The City of the Tsars, Veliko Tarnovo, was the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1396). Sofia was only named capital in 1879, which was after the Ottomans and in the early years of what is known now as the Third Bulgarian State.
There was much to learn about the city but unfortunately, time was never on my side and I only effectively spent most of my time at the Tsarevets. It was also unfortunate that there was an invite-only event at the top meaning that much of it was out of bounds. That said, I wasn't going to just come all the way up to Northern Bulgaria and not learn anything. So I'm glad I learnt something, however little :)
Featured here in the cover is of course the Tsarevets Царевец. The home to the royals and the fortress of the 2nd Bulgarian Empire. This magnificent stronghold sits on a hill (also called Tsarevets). Tsarevets refers to the entire fortress. So what's sitting at the tome of the Tsarevets hill then? We'll come to that in a while.
It took 50 years to restore the fortress from its much-more-ruined state, which probably gives you an idea how much work was required for it.
Take a moment to just appreciate the fortress in all of its magnificence and beauty. The walls and ruins are really quite impressive!
Arrived into the city just past 4 so we needed to settle in first before heading off to the Tsarevets. Guess we needed some directions too...
Taken just outside Hotel Central along Hadzhi Dimitar Street which has this street sign, so it's unmissable!
Before heading up the Tsarevets, we had to find a place to park, so it's a good thing I found a place close to the Rozhdestvo Bogorodichno Cathedral.
This has got to be one of the most easily spotted buildings in Veliko Tarnovo if seen from above. It does seem to bear resemblance to the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral minus the golden domes of course. Doesn't make it any less magnificent.
Once you get on the fortress walls, the first instinct is to look out for the standout Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Ascension of God. It sits right on top of the fortified Tsarevets Hill. It used to be the Eastern Orthodox cathedral of Veliko Tarnovo city but is no longer a place of worship. It was reconstructed sometime between the 1970s and 1980s with a beautiful dome and bell tower. Even before its reconstruction, it was declared an "architectural monument of culture of national importance" and its ruins protected.
"Roaring like a lion" never gets old. Let's see, there's Der Hacker-Löwe on the Schlossberg in Graz, the Dutch Lions, the Hungarian ones outside the Parliament, the Sofia Lion outside the Court of Justice and now the Veliko Tarnovo Lion. I'm pretty sure there were a couple more though... ROAR!!!
Managed to gain access into the fortress grounds even as it was slowly being cordoned off in preparation for the arts event. There were still some remains of ancient time weapons, although I don't think they were actually from ancient times themselves. The ruins reminded me of Devin Castle in Bratislava but the Tsarevets ruins were definitely better maintained and preserved.
It's funny how people rarely find out about the history of flags. Very often it does tell you about the history of the country as a whole. Decided to ask a little bit about it and do some reading and here's what I got: The tri-coloured flag was established after the end of the Ottoman Empire (i.e. the Third Bulgarian State)
The Third Bulgarian State covers Bulgaria's history since the fall of the Ottomans, through the Balkan Wars, both World Wars and the Communist era, where Bulgaria was a satellite state of the Soviet Union. Throughout this time, the flag had multiple iterations that sometimes included the state emblem.
The fortified walls of Tsarevets having been restored have been kept well-maintained over the years. Despite it being actually reconstructed, it still retained its intimidating fortress feel.
Continuing on from the story of the cathedral... It turns out that prior to its first construction during the 11th century, a Roman basilica used to stand on the top of the hill. After the cathedral was built on top of the old Roman basilica, it was the seat of the Bulgarian patriarch up till 1393. Obviously the Ottomans were never going to have a church standing around. They destroyed it during the Siege of Tarnovo in 1393.
With everyone on the Tsarevets fortress walls, with the Cathedral and the Bulgarian flag in the background.
Came down from the Tsarevets to explore some of the churches around the hill. The first one was The Holy Forty Martyrs Church. It lies at the foot of the Tsarevets and along the Yantra River. Aside from the fact that it was dedicated to the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste and built on the request of the Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Asen II it is of huge significance to Bulgaria because it was in this church that Tsar Ferdinand declared independence from the Ottomans in 1908.
Just across the Yantra River (on the right bank), is the Church of St Demetrius of Thessaloniki. Based on the historical documents available, this church was built to honour St Demetrius, the warrior saint of Thessaloniki, by Asen and Peter, the 2 brothers behind the Uprising of Asen and Peter.
The uprising was caused by new tax laws levied upon the people during the Byzantine Empire (before the 2nd Bulgarian Empire). Seems like the people then had their own fair share of tax problems. This quote comes to mind: there are 2 certainties in life, death and taxes!
Back up to the Tsarevets again to watch the sunrise. Would have picked this as the album cover had it included the fortress walls. But I reckon this was a good shot on its own thanks to the sunset glow.
There's one important story to tell and that's the "Fall of Tarnovo" but I guess it's one for another time...
Away from the Tsarevets and now closer to the old town centre, here's the Monument to the Assens. You could say that this was another iconic Veliko Tarnovo landmark.
The monument was built and dedicated to the Bulgarian Kings, Ivan Asen I, Peter IV (the duo from the Uprising), Kolayan the Romanslayer and Ivan Asen II (son the first Ivan Asen). They preceded over the city's political, economical and cultural peak and were hence honored through the monument.
Alongside the State Art Gallery (behind me from where I took the photo), the monument sits on a terrace above the Yantra River. It's probably one of the easiest landmarks to spot in Veliko Tarnovo.
It was time for dinner and I had absolutely no idea where to go because I couldn't remember the suggested good food places. Thank God we bumped into a very helpful Bulgarian boy who was with his mother's teenage sister.
"I'll take you to the best food place in all of Veliko Tarnovo. You'll like it" And so we ended up in this dinner place with low lighting with no clue whatsoever. That's until I opened the menu... Hey, it's Shtastliveca! I just had this in Sofia 5 days back for dinner!
And because it wasn't a newly opened one, the staff knew the menu well and we had yet another amazing Bulgarian stuffing! That wasn't the best part either...
The best food in Betina's home province also has the best seats to watch the Звук и светлина zvuk i svetlina, audiovisual performance!
A combination of laser lights, dramatic music (similar to those by Hans Zimmer but unique in its own way) and the church bells (towards the end) brought to "life" the period between the 2nd Bulgarian Kingdom and the Liberation from the Ottomans. A large part of the performance was focused on the Siege of Tarnovo.
Led by Celebi, who was appointed by his father, the Ottomans attacked Tarnovo in Spring 1393. They came up against troops led by Patriarch Evtimiy (Saint Euthymius of Tarnovo). In spite of the strong resistance by the Bulgarians, 17th July 1393 marked the end of the siege with Tarnovo captured, with heavy bloodshed on both sides :'(
The audiovisual performance was really enjoyable (along with the food) despite the fact that it told the tragic story of Tarnovo. The lights kinda reminded me of my over-excitement over lasers when I was still that science kid ;)
Veliko Tarnovo at night, sitting above the Yantra River. Really liked how the manner in which the buildings were arranged, sort of stadium-like don't you think?
Was quite disappointed that there wasn't enough time to go to Samovodska Charshia. Wanted to see how the marketplace was like but I guess it'll have to wait for another time. Although the time spent here wasn't long enough to fully appreciate the city's rich history, I really enjoyed the medieval feel of Veliko Tarnovo.
Maybe next time then... Heading to Ruse before crossing over to Bucharest. It's going to be a crazy rush again!
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