Explore the Real Bulgaria, take your journey back in time and visit Veliko Turnovo!
One of the most picturesque Bulgarian towns, preserved the atmosphere of the past century is standing in tiers above Yantra River which meanders through the elevations of Turnovo and the three hills - Tsarevets, Trapezitsa and Sveta Gora. The buildings, perching one above the other, overhang rocks and precipices and Yantra River below, standing close to one another along narrow winding streets. The antique part of the town has been declared an architectural and historical reserve.
Known under the name of Tsarevgrad Turnov (i.e. King's Town) and Turnovgrad. In the town and its outskirts traces have been uncovered of life dating back to the late Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, the Bronze and the Iron Ages. It raises to significance during the years of Byzantine rule (9th-12th centuries). After the foundation of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (1186), the town becomes its capital. A centre of medieval Bulgarian coin minting. In the 13th-14th centuries in the town and its outskirts numerous literary schools spring up - centres of educational and literary activity.
In 1393 the town is conquered by the Turks and burned down. During the years of Ottoman rule it is a fortress of the Bulgarian national spirit and one of the centres of the struggle for liberation. In 1879 the Constituent National Assembly has its first session here and adopts the Constitution of Turnovo - the first constitution of the Bulgarian state liberated in 1878.
Place of interest:
The Old Town Hall (Konaka) - built in 1874-1876 by Kolyo Ficheto for a Turkish public building, but the design and space layout bears the signs of the Bulgarian National Revival secular architecture. In 1879 the Constituent National Assembly of newly liberated Bulgaria, which adopts the Constitution of Turnovo, has its first session in this building. A museum.
Tsarevets - a historical hill of 12 hectares in the eastern part of Veliko Turnovo. In the 7th-14th centuries the capital residences of the tsar, the boyars and the patriarch are erected. Built over a Thracian settlement and Byzantine fortress, dating back to the 4th-6th centuries, Tsarevets turns into an unapproachable fortress and capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. When the Turks conquered Turnovo, Tsarevets was burned down.
Trapezitsa - a hill in Veliko Turnovo. In the 12th-14th centuries Trapezitsa and Tsarevets comprise the Inner Town of the Bulgarian capital. The hill is plateau-like with steep slopes. Fortified with a fortress wall, which follows the rock wreath. The foundations of 17 churches have been preserved. On some of their inner walls one can see fragments of paintings. In the end of the 14th C. and the beginning of the 15th C., the Ottoman invaders burn down Trapezitsa.
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