The first settlements in the Razlog Valley were founded on a site of the village Banja, Bansko, Bulgarja at the late Roman Empire times. It was proved with archaeological finds. Since then this area is named Thrace after the ancient Thracian kingdom that was located there.
It was here where yoghurt was invented. One of its names is “Thracian milk”. Thracians made it from sheep’s milk, mixing fresh milk with turned one.
The Roman colonists brought the hydrotherapy culture to this region and built the first thermae on the local sources. You can see completely recovered and restored baths in the Banya village. One of these baths was built by the ancient Romans and another one by the ancient Turks.