ABOUT THE TOWN OF SIMITLI
The town of Simitli is situated 13 km to the south of the town of Blagoevgrad, along the Strouma River. Flattered at the mountains of Rila, Pirin, Vlahina and Maleshevska, united by the picturesque rivers of Strouma and Mesta, the town and its surrounding villages give the unique opportunity for recreation and tourism.
The nature has endowed the municipality of Simitli with healing mineral springs, varied relief and the most important – with hospitable people, who keep the old traditions even in the present days. The holidays Babougeruvane, Christmas Eve and Christmas have been celebrating for centuries. Easter fair and fair of the Christian holiday 'Virgin Mary’s Day' are regularly organised as well.
Seventeen villages are joined to the town, which is an administrative centre of the municipality.

HISTORY
In the historical documents from the middle of XV century the town of Simitly is mentioned for the first time by the name of village of Bania. On a wall in the 'Council of St. Archangel Mihail' monastery, situated in the village of Troskovo, was written: 'Founder Toshe from the village of Bania, Gornojumaisko'. During the XVI century the town has already mentioned as Simitlu, Simitlii. There is an interpretation that the name of the town is related to its geographical location (Simen – centre, a crossroad of the two largest rivers in the Southwestern Bulgaria – Strouma and Mesta). According to other sources, the name comes from the white small loaf of bread 'simit'

BALNEOLOGY
Nature has generously endowed the town with mineral springs. In the past there were known 27 natural minerals in the sources but many of them were faded away in the course of time. At present the temperature of the water varies from 30 to 60oC. Most of the springs are clear, without smell and sediments. The water contains fluorine, sulphate, silicon and sodium.
Their healing properties include treatment of diseases of locomotory system, gynaecological diseases and chronic inflammatory processes. One of the most attractive and healing springs are situated in the villages of Oshtava and Dolno Osenovo. The complex of two open-air swimming pools with mineral water, located in the town is also of interest.

FISHING AND HUNTING
The animal wildlife in the town of Simitli is richly represented. There are stock-breeding farms for big game - 'Negovan' (1968 ha) and 'Loboshevo' (649 ha). There is also a hunting reserve, which includes territories of the places of Kiselitsata, Belakata, Kanarite and Rakochovets with an area of over 10 000 ha.
Here one can see bears, wild boars, goats, roes, foxes, wolves, hamsters and martens in the mountains.
Sparrows, turtle-doves, doves, falcons, titmouses, blackbirds, partridges, thrushes and corn-cockles hibernate here. Nightingales, swallows, ducks, snipes and storks join them during the spring and the summer.
The Strouma and Mesta rivers are planted with a barbel, Balkan and American trout. But for sport fishing the Strouma River is mostly used, where were often caught chubs, carps and sheat-fishes, which weight up to 15-20 kg.

SURROUNDING AREAS
There are many churches and monasteries in the vicinity of the town of Simitli. A church was built in each village in the municipality. Most of them have local meaning and the church in the village of Mechkul has regional meaning.

The 'Holy Virgin' Church in the town of Simitli was built in 1923. The church was constructed as a memorial in honour of the perished soldiers from the 7-th Rila Division during the Balkan War. It is a building with a nave and two aisles, a pseudo –basilica, balcony, narthex and out-door gallery.
The Church 'St. Dimitar of Solun' in the village of Brejani was built in 1847. The icons in the temple are given by the people. There are not any frescoes, because the church has been burnt twice- by the Otomans and by the Greeks.
The 'St. Archangel Mihail' Monastery, which is situated in the village of Brestovo, was built in 1149 according to a unique plan, possessing an exceptional solidity. It is supposed that the toughness is due to the fact that the mortar is made of milk, sugar and eggs. The monastery is located in the Stara Reka (Old River) Valley, in Popovska quarter, 20 km away from the town of Simitli, below the road to the village of Suhostrel. Nowadays only the church is left.
The church 'St. Arhangel Mihail' in the village of Gorno Oranovo was built during the second half of the 19 th century. (a monument with a cultural value). It is a building with a nave and two aisles, a pseudo-basilica, with a balcony, a narthex and an outside gallery. The building is a flint and stone work, which stones are spoiled with mud; the facade gaps are plastered up. The roof is two stopped.
The 'St. St. Peter and Pavel' Church in the village of Mechkul is a monument of culture, built in 1894. Masters of the Bansko iconography school made the wall paintings and the iconostasis.
The church 'St. Ilia the Propher' in the village of Gorna Jeleznica is a stone- made basilica with a half-cylindrical wooden vault. The painted bars, the balcony and the painted pulpit are of great interest. The frescoes, on which 20 scenes are shown date as far back as 1905 when the church was renewed . The painted iconostasis is also decorated with a heavy coloured fretwork.
The 'St. Ilia' Church in the village of Gradevo is stone pseudo- basilica with a narthex and a balcony over it. There are carvings and dragons over the Southern and the western vaults. The interior has been decorated during the years by four icon- painters according to the Bulgarian revival tradition.
The church 'St. Nikola' in the village of Gradevo (Ovnartsi) is situated at the foot of the mountains of Rila and Pirin and was built in 1962. The church is a stony pseudo-basilica with a narthex and an outdoor gallery on the West and on the South.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SIGHTS AND MONUMENTS:
Remains of Roman road and Thracian-Roman village, situated in the village of Poleto, are a monument of culture with national meaning. This part of the road was connected Central Europe and the areas along the Danube River with the Mediterranean.
Mediaeval fortress, known as the Roman wall, is situated near the town of Simitli in the quarter of Oranovo, the Simitliiska Valley.