Veliko Tarnovo is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. It is also known as Turnovo, Tsarevgrad or Turnov, and is a city with over 7000 years of history.
The largest settlement mound from the Late Neolithic (second half of the 6th millennium BC) was discovered during rescue excavations in 1972-1979 on the territory of the town in the Western industrial zone in the Kacitsa area. [1]
There was a Roman settlement on the Tsarevets hill called, according to some historians, "Nikopolis i Hemum". [2] From the middle of the 4th century on the hills of Tsarevets and Momina fortress were settled Gothic-Arians led by Bishop Wolfila. Fortified settlements began to be created in the first Bulgarian state in the tenth century. The town was an important settlement from the period of the First Bulgarian State. Nobles lived in the town - called "trapeziti" there was a large military garrison. [3]
On the hills on which the capital city of Turnovo extends, a number of coins, specimens, ceramics from the First Bulgarian State and specimens from Volga Bulgaria were found. [4]
Turnovgrad was an administrative, military, economic, cultural and religious center. [5] During this period, the Art School of Tarnovo, the Tarnovo Literary School, the Turnovo Architecture developed. The city is ruled by several dynasties: Asenevtsi, Smilets, Terterovtsi, Shishmanovtsi. The city maintained commercial relations with major European cities and towns in the Middle East. Serbian King Saint Sava died in the city, his relics were later handed over to Serbia. [6]
After Bulgaria fell under Ottoman rule, much of the aristocracy moved to Russia, Asia Minor, and Northern Europe. Some Bulgarians continued to resist. The First Tarnovo Uprising and the Second Tarnovo Uprising in the 16th and 17th centuries broke out in the city. The city became home to a significant Turkish population, and many churches were converted into mosques. The city remained an important administrative centre. Several Turkish baths were opened, and many Turkish cafes and Ottoman-style houses were built, giving an Oriental look to the city. But the city also managed to preserve its Bulgarian culture and identity. In 1835, a rebellion against the Ottoman empire - the Velch Conspiracy - was organized in the city. The monasteries of Veliko Turnovo's Holy Forest were centres of cultural and literary activity. A charity organisation 'Women's Municipality' was founded. There were several agricultural markets in the city (on Asen I square, next to the Men's High School, and the maritime field agricultural market) and the Samovodska Charshia market in the Bolyarski neighbourhood. There are many important examples of Bulgarian National Revival architecture, including works by the outstanding architect Kolyu Ficheto.
The city was liberated on July 7, 1877 by General Iosif Gurko's army. [7] The Russian Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich entered Tarnovo on June 30, 1877, greeted by thousands of Bulgarians and passing under a specially built triumphal arch. Bulgaria's first archaeological society was founded in the city in 1878. On February 10, 1879, a Constituent Assembly was convened in Tarnovo. The Independence of Bulgaria was proclaimed by Tsar Ferdinand in the city in 1908. The villages of Marino Pole, and the settlement in the Dervent Gorge were incorporated into the city. The Trapezitsa Tourist Association was opened in the city in 1902. On June 1, 1913, at 11.28 am the city and surrounding settlements were struck by an earthquake with a magnitude of 7 on the Richter scale. More than 20 people were killed, and hundreds of houses and cultural monuments were destroyed. Today Veliko Tarnovo is very much part of the western world, and even has dealerships for Ford, Citroen and Renault cars!
Veliko Tarnovo is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. It is the historical and cultural capital of Bulgaria.
Ivan Shishman ruled as emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria in Tarnovo from 1371 to 3 June 1395. The authority of Ivan Shishman was limited to the central parts of the Bulgarian Empire.
The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1396. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II before gradually being conquered by the Ottomans in the late 14th century.
Tsarevets is a medieval stronghold located on a hill with the same name in Veliko Tarnovo in northern Bulgaria. Tsarevets is 206 metres (676 ft) above sea level. It served as the Second Bulgarian Empire's primary fortress and strongest bulwark between 1185 and 1393, housing the royal and the patriarchal palaces, and it is also a popular tourist attraction.
Gorna Oryahovitsa is a town in northern Bulgaria, situated in Veliko Tarnovo Province, 10 km (6 mi) from Veliko Tarnovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Gorna Oryahovitsa Municipality. According to the 2021 Census, the town has a population of 27,317 inhabitants.
