Bansko is an important cultural centre for the region. According to historic records, the settlement was first established about 9th -10th century A.D. on the site where ancient Thracian settlements had existed. In the 18th century it was mentioned as a large and prosperous village of thriving crafts and trade reaching as far as the Aegean and Europe .
Bansko is the centre of a historically important arts school. In the 18th and early 19th century talented painters and woodcarvers created works of art in the houses and churches of Bansko, the Rila Monastery, the monasteries on Mount Athos , Serbia and Macedonia .