Veliko Tarnovo

Nestled in the hills above the meanders of the Yantra River is the town of Veliko Tarnovo. The area has evidence of neolithic settlements dating to 4300BC, so this is not a 'new town'! With its 2nd century BC Thracian settlement, then Roman rule, and later Ottoman rule, it is a city with a long and varied history.

The first fortified town was built in the 5th and 6th centuries, this in turn becoming the foundation for the unassailable fortress built on the Tsaravets hill in the 12th century.

Turnovgrad was proclaimed the capital of the Bulgarian state in 1185. At this time the Byzantine chronicler Nikita Honiat said of the city it was "the most inpreganble and the most beautiful among all the towns alonfg the Hemus".

The Tsaravets Hill

The 'Town of the Kings' is is a medieval fortress dating to 12th century. With is high position, strong stone walls and gates, it would have appeared unassailable and secure - a reputation that reassured its inhabitants.

Archeology has determined that the hill had residential districts as well as craftmen's quarters, churches and monasteries; to date over 400 residential building and and 18 churches have been discovered. At its heart was the Patriarch's Palace and on the pinnacle of the hill was (and remains today, although now restored with contemporary wall paintings depicting Bulgarian history), the Patriarch Church of the Ascension.

Gurko Street

The tightly terraced streets rising above the meaners of the Yantra river were built during the 18th and 19th century. With its cobbled streets it follows the line of the valley and offers spectacular views of the adjacent country.

The Samovodene Marketplace

Today this is the tourist centre of the old city with its shops selling trinkets and artworks. Historically the streets would have been the the centre for the tradesmen and craftsmen of the city - today there are still woodcarvers, coppersmiths, lacework and jewellers carry out their trade in the small shop fronts.

Monuments and Memorials

With its long and often tumultous history, you might assume there would be many monuments and memorials - and rightly so: From hanged revolutionaries to revolutionary leaders and kings, comrades in arms to the 'Mother Bulgaria' war memorial.