Southwestern Bulgaria
The town of Doupnitsa (38 323 inhabitants, 510 m) is situated at the north-western foot of Rila, on both banks of River German, a left tributary of Strouma, which spings from the Seven Rila Lakes. It is situated 69 km south of Sofia, 38 km south of Kyustendil, 33 km north of Blagoevgrad and 40 km west of Samokov.
History & Landmarks
History: The town originated after the Ottoman invasion. First accounts about it date back to 14th century. Its name is mentioned in the diary of the knight Arnold von Harf who visited the country in 1499. He described it as “a nice town”. The town is the birthplace of the activist from the Revival Period Christaki Pavlovitch (1804 - 1848), a teacher and a scholar, who published the first Bulgarian textbooks in arithmetics and history (“Tsarstvenik ili Istoriya Bolgarskaya”), the first Bulgarian book in secular script and the first Bulgarian printed publication of Slav-Bulgarian History of Paissii Hilendarski.
Landmarks: The Town Museum of History (tel.: 0701 22208), the remains of the medieval fortress Koulata, the clock tower from 1782, the St. Konstantin and Elena Church, restored in 1902, the Holy Virgin Church from 1789, the St. Nikola Church from 1844. The town has its Institute of Pedagogy.
