Dupnica
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Dupnitsa Дупница |
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Dupnitsa in front of the highest mountain in Southeastern Europe - the Rila Mountain
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 Dupnitsa
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| Coordinates: 42°15′52″N 23°06′59″E / 42.2645°N 23.1164°ECoordinates: 42°15′52″N 23°06′59″E / 42.2645°N 23.1164°E | ||
| Country | Bulgaria | |
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Province (Oblast) |
Kyustendil | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor | Metodi Chimev (GERB) | |
| Area | ||
| • City | 32.321 km2 (12.479 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 535 m (1,755 ft) | |
| Population 2014/12/31 | ||
| • City | 31,868 | |
| • Density | 990/km2 (2,600/sq mi) | |
| • Urban | 42,470 | |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | |
| Postal Code | 2600 | |
| Area code(s) | 0701 | |
| Website | www |
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Dupnitsa (Bulgarian: Дупница (previously Дубница), sometimes transliterated Dupnica) is a town in western Bulgaria. It is at the foot of the highest mountain in the Balkan Peninsula – the Rila Mountain, and about 50 km south of the capital Sofia. Dupnitsa is the second largest city in Kyustendil Province.
A nickname of the town is "the town of pharmacy".
Dupnitsa is referred to as "The Green and Shady Town", because of its location which makes it quite shady in summer and due to the abundance of trees in the town. Dupnitsa is that is often called "The Little Italy of Bulgaria". This nickname comes from the fact that many inhabitants have gone over the years to work and live in Italy and every summer they return to their hometown.
The town has existed since Antiquity. The German traveler Arnold von Harff visited Dupnitsa in 1499 and described it as a "beautiful town". The names Tobinitsa, Doupla and Dubnitsa are mentioned throughout history, the last one used until the Liberation of Bulgaria, when the official name was changed to Dupnitsa. In 1948 the town was renamed Stanke Dimitrov; for a short period in 1949 it was called Marek; the name was changed to Stanke Dimitrov in 1950. After the democratic changes, the old name Dupnitsa was restored.
On 15 October 1902, around 600 women and children fled to the vicinity of Dupnitsa from Macedonia from the attacking Turkish troops.
On a hill overlooking the town there is a giant cross, commemorating the Bulgarians who perished in the Balkan wars and World War I. On the same hill there lay the ruins of a medieval fortress.
During the World War II, even though there was no deportation of Bulgarian Jews of the former Bulgarian territories, over 4,000 Jews from parts of Greece and Yugoslavia annexed by Bulgaria were arrested on 4 March 1943 and deported to an internment camp in Dupnitza. After ten days in the Dupnitza camp, on 18–19 March they were transferred by train to Lom on the Danube.
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Wikipedia