Veliko Tarnovo: City of many eras

30/06/2009

Scenery and history are both impressive at Bulgaria's medieval capital.

By Svetla Dimitrova for Southeast European Times in Sofia -- 30/06/09 Photos by Ognyan Dimitrov

The royal palace, the patriarchate and many small churches are inside Tsarevets Fortress.

On a warm Saturday morning, we set off on our trip to Veliko Tarnovo, which is about 220km northeast of Sofia. The four-hour drive (with a 30-minute coffee break at one of the many petrol stations along the highway) proved a pleasant surprise.

Traffic wasn't heavy and the quality of the roads exceeded our expectations. We reached Veliko Tarnovo around noon.

Lying at the northern foothills of Stara Planina, known also as the Balkan Mountains, this central Bulgarian city is one of the oldest settlements in the country. The first trace of human existence in this area dates back to the 3rd millennium BC, well before the establishment of the Bulgarian state in 681.

Sprawling on the hills of Trapezitsa, Tsarevets and Sveta Gora, with the River Yantra meandering deep down among them, Veliko Tarnovo is one of the most picturesque locations in Bulgaria.

The city became the capital of Bulgaria after an 1185 uprising, led by boyar brothers Assen and Petar, ended nearly two centuries of Byzantine rule and marked the beginning of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (1187-1393).

The royal palace -- the one-time home of the country's medieval rulers -- the patriarchate and many small churches are inside the compound. At the southernmost end is the so-called Baldwin Tower, named after Baldwin of Flanders, who was captured by Bulgarian Tsar Kaloyan in a battle against the knights of the Fourth Crusade in 1205.

Remains of fortress walls, towers, residential and public buildings were discovered during excavations on Trapezitsa Hill. Some historians believe the rulers of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom might have lived on that hill first, before moving to Tsarevets on the opposite bank of Yantra.

Baldwin Tower stands at the southernmost end of the fortress.

Veliko Tarnovo impresses with its original architecture. Perched one above each other, many of the houses in the Old Town date back to the late 18th, early 19th century -- the time of the Bulgarian Revival.

The Holy Forty Martyrs Church, built in 1230, and the Church of SS Peter and Paul, dating back to the second half of the 13th century, are also worth seeing.

Veliko Tarnovo is one of the most important cities in Bulgarian history. The country's first constitution -- known as the Tarnovo Constitution -- was drafted there in 1879, as five centuries of Ottoman rule dwindled to an end. King Ferdinand I declared Bulgaria's independence there in September 1908.

Many of the streets and narrow alleys in the Old Town are still paved with cobblestone. These include the historic Samovodska Charshiya, with its numerous craft workshops.

Veliko Tarnovo is the home of the second-largest university in Bulgaria with a big student population. Numerous coffee shops, restaurants and other eateries offer delicious food.

Our only disappointment is that we missed the sound and light show at Tsarevets, shown when requested by groups of 30 or more people. We'll be back for that!