Dupnitsa

Dupnitsa lies in a valley at the foot of the Rila Mountains, south of Sofia. A medieval fortress once overlooked the town from a nearby hill, and the settlement has borne several names, including Dubnitsa. The German traveller Arnold von Harff passed through in 1499 and described it as a beautiful town. A clock tower built in the seventeenth century rose above its streets, with the wooded slopes of Rila beyond.