Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo (
Bulgarian: Ð'елико Търново; also transliterated as
Veliko Turnovo ) is a city in central northern
Bulgaria and the administrative centre of
Veliko Tarnovo Province. It is located on the
Yantra River and is famous as the historical capital of the
Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists with its specific architecture.
Prehistory and Antiquity
Veliko Tarnovo is one of the oldest settlements in Bulgaria, having a history of more than 5 millennia, as the first traces of human presence dating from the
3rd millennium BC are on
Trapezitsa Hill.
Middle Ages
The historical part of town, which was the capital of Bulgaria during the
Second Bulgarian Empire, lies on three hills –
Tsarevets, Trapezitsa and
Sveta Gora (Holy Mountain). Veliko Tarnovo is the place where brothers
Asen and
Peter declared the end of Bynzatine rule in Bulgaria, proclaiming the city a capital. Veliko Tarnovo grew quickly to become the strongest Bulgarian fortification of the
Middle Ages between the 12th and 14th century and the most important policital, economic, cultural and religious centre of the empire.
Ottoman rule
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Kolyu Ficheto's imposing Cathedral of the Birth of the Theotokos, completed 1844 and recontructed 1913 |
The city flourished and grew for 200 years until falling to the
Ottoman Empire on
17 July 1393 after a three-month siege, the fortress on the hill being eventually destroyed.
Veliko Tarnovo, known in the Middle Ages as Tarnovgrad (Търновград), was the location of two uprisings against
Ottoman rule, in 1598 and 1686, both of which failed to liberate Bulgaria.
Tarnovgrad, along with the rest of present-day Bulgaria, remained under Ottoman rule until the 19th century, when national identity and culture reasserted themselves as a strengthening resistance movement. The idea of the establishment of an
independent Bulgarian church and nation motivated the 1875 and 1876 uprisings in town. On
23 April 1876, the
April Uprising marked the beginning of the end of the Ottoman occupation. It was soon followed by the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878).
Liberated Bulgaria
|
Samovodska Charshiya Street in the Old Town |
On
7 July 1877,
Russian general
Joseph Vladimirovich Gourko liberated Veliko Tarnovo, ending the 480-year-rule of the Ottoman Empire. In 1878, the
Treaty of Berlin created a Principality of Bulgaria between the
Danube and the
Stara Planina range, with its seat at the old Bulgarian capital of Veliko Tarnovo.
On
17 April 1879, the first National Assembly convened in Veliko Turnovo to ratify the state's first constitution, known as the
Tarnovo Constitution, the key result of which resulted in the transfer of Parliament from Tarnovgrad to Sofia, which today remains the Bulgarian capital.
In deference to the city's past,
Tsar Ferdinand Saxe-Coburg Gotha chose the
St Forty Martyrs Church in Veliko Tarnovo as the place to declare the complete independence of Bulgaria on
October 5,
1908.
In 1965, the city, then officially known as
Tarnovo, was renamed to
Veliko Tarnovo (Great Tarnovo) to commemorate its rich history and importance.
One of Bulgaria's primary tourist destinations, Veliko Tarnovo boasts many historical monuments and landmarks, such as the ruins of the castle
Tsarevets on the hill of the same name, which housed the royal and patriarchial palace, and
Trapezitsa, the second fortress of the inner city on the right bank of Yantra. Other attractions are the
St Demetrius of Thessaloniki Church,
St Forty Martyrs Church, the numerous
Bulgarian National Revival buildings with their typical architecture, the many museums on various topics.
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Veliko Tarnovo UniversityBorn in Veliko Tarnovo
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Patriarch Evtimiy (c. 1325-c. 1403), cleric
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Gregory Tsamblak (c. 1365-1420), cleric, Metropolitan of
Kief*
Petko Slaveykov (1827-1895), writer and politician
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Stefan Stambolov (1854-1895), politician,
Prime Minister of Bulgaria*
Vasil Zlatarski (1866-1935), historian
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Vesela Lecheva (1964-), sportswoman and politician
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Mariya Ilieva (1977-), singer
Died in Veliko Tarnovo
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Saint Sava (c. 1175-c. 1236), Serbian cleric
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Bacho Kiro (1835-1876), revolutionary, teacher and writer
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Dobri Voynikov (1833-1878), cultural figure
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Kolyu Ficheto (1800-1881), architect
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The official site of the Veliko Tarnovo Tourist Information Office *
The official site of Veliko Tarnovo in English *
The official site of Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgarian *
Veliko Tarnovo *
Map of Veliko Tarnovo*
Veliko Tarnovo*
International Folklore Festival Veliko Tarnovo
