General Information

Veliko Tarnovo is situated in central Bulgaria, at the foot of the Balkan Mountains. It is situated on the historical hills Tsarevets, Trapezitsa and Sveta Gora which are towering over the Iantra River and its wide curves. The city´s history is older than 7000 years. Veliko Tarnovo impresses with its original renaissance architecture – antique houses, situated one above another, palaces and towers, splendid museums and monasteries with many icon-paintings which attract tourists from all over the world.

Bulgaria is one of the countries having the most cultural and historical monuments in the world after Greece and Italy. The capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom is the most abundant and important for the country´s culture and history.

Veliko Tarnovo offers not only historical values but lively modern night life and nature which offers both opportunities for sports and rest.

 

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Sights

You can visit:

• The archaeological preserve ´The hill Tsarevets´:
• A renovated fortress wall which surrounds the tsar’s hill Tsarvets and is a continuation of its rocky sides,
• The tower of Baldwin. The Latin emperor Baldwin was captured by Tsar Kaloian in the battle against the crusader near Odrin. He was locked in the tower in 1205,
• The palace of the Bulgarian tsars which was a self-contained fortress and the richest and most wonderful were the Throne Hall and the palace church St. Petka;
• The Bulgarian patriarchate which was situated on the highest place and had the shape of an irregular polygon. The patriarchal church ‘Vaznesenie Gospodne’ with a tower with bells was situated in the center of the yard;
• The ´Asenov´ neighborhood which is the main part of the ´outer city´. It appeared by the time of Tsar Ivan Asen II (1218 – 1241). It is situated on both sides of the river between Tsarevets and Trapezitsa:
• Foundations of residential buildings and churches were found which form a small neighborhood in the medieval city,
• A large Boyar house which is a prototype of the Bulgarian renaissance house,
• The historical churches:
• The ´St. Dimitar Solunski´ church. Here the brothers Asen and Peter declared the liberation rising against the Byzantine rule. Asen, Peter and Kaloian were crowned in this church. Archbishop Vasilii was raised to patriarch of the Bulgarian churches here in 1204;
• The ´St. Georgi´ church – 1612. Interesting are the wall-paintings made by an unknown author which participated in the arts school of Veliko Tarnovo;
• The ´St. Peter and Pavel´ church;
• The ´St. Forty Martyrs´ church which was built in 22.II.1230 by the order of Tsar Ivan Asen II in honor of his huge victory against the Byzantines at Klokotnitsa. Here are situated:
• One of the most valuable written monuments on the Omurtag´s, Asen´s and the frontier pillars in the Rodosto fortress from the time of khan Krum,
• The ring of tsar Kaloian,
• Wall-paintings: ´]Prokal´s vision´, the battle of Klokotnitsa – 9th March 1230, the huge victory of Tsar Ivan Asen II over Teodor Komnin, the might of Bulgaria by the time of Ivan Asen II (1218 – 1241), etc.
• Buried here are the tsars Kaloian and Ivan Asen II, the queens Anna Maria and Irina, St. Sava Srabski as well as many other members of the royal family and the Bulgarian aristocracy,
• Prince Ferdinand I declares the Independence of Bulgaria on 22nd September 1908 in this church;
• The ‘´Trapezitsa´ hill also called ´Boyar hill´. Here were found many houses of boyars and almost all of them had a small family church;
• The ´Sveta Gora´ hill. It was a cultural and wellness center of the Bulgarian country during the Medieval. There were many churches and monasteries here. The literary and arts school developed versatile and lively activities in the biggest monastery ‘St. Bogoroditsa Odigitria’. The titans of the medieval Bulgarian spirit have been here – patriarch Evtimii and Teodosii Tarnovski. The buildings of the local university ´St. St. Kiril and Metodii´ are situated in the place of the monastery today.
• The ´Gurko´ street where you can see renaissance houses that seem to be landed one above other, sheer over the river. The ´Sarafkina´ house which was built in 1861 is one of the most beautiful buildings on this street;
• Buildings that were constructed by the self-educated Bulgarian architect and builder Kolio Ficheto:
• ´Konaka´ which is connected with many historical events – the interrogation of the captured Levski in 1872, the First National Meeting in 1879, the decision for the acknowledging of the Unification in 1885, etc.
• The inn of Hadji Nikola which is one of the most interesting architectural monuments of the Renaissance,
• The churches ´St. Kiril and Metodii´ (1861), ´St. Spaz´(Ascension) from 1862-1863 and ´St. Konstantin and Elena´(1872) as well as numerous monasteries,
• The house with the monkey (1849) which is called like that because of the sitting monkey which is situated on the ground floor,
• Museum of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom which is situated near the ´Konaka´;
• The house of Kokona Anastasia dated from XVIII c.;
• The inn of Stambolov which was a property of Stefan Stambolov´s family;
• The arts gallery and the monument of the Asenevci in front of it. The gallery and the monument are situated on a picturesque peninsula, rising over the Iantra River;
• A regional historical museum which was built in 1871. It is the oldest and biggest museum of general history out of the capital. It has 2130 monuments of culture and 52 of them have national significance. The ‘Hotnishkoto’ treasure is situated there and is the earliest gold in the world, golden Thracian ornaments, burial gifts, coins and seals with high value, masterpieces of the Christian art, ethnographical materials and other museum valuables;
• A prison-museum which was built in 1862. Many revolutionaries were here – Levski, Filip Totio, Stefan Karadja, Bacho Kiro;
• The ethnographic complex ´Samovodska charshia´;
• A house museum which was the heart of the classic of the Bulgarian culture Emilian Stanev;
• The house-museum ´P. R. Slaveikov´;
• The memorial ´Mother Bulgaria´ which is devoted to the perished during the Balkan wars and the First World war;
• The architectural museum and preserve Arbanasi which is situated 4km from the city and has preserved buildings from the Medieval and the Bulgarian Renaissance;

Monasteries:

14 monasteries were built by the time of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom during XII – XIV c. in the area of Veliko Tarnovo. Many of them have been destroyed during the Ottoman Rule and were renovated by the self-educated Bulgarian architect and builder Kolio Ficheto and wall-painted by Zohari Zograf during XIX c.

