Rila, Bulgaria

For other uses, see Rila (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 42°08′N 23°08′E / 42.133°N 23.133°E / 42.133; 23.133

Rila
Рила
Town
Rila

Location of Rila

Coordinates: 42°08′N 23°08′E / 42.133°N 23.133°E / 42.133; 23.133
Country Bulgaria
Province (Oblast) Kyustendil
Municipality Rila
Government
 • Mayor Georgi Kabzimalski
Elevation 593 m (1,946 ft)
Population (2008)
 • Total 3,044
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal Code 2630
Area code(s) 07054
Main street in town Rila
Rila Monastery

Rila (Bulgarian: Рила, pronounced [ˈrilə]) is a town in southwestern Bulgaria, in Rila Municipality, part of Kyustendil Province. It is the administrative centre of Rila municipality, which lies in the southeastern part of Kyustendil Province.

The town lies in a mountainous region at the foot of the southwestern Rila Mountains, 20 km (12 mi) from the Rila Monastery, 34 km (21 mi) from Dupnitsa and 65 km (40 mi) from Kyustendil. In antiquity, the area was inhabited by the Greeks and Romans; it was known as Sportela and then as Roligera. In the 14th century, the village was a feudatory possession of the Rila Monastery and may have been mentioned in Tsar Ivan Shishman of Bulgaria's Rila Charter as Driska. Later on, it was mentioned as İrlie in Ottoman tax registers of 1576.


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