Description of the attraction
Kyustendil is located in the southwestern part of Bulgaria - one of the oldest towns in the country. Already in the era of ancient Rome, he was well known, not least of all this glory he owes to numerous thermal and mineral springs. The Romans dubbed Kyustendil "the city of baths".
Monuments left over from the Romans, and even earlier ones from the ancient Thracians, can be found in almost every city where there are mineral springs. The healing properties of local water were discovered thousands of years ago, and the development of settlements depended on this.
The Romans called Kyustendil Pautalia, here in the second century they built Roman baths - special hydropathic establishments, as well as a large Asklepion - the temple of Asclepius, the god of medicine. All together, this made up a single temple-medical complex, which occupied an area of about three and a half thousand square meters. Asklepion Pautalia - evidence that the Romans appreciated the local water. According to historians, only legionnaires who distinguished themselves in battle could heal wounds in the baths. Also, Emperor Trajan himself loved to take health baths here.
The complex of Roman baths is one of the oldest buildings in the city. It surrounds the monumental building of the old mosque Ahmed Bey, which now houses the city museum. In it you can see some finds from the excavations of the thermal baths. After the ruins of the Varna Roman baths, the Kyustendil baths are the second largest in Bulgaria.
To this day, rooms equipped with a unique heating system, water canals, the remains of a pool, architectural fragments, utility rooms, as well as various objects and coins, on which the image of the thermal baths, theater and stadium, which were located nearby, have been minted, have survived.
