Ivan Assen II (1218 –
1241) from 1230. For a certain period of time during the reign of Tsar
Michael II Assen (1246 – 1257), when many Rhodope fortresses and all of
Macedonia were conquered by the Nicaean emperor Theodore II Laskaris
(1254 – 1258), Velbazhd became a border town of the Bulgarian state.
After the death of Tsar Ivan Asen II and the temporary decline of the
Bulgarian state, Velbuzhd was for some time annexed to the Byzantine
Empire by Emperor John III Duka Vatatius (1222 - 1254).
During
the Second Bulgarian State, Velbuzhd enjoyed great economic prosperity.
In its surroundings and on the slopes of Mount Osogovo, various ore
deposits are exploited - mainly for the extraction of non-ferrous metals
and iron. The importance of Velbuzhd as a spiritual center was also
emphasized by the Roman Pope Innocent III (1198 – 1216). Through his
legate, a representative of the Apostolic Church in Bulgaria, he sent a
pallium to the bishops Anastasii Velbazhdski, Sava Preslavski and to the
archbishop of Tarnovsk Vasiliy Tarnovski.
Taking advantage of
Bulgaria's unfavorable internal and external situation at the beginning
of the 14th century, the Serbian king Stefan II Milutin (1282 – 1321)
invaded the valleys of the Vardar and Struma rivers and conquered
Velbuzhd, which for many years fell under Serbian power and influence.
On July 28, 1330, in the battle of Velbuzhd between the Bulgarian army
led by King Michael III Shishman Asen (1323 – 1330) and the army of the
Serbian Kingdom led by King Stefan Uros III Dechanski (1321 – 1331), the
Bulgarians suffered a heavy defeat. and the Bulgarian king was seriously
wounded and died three days later.
Towards the middle of the 14th
century, a new state entity was formed in South-Western Bulgaria,
centered in Velabzhd, headed by the Deyanovtsi (Dragashi) family. The
progenitor of Deyanovtsi is Sebastocrator and despot Deyan Dragash. The
possessions of his sons Ioan Dragash and Konstantin Dragash stretched
between the rivers Vardar and Struma, and the main city of the district
Velbazhd was chosen as the capital. Under Konstantin Dragash, the
despotism had a great territorial expansion, but it fell under the
Ottoman Empire. Despot Konstantin Dragash died together with Krali Marko
/also an Ottoman vassal/, fighting on the side of Bayezid I in the
battle of Rovine against the Wallachian ruler Mirceo Stari in 1395. He
was succeeded by his son Jacob, who accepted Islam and the name Yakub.
The last ruler of Velbazhd was Yusuf (Christian name Stefan), probably a
Muslim son of Constantine Dragash or Yakub. After Constantine Dragash,
after his conquest by the Ottoman Turks, the city was named Kyustendil
according to the practice of the Ottoman conquerors to name conquered
cities after the last Christian ruler.
After the conquest of the Balkan Peninsula, Kyustendil became the
administrative center of the Kyustendil sanjak, the largest in the
province of Rumelia, which included 14 kaazis (districts):
Kyustendilska, Radomirska, Dupnishka, Petrichka, Melnishka,
Doyranska, Tikveshka, Veleshka, Strumishka, Radovishka, Shtipska ,
Kratovska, Vranyashka and Krivopalanska.
The Christian
population of Kyustendil was banished to the surrounding villages,
massacred and Mohammedanized. In his place, 60 Turkish families from
Konya, Asia Minor settled in the city. The name Velbzhd was replaced
by Konstantin-illi (Constantine's land) after the name of its last
Christian ruler Konstantin Dragash, which passed into Kyustendil.
The conquest of the city by the Ottoman Turks led to its rapid
decline, and for centuries to come it became a provincial Ottoman
city with a predominantly Turkish population and an oriental
appearance.
Several times the city was briefly liberated by
Christian troops. In the first case during the Great Turkish War,
the Austrians made an attempt to capture Kyustendil as well, thereby
defeating the Turkish troops massed in that area. Strahil Voivode
took the most active part in this attack. The Sofia governor Husein
Pasha sends two Asia Minor generals - Ahmed Pasha from Hamid and
Mehmed Bey from Janik to defend Kyustendil. As the city was guarded
on the field side by 300 men of Seimen, Strahil the voivode passed
through the mountains and attacked at night. Thus the detachment
managed to enter the city, looted and set on fire. Only then did the
Turkish defenders of the fortress and the seymmen from the field
regain their composure and start a pursuit. The second case was in
March 1690, when the Austrian general Antonio Valerio Žič with a
troop of 2,000 infantrymen and 100 horsemen penetrated the area,
defeated the Turks and captured the city. 46 years later - in 1737,
another Austrian detachment of 100 horsemen penetrated to the nearby
Kyustendil village of Perivol (now Dragovishtitsa), defeated the
Turkish army, captured the flag and retreated.
