Kiustendil District

an administrative-territorial division in western Bulgaria, bordering on Yugoslavia. Area, 3,000 sq km. Population, about 200,000 (1970). The adminstrative center is the city of Kiustendil.

The district is bordered by the Rila Mountains, the Osogov-ska-Planina (mountains) and the intramontane Kiustendil and Stanke Dimitrov basins, and the Struma River valley. The main industries are the brown coal industry (Bobov-Dol basin, about 3 million tons), the electric power industry (several hydroelectric power plants and the Bobov-Dol thermoelectric power plant with a capacity of 600 megawatts), the timber and paper industry (paper and cardboard plants near Kocherinovo), the pharmaceutical and machine-building industries (both mainly in the city of Stanke-Dimitrov), and the food-and-condiment industry (throughout the province). Stanke-Dimitrov and Kiustendil are the industrial centers.

Agriculture in the district consists primarily of tobacco and fruit growing. The district is also known for livestock breeding (cattle and sheep). Orchards cover about one-fifth of the cultivated land. The Kiustendil basin is an “orchard” of apple and sweet cherry trees. Large quantities of fruit, fresh and canned, and high-grade tobacco are exported. Logging camps are primarily located on the slopes of the Rila Mountains. The district has the balneological health resorts of Kiustendil and Sapareva-Bania and mountain health resorts and tourist centers in the Rila Mountains. The Rila Monastery is a cultural and historical monument.