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Kyustendil is well known for its forty hot mineral springs at the foot of Hisarlaka Hill and with сшя delicious apples and cherries that brought it the deserved fame of the "orchard of Bulgaria". But in addition to nature, the city is known because of the names of prominent individuals, one of which is Vladimir Dimitrov - the Master.

He is one of the most famous Bulgarian painters whose works are highly valued by art historians. For local people he has always been just "the painter". Born in 1882 in the village Frolosh, he toured all over Europe, drawing hundreds of paintings. Twenty years he lived in the Shishkovtzi village near Kyustendil and died on 24 September 1960 in Sofia.

The Master is undoubtedly one of the most talented and original Bulgarian artists. Unfortunately, in 1922 he signed a contract with the American patron John Crane, who financed his travels, but in exchange of 200 paintings that are now abroad - an irretrievable loss for the Bulgarian culture.

Much of his other works can be viewed at the Art Gallery in Kyustendil, which bears his name since 1972, when it was opened to visitors. The building was specially built for this purpose and the gallery opened its doors officially on the occasion of the 90th anniversary since the birth of the famous artist. It has over 3000 paintings from 585 artists, with emphasis on pictures of the patron of the gallery - 300 paintings and 1000 drawings.

The gallery’s fund is separated into several sections: Kyustendil artists, artists from the country, ancient, medieval, Renaissance and foreign art.

The gallery often hosts international exhibitions and its collections of selected works by the Master are visiting many cultural centers of Europe. In the gallery were exhibited works by Rembrandt and Picasso, and contemporary Peruvian, Chinese, Japanese and Austrian art. In recent years, the gallery created space for contemporary art installations. The activity of the gallery includes a wide variety of lectures and activities geared to different age groups and special lectures and discussions.

Each year, the gallery commemorates the anniversary of its patron. It also helds annual exhibitions of some of the most prominent representatives of the Kyustendil artistic school as Cyril Tsonev, Assen Vassilev, Boris Eliseev, Nikolay Dyulgerov, Stoyan Venev, Bogomil Lazov, Nikola Mirchev and others.