Pernik

October 19 is the patron holiday of Pernik and St. John of Rila is the patron of the town. Pernik is a city in western Bulgaria. It is the main city of Pernik Province and lies on both banks of the Struma River in the Pernik Valley between the Golo Bardo Mountain, Vitosha Mountain, Lyulin and Viskyar mountains. Originally the site of a Thracian fortress founded in the 4th century BC, and later a Roman settlement, Pernik became part of the Bulgarian Empire in the early 9th century as an important fortress. The medieval town was a key Bulgarian stronghold during Bulgarian tsar Samuil's wars against the Byzantine Empire in the 11th century, when it was governed by the local noble Krakra of Pernik, withstanding Byzantine sieges a number of times. In the 20th century Pernik developed rapidly as a centre for coal mining and heavy industry. The economy of Pernik started to transform after 1989. The huge industrial factories lost their economic importance, and some of them completely stopped their activities.