Arbanasi is a village in Veliko Tarnovo Municipality, Veliko Tarnovo Province of central northern Bulgaria, set on a high plateau between the larger towns of Veliko Tarnovo and Gorna Oryahovitsa. It is known for the rich history and large number of historical monuments, such as 17th- and 18th-century churches and examples of Bulgarian National Revival architecture, which have turned it into a popular tourist destination.
The stronghold of Cherven was one of the Second Bulgarian Empire's primary military, administrative, economic and cultural centres between the 12th and the 14th century. The ruins of the fortress are located near the village of the same name 30 to 35 kilometres south of Rousse, northeastern Bulgaria.
Lyaskovets is a town in central northern Bulgaria, located in homonymous municipality of Veliko Tarnovo Province, 10 km northeast of Veliko Tarnovo, 2 km southeast of Gorna Oryahovitsa and 5 km south of the Yantra River, north of the Balkan Mountains. Its name comes from the word leska ('hazel') or leshnik ('hazelnut'), because the tree was abundant in the area. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 10,314 inhabitants.
Kilifarevo is a small town in central northern Bulgaria, administratively part of Veliko Tarnovo Municipality, Veliko Tarnovo Province. Previously a village, it was proclaimed a town in 1973.
The Architecture of the Tarnovo Artistic School is a term for the development of architecture during the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396). In the 13th and 14th centuries the capital Tarnovo determined the progress of the Bulgarian architecture with many edifices preserved or reconstructed which show the skills of the Medieval Bulgarian architects and the construction and decorative techniques they used. The builders have created a unique architectural style, known as Tarnovian Style, that influenced the architecture in many countries of Southeastern Europe and parts of Central Europe. With its diverse architecture, the Tarnovo School may be separated into several branches according to the function of the buildings.
The Church of Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki is a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church in the city of Veliko Tarnovo in central northern Bulgaria, the former capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire.
The Church of Saints Peter and Paul is a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church in the city of Veliko Tarnovo in central northern Bulgaria, the former capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire. The 13th-century church lies at the foot of the Tsarevets hill's northern slopes and was reconstructed in 1981.
The Unity Committee was an organization supporting the Bulgarian population of Thrace and Macedonia, remained within the Ottoman Empire after the division of the San Stefano Bulgaria and the decision of the Berlin Treaty. First Committee "Unity" was established on August 29, 1878, in Veliko Tarnovo. Its main objective was enshrined in the Constitutive protocol: Unity of all Bulgarians and their wellness today. The initiative for this belonged to Lyuben Karavelov, Stefan Stambolov and Hristo Ivanov - Golemia. The goal of this new committee was to create such committees around the country of Bulgaria. Soon after Edinstvo was formed in Tarnovo, steps were taken to spread it to all towns in Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia as well. People were also sent to Macedonia. As a consequence the Kresna-Razlog Uprising was organized.
The Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Ascension of the Lord is a former Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the city of Veliko Tarnovo, in north central Bulgaria. Located on top of the fortified Tsarevets hill in the former capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, the cathedral was the seat of the Bulgarian patriarch from its construction in the 11th–12th century to its destruction in 1393.
Trapezitsa is a medieval stronghold located on a hill with the same name in Veliko Tarnovo in northern Bulgaria.
Sveta gora is a hill in Tarnovgrad and was spiritual and literary center in the Second Bulgarian Empire.
The culture of Veliko Tarnovo concerns the arts, museums, festivals and other entertainment in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria.
Veliko Tarnovo is a town with a historical architectural heritage. Many of the landmark buildings and bridges were destroyed by the 1913 earthquake. The town has developed architecture from four historic periods.
Varna Monastery is a large preserved early medieval monastery complex, opened near Varna, Bulgaria, with the status of a cultural monument of national importance for Bulgaria since 2015.
Ledenik is a village in Central North Bulgaria, in the Veliko Tarnovo Municipality, Veliko Tarnovo Province - near the municipal city of Veliko Tarnovo. South of the village passes the river Yantra. The name of the village comes from the fact that it was famous for its ice houses in the past.