Veliko Tarnovo

]

Veliko Tarnovo is an important administrative, economic, educational and cultural centre of Northern Bulgaria.

History

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

Veliko Tarnovo grew quickly to become the strongest Bulgarian fortification of the Middle Ages between the 12th and 14th century and the most important political, economic, cultural and religious centre of the empire. In the 14th century as the Byzantine Empire weakened Tarnovo claimed to be the Third Rome based on its preeminent cultural influence in the Balkans and the Slavic Orthodox world.

As the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, Tarnovo was a quasi-cosmopolitan city, with many foreign merchants and envoys. It is known that Tarnovo had Armenian, Jewish and Roman Catholic ("Frankish") merchant quarters [http://arheo-filipov.hit.bg/sre.htm] besides a dominant Bulgarian population. The discovery of three Gothic statuette heads, indicating there may have also been a Catholic church. [http://paper.standartnews.com/bg/article.php?d=2008-06-21&article=237095]

Ottoman rule

The city flourished and grew for 200 years. Тhe political upsurge and spiritual development were discontinued in 1393 on 17 July, when after vigorous resistance to a 3-month siege Veliko Tarnovo was seized and the whole Bulgarian Empire was destroyed by the invader mdash the Ottoman Empire. Medieval Bulgaria's towns and villages, monasteries and churches, were burnt to ashes.

Veliko Tarnovo, known in the Middle Ages as Tarnovgrad (Търновград), was the location of two uprisings against Ottoman rule, in 1598 (the First Tarnovo Uprising) and 1686 (the Second Tarnovo Uprising), 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

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 5 October 1908.

In 1965, the city, then officially known as "Tarnovo", was renamed to "Veliko Tarnovo" (Great Tarnovo) to commemorate its rich history and importance.

Main sights

One of Bulgaria's primary tourist destinations, Veliko Tarnovo boasts many historical monuments and landmarks, such as
*ruins of the castle Tsarevets on the hill of the same name, which housed the royal and patriarchal palace
*Trapezitsa, the second fortress of the inner city on the right bank of Yantra
*Church of St Demetrius of Thessaloniki
*SS. Forty Martyrs Church
*Church of SS. Peter and Paul
*the numerous Bulgarian National Revival buildings with their typical architecture
*museum of the Bulgarian Revival and the Constituent Assembly, located in the old Ottoman municipal building built by Nikola Fichev
*Archeological Museum, which keeps numerous founds and remains of the ancient history of these lands
*Samovodska Charshia, the old trade street which sheltered skilful craftsmen through the Revival Period and even today many of the houses and the workshops are fully restored
*the House with the Monkey and Mother Bulgaria monument, both on the main street
*Gurko Street, an illustration of Bulgarian Revival architectural style where it is possible to visit the Sarafkina House
*church of St. Constantine and Helena, with panoramic view over the Yantra River and the Asens' Monument
*Stambolov's Bridge, which is the way to the Asens' Monument and the City Art Gallery

Higher education

* Veliko Tarnovo University
* The "Vasil Levski" National Defence University with its
** Combined Forces Facility (Former Higher Military School of Ground Forces, now also providing basic military knowledge for air force and navy cadets)

Photos

Notable people

Born in Veliko Tarnovo

* Patriarch Evtimiy (c. 1325–c. 1403), cleric
* Gregory Tsamblak (c. 1365–1420), cleric, Metropolitan of Kiev
* Petko Slaveykov (1827–1895), writer and politician
* Stefan Stambolov (1854–1895), politician, Prime Minister of Bulgaria
* Vasil Zlatarski (1866–1935), historian
* Vesela Lecheva (born 1964), sportswoman and politician
* Mariya Ilieva (born 1977), singer
* Kaloyan Stefanov Mahlyanov (born 1983), professional sumo wrestler (Kotooshu Katsunori)

Died in Veliko Tarnovo

* Saint Sava (c. 1175–c. 1236), first Archbishop of Serbia
* Bacho Kiro (1835–1876), revolutionary, teacher and writer
* Dobri Voynikov (1833–1878), cultural figure
* Kolyu Ficheto (1800–1881), architect

Living in Veliko Tarnovo

* Trifon Ivanov (born 1965), former international football player.
* Varban Minev (born 1948), Chairman of The National Association "Traditzia" in Veliko Tarnovo and Honorary Citizen of the town

Twin cities

Veliko Tarnovo is twinned with the following cities: ^{[http://www.infotourism.net/story.php?storyid=1430]}

* Bayonne, France
* Kraków, Poland
* Niš, Serbia
* Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia
* Poltava, Ukraine
* Serres, Greece
* Sopron, Hungary
* Toledo, Spain
* Tver, Russia
* Colonia Tovar, Venezuela
* Tarxien, Malta

Honour

Tarnovo Ice Piedmont on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is named after Veliko Tarnovo.

External links

* [http://www.veliko-tarnovo.co.cc Veliko Tarnovo in English]
* [http://www.velikoturnovo.info The official site of the Veliko Tarnovo Tourist Information Office]
* [http://www.veliko-tarnovo.net/english-vijte/eng-br-1/ City guide in English]
* [http://www.veliko-turnovo.com/ Veliko Tarnovo]
* [http://www.folklorefest.com/ International Folklore Festival Veliko Tarnovo]
* [http://www.balkanfolk.com/catalogue_BULGARCHE_-_Child-Juvenile_Folk_Ensemble,_Veliko_Tarnovo Bulgarche folk group from Veliko Tarnovo]
* [http://www.thefrontiertimes.com The Frontier Times - Bulgaria's English Language Newspaper (published in Veliko Tarnovo)]
* [http://www.veliko.co.uk European Veliko Turnovo city tourist guide)]

References