Bansko was first mentioned as an independent settlement in 1576. By that time the population had lived in little scattered hamlets. During the 17th-18th century it flourished economically and culturally, gradually becoming a rich settlement of developed crafts and trade. The caravans of the Bansko people traveled between the Aegean Sea and Central Europe, carrying goods of wood, hides and iron to the markets there, bringing back cotton, fish, olive oil, etc. During that period whole families of Bansko became rich. By traveling extensively they were bringing the culture of different countries and cities. Some of them sent their children to study abroad. Along with the improvement of their lifestyle, many inhabitants of Bansko began to build two-floor fortress houses, which characteristic with their architecture, at the same time also providing the safety of their owners from the inroads of brigands.

Landmarks. The History Museum is part of the rich Bansko Museum Compound, including some of the most significant cultural and historical landmarks of the town. Velyanov’s house, with its original woodcarvings and murals, is a superb model of Revival Period architecture. It was built in the early 19th century for Velyan Ognev, a master builder and icon painter, who was also the author of the original murals. Benin House (Neophit Rilski Museum House) has typical  Bansko architecture of the late 18th century. Outstanding Revival Period figure Neophit Rilski (lay name Nikola Benin) was born and lived here until 1811. A permanent exhibition of icons is on show in the Rila Nunnery, the oldest building (1749) in the town. Nikola Vaptzarov House Museum recreates the lifestyle of the family, in which poet Vaptsarov grew up. On display are personal possessions of the poet, while a documentary exhibition is arranged in the ground floor. The museum compound also includes an ethnographic exhibition and bazaar, a home of the arts, and the history museum in the village if Eleshnitsa, displaying rich finds from the 6th-4th century B.C.

The Church of the Holy Trinity (1835) is emblematic for Bansko. Its mural paintings, woodcarvings and architectural layout are fully in the spirit of the Bansko School of Art. Some of its most outstanding representatives had worked on the church: masters Velyan Ognev and Dimitur Molerov. In 1850, master builder Grigor Doyuv built a belfry (29.5 m) in the churchyard. Ever since that time the church and the belfry have been a remarkable ensemble, dominating the town skyline. In 1865 a clock mechanism was assembled in the tower (made by Todor Hadzhiradonov). In this way it became one of the very few architectural models of that time, combining the functions of a church belfry and a town clock.

Remarkable old houses: Sirleshtov’s house  resembles a small fortress with walls about one metre thick, narrow and dark loop-holes, barred windows and heavy doors; Todev’s/Bouinov’s house (1835) is a model of high building skill and a fine sense of beauty and harmony. The dominating monument of Paissi Hilendarski [of Hilendar] (1976) is the work of sculptor Stoicho Todorov.