The town of Zemen has a population of 2 000 inhabitants and is a municipal centre with 18 component settlements. The town is located 44 km southwest of Pernik. Until 1925 the town is known under the name of Belovo. It is located along both banks of the Struma River in a small valley close to the Zemen gorge.

The tourist sights of the town are: the Zemen fortress, the Zemen gorge and the Zemen monastery.

Tourist sights

The Zemen Monastery - located 2 km to the east of the town of Zemen, Pernik district, it is a medieval Bulgarian monastery situated on the left bank of the Struma River in the Zemen gorge. The church in the monastery dates back to the XI century and has preserved mural paintings from the XI and the XIV centuries. The medieval cross-dome church "Sveti Yoan Bogoslov" has a three-apse altar and precious murals. The XIV c. murals differ from the officially acknowledged medieval paintings in style and iconographic characteristics and are closer to the ancient archaic trends. This makes them one of the most interesting monuments of the Bulgarian monumental painting of that time. In the Zemen Monastery are depicted the church founder's portraits of despot Deyan and his wife Doya.

The Zemen Fortress is located on the right bank of the Struma River in the picturesque Zemen gorge. The fortress is engirdled from its three sides by the meanders of the river. The inaccessible rocks rise up to 30m above the river level. The archeological research shows that the first buildings in this fortress date back to the IV century. And the later ones are from the XIV century. The ruins of fortresses throughout the whole gorge show that it is part of the defense system of the road connecting Pautalia/the town of Kyustendil/ with Marakata/the town of Pernik/.