Kyustendil Spring

The public holiday of the town of Kyustendil – Kyustendil spring, was first celebrated in 1966. It has a long-lasted story as the St. St. 40 Martyrs holiday celebrated in the Hisarlaka district. From 1966 a beauty competition is held, where Miss Kyustendil Spring is elected with two runners-up. This is the first beauty competition in Bulgaria. The holiday is organized by the Municipality with the participation of the most prominent artistic groups and performers from the town. In the years the holiday became more and more popular and attracted the most popular Bulgarian artists and showmen. The Kyustendil Spring is held under the patronage of the town’s mayor. This is the first holiday in Bulgaria having a statute and being patented in the Patent Office of the Republic of Bulgaria. From 2001 the holiday grew to March Cultural Holidays (exhibitions, rallies, concerts, authors nights and others). The Kyustendil Spring holiday is based on the solar cult. The symbol of the Kyustendil Spring holiday is the solar disk with an apple blossom in the middle filled in green or golden.