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: 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. St. Konstantin and Elena Church, restored in 1902, the Holly Virgin Church from 1789, the St. Nikola Church from 1844. The town has its Institute of Pedagogy.
Accommodation: Hotel Rila (1, Svoboda Square), Moskva Hotel, in the nearby Sapareva Banya Resort and Panichishte Resort.
Tourist Information: Rilski Ezera Tourist Association (1, Kokiche Street, tel.: 0701 22524), Balkantourist Bureau, Mountain Rescue Service (tel.: 0701 25466).
Transport: The town is located on the international motorway and the railway line Sofia-Koulata-Athens. Every house there is a bus to Sofia and Sapareva Banya. There are regular bus connections with Kyustendil, Blagoevgrad, Razlog, Bansko, Pernik, the Rila Monastery, the town of Rila and all villages in the region. The bus station is located in the western part of the town (tel.: 0701 22368). The railway station is 10 minutes walking time to the south of the railway station (tel.: 0701 25834). There is bus transport within the town.