During the
Renaissance, the city began to rapidly develop and grow, one of the
reasons for this being the increase in the number of the Christian
Bulgarian population. In the 1930s, the French geologist Ami Buet
passed through here, describing Kostendil as a crowded city with
5,000-6,000 Bulgarian and Muslim inhabitants. There are quite a few
mosques, a clock tower, and a large number of shops, with gunsmiths
and blacksmiths predominating. There are several baths with mineral
water. According to the testimonies of American missionaries who
visited the city in 1859, it has 15 thousand inhabitants, half of
them Turks and the rest Bulgarians.
Churches were built:
"Assumption" (1816), "St. Mina" (1859), "St. Dimitar" (1866). A cell
school was opened (1821), later a mutual school (1849), the first
community center in the area was founded (1869). The inhabitants of
the city take an active part in the church-national struggle. In the
surrounding mountains, the Hajdush troops of Ilio voivoda and Rumena
voivoda, one of the few female voivodes in Bulgarian history,
operate. In 1872, the teacher Todor Peev founded a secret
revolutionary committee. Kyustendil was liberated by Russian troops
on January 29, 1878 (new style). Kyustendils took part in the
militia during the Russian-Turkish war.
After the Liberation, Kyustendil became one of the important urban
centers of Southwestern Bulgaria. In 1909, it was connected with Sofia
by a railway line. At the beginning of the 20th century, Kyustendil was
a provincial industrial and commercial center with a developed light and
food industry and fruit growing. The city is also establishing itself as
a resort.
At the outbreak of the Balkan War in 1912, 132 people
from the town volunteered in the Macedonian-Odrina militia.
During the time of the People's Republic, large industrial enterprises
were built in Kyustendil, such as the Condenser Plant, the Optical
Mechanical Plant, the Transformer Plant, the Kitchen Equipment Plant,
the Shoe Plant, "Vinprom", the Cannery, the Yarn Plant, etc. In the
1960s and 1970s, massive construction was carried out, the modern
residential complexes "Zapad", "Rumyana Voivoda", "Gerena", "Buzludzha"
were formed.
Coat of arms of the municipality
The coat of arms of the
municipality of Kyustendil was developed by the artist Kiril Gogov in
1976. It is designed in the form of a French shield, divided into 4
fields, in which a fortress tower, a lily, an apple blossom and the
temple of Asclepius are depicted. On the diagonal, the fields of the
shield are in blue and red. The shield is surmounted by a fortress
crown.
Mayor of the municipality
The local elections in 2011
were won by Petar Paunov (second term).
Municipality
The ratio
after the 2007 Municipal Council elections is as follows:
Coalition "Kyustendil" (SDF, DSB, Agricultural People's Union,
Democratic Party, Gerg'ovden Movement, SSD) - 8 councilors;
BSP – 8
councilors;
GERB – 6 advisers;
Coalition "United for the
Municipality of Kyustendil" (NDSV, VMRO - BND) - 4 councilors;
Coalition "Initiative for Kyustendil - OSOGOV" ("Bulgarian Party
Liberals", "Civil Union for New Bulgaria") - 2 councilors;
Attack – 2
advisors;
Coalition "For my city" ("New Times", "Bulgarian Democratic
Union "Radicals", "Union of Patriotic Forces "Defense") - 2 councilors;
and
1 independent municipal councilor appointed by an initiative
committee.
The last local elections for municipal councilors in 2011
were annulled by the Supreme Court.
Institutions
As the
administrative center of a region and municipality, the city is home to
numerous municipal and state institutions: Municipal Administration,
Regional Administration, District Court, Regional Directorate of the
Ministry of Internal Affairs, Regional Labor Inspection Directorate,
Regional Directorate of Agriculture, Territorial Directorate of State
archive'; Regional Center of the National Institute of Meteorology and
Hydrology, Regional Department of Education, Regional Health Insurance
Fund, Multidisciplinary Hospital for Active Treatment "Dr. Nikola
Vassilev", Regional College of the Bulgarian Medical Union, etc.
Twin Cities
The city of Kyustendil is a sister city and maintains
relations with the following cities:
Klintsi, Bryansk region,
Russia
Coco Beach, Florida, USA (Decision No. 243/25.02.2005 of the
OBS-Kyustendil)
Leskovac, Serbia,
Givatayim, Israel.
The city is a center of light and processing industry: logging, shoe
manufacturing, knitwear, clothing, children's toys, packaging, alcohol
production, bakery, printing and canning. In the city there are
enterprises for the production of capacitors, carbon and fiberglass
products, power transformers, household and kitchen furniture and
joinery. Hospitality and tourism have been developing in recent years.
The region has traditions in fruit growing and trade in fresh and dried
fruit.
Kyustendil is the center of an agricultural region with
centuries-old traditions in the field of fruit growing, which is why the
city and its surroundings are known as "the orchard of Bulgaria".