Cyrillic Spelling: Kостенец
Popular: 10,400

Kostenets is a good sized spa town around 10kms from Dolna Banya and 75kms from Sofia. In fact, it has such an abundance of rich mineral springs that it attracts large amounts of tourists all years round to experience their healing and restorative properties.

History of Kostenets

As with all settlements in the area, the history of Kostenets goes back along time. As well as being a favoured spa resort, Kostenets has also and still is a trade route (Sofia-Istanbul) and in Roman times, it was a powerful administrative centre. The first recorded dates of Kostenets were from the Bronze and Iron ages and in the first millennium BC, recent discoveries showed that a Thracian tribe also lived where modern day Kostenets is. From findings, it appears that the tribe was called 'Besse' and from the 1st Century AD, Kostenets was an administrative centre in the powerful Roman controlled region known as the Serdica Province.

Sights and landmarks of Kostenets

Due to Kostenets varied history and age, it has plenty of historic sites in and around the town. The Trayanovi Vrata Fortress which is from Roman times can be seen just outside the town and is a protected Bulgarian cultural monument. It was here in the year 986 that the famous Bulgarian King Samuil defeated the Byzantine Emperor Vasilius the Second thus preserving Bulgaria. Around the fortress are the remains of 6 Roman settlements.

From the Bronze and early Iron age, there have been discovered 36 preserved burial mounds, 20 mound necropolises, remains of 11 village settlements. This indicates that in the Bronze and Iron ages, Kostenets was a significant town with a flourishing population considering the dates.

Kostenets does have some interesting Christian monuments and churches which are definitely worth a look at. There is primarily the church of St. Georgi and then the quaint chapels of St. Ilia, St. Petka and St. Pantaleimon.