Veliko Turnovo

Veliko Turnovo

The capital of the second Bulgarian Empire /1185-1393/ was founded at the foot of the Northern Fore-Balkan Range. Historians date it back to 4th millennium B.C. The town of Veliko Turnovo has inherited centuries-old Prehistoric, Thracian and Antique culture and in 1185 it became a center of the Bulgarian Uprising against Byzantine domination and the capital of the restored Bulgarian state. The medieval town of Turnovo was rapidly expanding and developed into the strongest Bulgarian fortress during the 12-14th cc. It became the most significant political, economic, cultural and religious center of Bulgaria. The Turnovo Schools of Literature and Arts were established and developed here. Remarkable architectural monuments were created; miniature and monumental painting, literature; plastic arts and crafts achieved If you should happen to visit this unusual city whose stone houses seem perched one above the other on the steep bank of the Yatra river, you will first be taken to see Tsarevets - the place of the patriarchal church and royal palaces, the hill where Baudouin's Tower still rises, linked with the legend of the Latin Emperor Baudouin of Flanders who was captured by Tsar Kaloyan.