Holy Places in Kyustendil District (Introductory)
The district of Kyustendil impresses with its unique nature, fertile land, flushing healing thermal springs. Important road arteries cross here and the picturesque valley of Struma River that runs across the whole region from North to South and the territories along its fast streaming feeders, which rise from softly rounded forest eminences of the Osogovo Mountain and the imposing Rila, are covered with numerous monuments of culture from all historic epochs. The oldest traces of human presence here /near the village of Krainitsi/ are also the oldest ones known on the territory of Bulgaria. Here are situated and popular for the history science prehistoric objects near the town of Sapareva Banya, the villages of Slatino, Nevestino, Vaksevo, Piperkov Chiflik, town of Kyustendil, etc. More remarkable objects dated in Antiquity are Pautalia – today’s town of Kyustendil and Germania – today’s town of Sapareva Banya. Kyustendil is a town with seven millennia living history and two millennia ceaseless town tradition. Born and developed along the hot mineral springs, on fertile lands, in conditions of favorable climate and surrounded with beautiful nature it has had its reason and chance, during its millennial historic development, to be always a center of administrative, economic, political and spiritual life. Today the town is known not only because of its rich culture heritage and as a balneological center but also as a town of artists and the fruit garden of Bulgaria.
Numerous ruins of settlements, fortresses, ancient towns, sanctuaries and necropolises, monasteries, churches, chapels, towers, mosques, Turkish baths, bridges, houses – spread over the whole territory of Kyustendil district are like real messages from the past. One of the most allegorical among them is the World monument of culture, the Rila Monastery.
Great part of these places are considered as holy ones and are connected with specific rituality, which since hundred of centuries for the man has been the way in reaching God, praying for health or for propitiating nature. Rock cuts connected with the cult to the Sun date in Prehistory – rock niches, circles and hollows near the villages of Kocherinovo, Lilyach and the town of Kyustendil. From the later period holy shrines and sanctuaries are the places where the Thracians and then the Romans worshipped their Gods through prayers, gifts and rituals. Example to this are the Pautalia Asklepion near the hot mineral springs of Kyustendil and the sanctuaries existed in the past along the slopes of the town hill, today known as “Hisarlaka”.
The earliest traces of Christian culture within the region are known after archeological excavations on ancient and late ancient basilicas within the territory of Pautalia. Especially strong is the concentration in Kyustendil district of survived through centuries medieval and late medieval churches, monasteries and chapels – more than 16 in number, among which is the pearl of the medieval art and architecture “St. George” situated in the Kyustendil quarter of Kolusha. During the Bulgarian Renaissance period, and even later, in almost all of the settlements within the region upon medieval ruins again were built Christian shrines. Allegorical in Kyustendil district is the cult to Saint Ivan Rilski and the places related to him – the caves above his native village of Skrino, where he has lived ascetically, and most of all the established by Father and his disciples Great Rila Monastery. His saintliness’ fame has spread over Bulgarian lands and has begun popular as Saint-protector of whole Bulgarian people.
The preserved through centuries ancient chapels remind us in a particular romantic way about our ancestors’ will, about their true faith and deep human morality. And the consecrated grounds with drove into cross or just a stone, caught by the shadow of centuries-old oak, elm or walnut trees and in much of the cases with flowing near-by “holy water”, lead us far away in the pagan times and from that time on can be recognized stratifications of different cultures that have resisted to vicissitudes of history.
All these monuments irrespectively of their location and dating express the eternal man worship of divinity, his connection with explicable and non-explicable things of Earth, nature and universe. These are holy places which in spite of some assimilatory functions of different religions and ideologies in one or other form have preserved their holiness and since centuries have been objects of man’s cult and honouring.
Kyustendil region with its rich and varied culture heritage, with their beautiful nature, healthy climate, healing mineral springs and good ecological environment are wonderful places for resting and tourism. This fact is completed by the closeness to the capital of Bulgaria with international airport, international railway and bus stations.