Kiustendil

(Kyustendil), a city in western Bulgaria; administrative center of Kiustendil Okrug. Population, 45,000 (1970). Center of a fruit- and tobacco-growing region, the city has fruit-canning, tobacco, machine-building, textile, and furniture industries. The city also has a scientific research institute of fruit-growing.

Kiustendil is one of the oldest balneological resorts; its thermae were used by the Romans in the second century A.D. The climate is mild, with features of the Mediterranean climate. Summers are warm and sunny (average July temperature, 21.3°C); winters are very mild (average January temperature, 0.7°C). Annual precipitation totals 650 mm. Therapeutic remedies include more than 40 hot (71°-74°C) springs of slightly mineralized siliceous hydrocarbonate-sulfate sodium waters containing fluorine and hydrogen sulfide. The composition of the water from Spring No. 1 is

The spring waters are used for drinking therapy, as well as for baths, irrigations, and inhalations; they are also used in swimming pools. Treatment is provided for individuals suffering from diseases of and aftereffects of injuries to the locomotor organs and the peripheral nervous system, diseases of the upper respiratory tract, gynecological and skin disorders, and chronic intoxications with salts of heavy metals. The resort has sanatoriums, balneological hospitals with pool facilities, houses of rest, guest houses, hotels, athletic fields, and a sports complex.