Bansko is one of the biggest winter resorts in the country. If you add to this its architectural and historical value, Bansko is the pearl in the Bulgarian necklace.

The town of Bansko is situated at 925 m. above the sea level at the northeastern foot of Pirin beneath the highest and the most beautiful Karst part of the mountain. It is 160 km. south of Sofia, 60 km. southeast of Blagoevgrad, and at 6 km. south of Razlog.

A traditional feast in Bansko is the Summer Jazz – Festival with popular performers from Bulgaria. Under the dome of the Pirin sky, in the lovely nights of August you can enjoy nice jazz music.

HISTORY

The remains of ancient fortresses, Thracian tumuli, medieval colonies, consecrated grounds, churches and chapels within the town earthwork testify to several historical epochs. Thracian burial mounds were discovered close to the Old Town site. The remains of the late medieval single-nave St. George and St. Elijah churches, monuments of culture, are to the southeast of Bansko.

Later Bansko was distinguished as an important mercantile and craftsman centre of a new, revival type. Large clans became wealthy; they carried over to their motherland not only the culture of the countries they visited but also they sent their children to study abroad.

They built strong two-storey fortress houses of stone with high walls and heavy solid gates, with long eaves of black fir. This style of architecture reached a full bloom during the Revival. The oldest houses of Hadjivalcho, Hadjirusko and Velian were protected by internal coverts and loopholes.

Bansko was liberated from Ottoman yoke on the 5th (18th) of October 1912, on the day the Balkan war was declared.

SIGHTSEEING

The church Sveta Troica (St. Trinity church 1835) is a masterpiece of architecture with the ensemble of old buildings of the same name beside it. Lazar Guerman, a well-known tradesman from Bansko, is an initiator and contributor for its construction.

Interesting is the monument of culture - the House-museum of Neofit Rilski. He was born in 1793, and was a patriarch of the Bulgarian education and enlightenment. He studied icon-painting and his teacher was Toma Vishanov – Molera. Later in the Rila monastery he became monk

You also can enjoy one of the most beautiful houses in the town – Velianovata. It is situated in the immediate neighborhood of Sveta Troica (St. Trinity) church. Very beautiful is the native house of the Bulgarian poet Nikola Vaptsarov.

TRANSPORT

The basic type of transport that connects the town to the rest of the country is the bus transport. There are regular bus lines to Sofia, Blagoevgrad, Gotse Delchev and Razlog. The central bus station is modern and huge. It is located in the eastern end of the town (tel: (+359 7443) 2441, 2420)

SURROUNDING AREAS

The most impressive one of the surroundings of Bansko is the legendary mountain of Pirin. The biggest part of tourist flow heading for the mountain goes through the town. 6 km. south of Bansko is the town of Dobrinishte.There are 17 mineral springs with water temperature between 30 and 43oC.

To the south of Bansko is the Pirin National Park. The localities of Chalin valog, Todorova Ornitsa, Demyanishka polyana, Shiligarnika and the chalets of Vihren, Demyanitsa, Bunderitsa, Gotse Delchev and Bezbog offer wonderful conditions for summer and winter tourism and rest with ski-lifts and rope-lines.