Discover Kyustendil: Thermal Waters, Culture and Crafts

Kyustendil brings together thermal waters, ancient bath architecture and a diverse cultural history. The mineral water springs provide thermal water at temperatures of 26 to 76 °C. The city also offers museums, historic buildings, art and traditional crafts among the many ways to spend your stay.

Thermal Waters and Ancient Baths

The Chifte Bath is a public bath dating from 1913. It is supplied with hot mineral water and is intended for balneotherapy with therapeutic treatments, kinesitherapy and massages. If you plan to have a treatment, check in advance which services are currently available. Another historic building is the Dervish Bath: it was restored in 2005 and is designated an architectural monument.

The Asklepion, or Roman Baths, also speaks to Kyustendil’s long bathing tradition. The complex dates from the early 2nd century and covers more than 3,000 square metres. Each of its nine excavated rooms has a Roman hypocaust heating system. Its date, scale and heating system give the complex a distinct archaeological dimension; they also reveal the significance of the bath complex as a building.

On Foot Through the Centre and Old Town

The walking route through the centre of Kyustendil takes about two to three hours and is approximately two kilometres long. These estimates can help you plan how much time to allow for a city walk. Among the notable historic buildings is the Prokopiewa House, the oldest surviving building from the Bulgarian National Revival period in Kyustendil. It was built at the end of the 18th century in the Gradets (Varosha) neighbourhood, in the heart of the Old Town, near Velbazhd Square and the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

The St. George Museum Complex includes a preserved church dating from the 11th to 12th centuries, with five layers of frescoes. Hisarlaka Fortress is classified as an architectural and construction monument of national significance. The Ahmed Bey Mosque, known as Indzhili—the Christian Mosque—also reflects several building phases: it was built of stone blocks and bricks in 1575, remodelled and expanded in 1734, and is also an architectural monument of national significance.

Museums, Art and Remembrance

The Acad. Yordan Ivanov Regional History Museum preserves more than 100,000 movable cultural assets from archaeology, numismatics, ethnography, and older and more recent history. In the museum courtyard is the Pautalia Lapidarium, with stone sculptures and architectural elements from the 2nd and 3rd centuries. The collection areas and stone artefacts offer different ways to explore the history of the place.

The Dimitar Peshev House Museum presents a permanent exhibition on the events of March 1943 and the role of Dimitar Peshev and his fellow citizens in saving Bulgarian Jews during the Second World War. At the Iljo Voyvoda House Museum, an exhibition in six halls explores the region’s national liberation struggles. The Vladimir Dimitrov – The Master Art Gallery owns 1,359 works by the artist; about 100 are on display in the permanent exhibition.

The Sts. Cyril and Methodius Mutual School has been restored and designated a cultural monument. Today, it is a cultural venue for exhibitions, concerts and other events. In Kyustendil, historic collections sit alongside a building used for a current cultural programme.

Crafts, Festival and Outdoor Activities

At the Kyustendil Crafts Centre, you can meet masters of traditional regional crafts in person and learn more about knife-making, beekeeping, woodcarving, pottery, shoemaking, folk costume making, embroidery and stained glass. The craftspeople and workshops taking part may change. The National Dzhamala Masquerade Festival takes place every year in February; check the dates for your travel period in advance.

For some time outdoors, Ezerata Ecopark has two artificial lakes connected by a tunnel bridge. A footpath and a decorative stream run around the lakes; there are also green spaces and places to rest. Pautalia Karting Track is in the southwestern part of the city, surrounded by a pine forest. It has four track configurations, the longest measuring 1,050 metres. Check operating conditions before your visit.

For information to help you get around the city, the Tourist Information Centre provides details on all types of transport and communication and offers city maps and travel guides. The variety of themes—from ancient bath architecture and museums to crafts and walking routes—gives you ideas for exploring Kyustendil according to your own interests.

Discover more destinations: Ranentsi, Lomnitsa, Kopilovtsi, Treklyano, Boboshevo, Kocherinovo, Rila.

Return to the main travel overview: Kyustendil Province.