• The ´Preobrajenski´ monastery which was founded by the time of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom during XIII – XIV c. by queen Sara, wife of Tsar Ivan Alexander. It had an important role for spiritual life of the capital. It is situated 6km from Veliko Tarnovo in a beautiful area – there are vertical rocks in the canyon-like gorge of the Iantra River,
• The ´St. Trinity´ monastery also known as Patriarchal monastery is situated about 10km from the city in a wonderful area, at the foot of inaccessible rocks. The first monastery in the area is dated 1070. The abbot of the monastery was Teodosii Tarnovski and the one after him was the future patriarch of Bulgaria – Evtimii. The first literary school was created here,
• The ´St. Prorok Ilia´ monastery is situated on 18km south of Veliko Tarnovo. This monastery and the ´Kapinovski´ monastery are called monasteries-twins because of their closeness – only 2 km;
• The ´Petropavlovski´ monastery (also known as ´Liaskovski´) is situated 6km from the city at the plateau of Arbanasi. High rocks make it inaccessible and that is why it is the best preserved monastery from this time today. The 31 meters high bell tower distinguishes it as a medieval fortress from where you can see the Danube plain and the Balkan mountain;
• The ´St. Forty Martyrs´ monastery is situated in the eastern part of the Merdania village,
• The ´St. Nikola´ monastery (also known as ´Kapinovski´ monastery) is situated 18km from the city, close to the Veselina River and at the foots of the Balkan. The monastery looks like a medieval fortress,
• The ´St. Rojdestvo Bogorodichno´ is situated 4km from the town of Kilifarevo, along the coast of the Belitsa River,
• The ´Batoshevski´ monastery which is situated 10km from the town of Sevlievo, along the Rositsa River,
• The ´St. Bogoroditsa´ cloister is situated 5km from Veliko Tarnovo at the beginning of the Arbanasi village,
• The ´St. Nikola´ monastery which is situated in Arbanasi,
• The ´St. Archangel Mihail´ monastery which is situated about 4km from the town of Drianovo amongst the picturesque gorge of the river of Drianovo;
• Many caves in the area of Veliko Tarnovo; About 20 of them are situated around the very city of Veliko Tarnovo.

Universities:

• The ´St. St. Kiril and Metodii´ University of Veliko Tarnovo. It was founded in 1963 and is situated on the ´Sveta Gora´ hill. It trains high qualified pedagogues;
• The national military University ´Vasil Levski´ which trains specialists for the Armed Forces of Bulgaria.

History

Veliko Tarnovo has a rich historical past. The first clues for life date from the 3rd millennium b.c.. The first inhabitants were the Thracians and their settlement existed until the end of the Bronze Age. The next inhabitants were the Byzantines. A big Slav settlement was situated here during the VIII c.a.c. The Old-Bulgarian settlement appeared during the IX c. and during the X c. the hills Tsarevets, Trapezitsa and Sveta Gora were already richly populated.

The brothers Boyars Asen and Peter organized successfully a revolt for the liberation from the Byzantine Rule in 1187. They declared Veliko Tarnovo as the capital of the Bulgarian country. The city became a well-fortified city and a significant political, administrative, economic and cultural center in Europe during the next 200 years. The contemporaries called it ´The second Constantinople´ and ´the third Rome´.

 

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Entertainment

You can enjoy:

• An audio-visual program ‘Tsarevgrad Tarnov – Sound and Light’ – a program, which combines sound and light effects to reproduce the history of the old Bulgarian capital;
• The national musical and dramatic theatre ‘Konstantin Kisimov’;
• The national and many private art galleries;
• # Pop-folk music and pop-folk singers. You can visit the ‘Planeta Payner’ Club which is the biggest and the only club where you can listen to live music;
• The international folkore festival. It is held every year in July;
• The ‘Boliarka’ beer. The water which is used in its production comes from the Balkan and has very good qualities;
• Cozy restaurants with European, Chinese and Bulgarian traditional cuisine;
• A walk in the holiday destinations near the old capital.

 

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Sports

The city offers:

• Eco paths, routes in the area of the city;
• An open air and a covered pool as well as sporting grounds – tennis courts, basketball grounds, etc.;
• Areas for rest and recreation, verdant areas which assure high quality lifestyle;
• Fitness and spa centers in the hotels in the area;
• A winter stadium which has been a host of a national Ice-Hockey Championship;
• The ´Tsarevets´ club which organizes extreme sports: alpine climbing in Bulgaria or abroad, marathons, winter traverses, ski-passages and free drops, canyoning, yoga classes, water sports, delta and paragliding;
• A health program which was created from the teacher Petar Danov during 1927 – 1943. ´Health by walking in the nature´ is a Bulgarian system of exercises, individual and collective exercises for maintaining the person´s health through nature, music, movement and text;
• You can participate in many national and international activities which are organized by the tourist association ´Trapezitsa 1902´.