Welcome to Sapareva banya

They called him Germanea...
Some centuries ago, when the ravines were raining, the old men here said very softly that God German was angry. That's why he lit the sky with lightning and blasted like this the clouds to one another, and strong thunder heard. Others have claimed that the name Germanea comes from the Greek "germ" - hot, because of the hot mineral springs, gushing on these lands. Generations have passed, not only the bits, the architecture and the beliefs have changed, but also the name itself. From Germanea through Gorna Banya, today this city, located on the northern slopes of the Rila Mountain at 750 m above sea level, proudly bears its name Sapareva Banya.
The town of Sapareva Bania stands 75 km southwest of the city of Sofia and 56 km away from the regional center Kyustendil. It was near E79, part of an international one transport corridor 4. The climate is transient continental with average January temperature 0 degrees and in July 22 degrees. Part of the municipality's territory is within the Rila National Park. The city is popular with its mineral springs. Here springs the hottest continental water + 103 degrees Celsius, and the only geyser - a fountain in continental Europe. In 1957, the Sapareva Banya symbol erupted during the studies. The height of the water column is 18 m. If you want to experience the healing properties of Sapareva mineral water you can visit the Sapareva Banya Mineral Complex and the Anchor Aquapark.
The city has an ancient history, remnants of which can be seen around the medieval church of St. Nicholas, located in the center of the municipality, and in the Kremennik area. It is remarkable the church, buried in the ground at a depth of 1.1 m, "St. Virgin Mary Georgian the Victorious". Another church in the city is the church "St. Forty Martyrs" built and painted between the 50s and the 80s in the 19th century. The icon of the Virgin is preserved here, considered to be miraculous. Interesting to visit are the "St. John the Theologian" church, the ethno collection, where you can see objects, clothes and tools of labor and the house of a doctor Marinov, a kind of woodcarving museum. It contains wrought iron items, stone mosaics and original furniture.
10 km away from Sapareva Banya is Panichishte ski resort and a place for relaxation in the summer. From here you can reach the Rila Lakes on foot, taking 4 hours, or climb the two-seater lift from Pionerska hut to reach the Rila Lakes hut, avoiding the steepest stretch of the road to the Rila Lakes. The lane is 2163 m long and the journey with it will take 16 minutes. There are several monasteries in the vicinity - "St. Michael the Mihail", located 1.5 km southeast, Resilovsky Monastery "Pokrov Bogorodichen" 7 km in the same direction, which is active and is gentle and "St. Stephen" 3 km, also active and only bearing this name in Bulgaria. It has a church, residential buildings, and the Stylian Paflanniiski chapel. If you want to see the cascade of the seven waterfalls you can go on the Eco Trail "Goritsa" - 3.5 km. It leads to the Ovcharevo waterfall, situated next to the Kabul part of Rila. The length of the trail is about 2 km and goes for 40 minutes. At 8 km is Mount Kabul. Another eco path is the Tales of Tales. It is called because all of its paths have plaques with drawings of favorites fairy tales and fairy-tale characters. The town has many guest houses, small family hotels and villas that will offer you a good service and cozy atmosphere. If you own a caravan, a camper or want to sleep in a tent, Sapareva Banya has conditions for this - camping Verila.
They called it Germanea... the city that now bears the name Sapareva Banya.