Tsarevets
Tsarevets is a medieval stronghold located on a hill with the same name in Veliko Tarnovo in
northern Bulgaria. It served as the Second Bulgarian Empire's primary fortress and strongest
bulwark from 1185 to 1393, housing the royal and the patriarchal palaces, and is a popular
tourist attraction.
History
The earliest evidence of human presence on the
hill dates from the 2nd millennium BC. It was
settled in the 4th century and a Byzantine
fortress was constructed near the end of the 5th
century, on the grounds of which the
construction of the Bulgarian stronghold was
begun in 12th century. After the VlachBulgarian Rebellion and the establishment of
the Second Bulgarian Empire with its capital in
Veliko Tarnovo, the fortress became the most
important one in Bulgaria, often compared with
Rome and Constantinople in magnificence. In
1393, the stronghold was besieged by Ottoman forces for three months before finally being
conquered and burnt down on 17 July, which marked the fall of the Bulgarian Empire.
It has three entrances. The main entrance is located
in the easternmost side of the hill. The castle
complex is located in the centre, surrounded by an
internal stone wall, two battle towers and two
entrances - north and south. It consists of a throne
hall, castle church and the king's chamber. The
restoration of the fortress Tsarevets began in 1930
and was completed in 1981 in honour of the 1300th
anniversary from the establishment of the Bulgarian
state. Kings Petar, Asen, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen the
second lived there.
Complex
The whole stronghold is girdled by thick walls (reaching up to 3,6 m) and was served by three
gates. The main gate was at the hill's western part, on a narrow rock massif, and featured a
draw-bridge. The second gate is 18 m away from the first one and the third one, which existed
until 1889, is 45 m further.
The palace is located on the hill's central and plain part,
which was a closed complex encircled by a fortified wall,
two towers and two entrances, a main one from the north
and one from the south. It featured a throne room, a
palace church and a royal residential part and
encompassed
4872
m².
On the top of the hill is the patriarchate, a complex with
an area of about 3000 m². The Patriarchal Cathedral of
the Holy Ascension of God, built on the grounds of an
Early Christian one, was reconstructed in 1981 and
painted in 1985. The frescoes inside, painted in a striking
modernist style rather than in the style of traditional
Orthodox frescoes, depict conventional Christian subjects as well as glorious and tragic
moments
of
the
Second
Bulgarian
Empire.
Baldwin's Tower , a modern reconstruction of a medieval tower modeled after the tower in
Cherven and built in 1930, is located in the southeastern part of the fortress. It is located at the
place of the original medieval tower where Latin Emperor Baldwin I of Constantinople found
his
death
as
a
prisoner
of
Kaloyan
of
Bulgaria.
During the Middle Ages, residential buildings, craftsman's workshops and numerous churches
and monasteries were situated on the slopes of the Tsarevets hill. Archaeologists have
discovered 400 residential buildings, differentiated in quarters, over 22 churches and four
monasteries.
Tsarevets hill is also the location of Execution Rock, an outcropping over the Yantra River
from which traitors were pushed to their deaths and their bodies fell into the river. There
Patriarch Joachim was executed by the Tsar Theodore Svetoslav in the year 1300.
Audiovisual show
The Sound and Light audiovisual show is an attraction carried out in the evening that uses
three lasers, variegated lights, dramatic music and church bells to tell the story of the fall of
Tarnovo to the Ottomans, as well as other key moments of the history of Bulgaria. The largescale show has been organized at Tsarevets since 1985, when the 800-year anniversary of the
Uprising of Asen and Peter was celebrated. It was designed and planned by a BulgarianCzechoslovak
team
led
by
Valo
Radev
and
Jaromir
Hnik.
Changing of the Guard. A 15 minute ceremonial procession begun 15th April 2011 at 19:30,
to be performed each weekend throughout the summer (tourist season).