Veliko Turnovo tourist info and hotels

Veliko Turnovo is a famous Bulgarian town on the outskirts of the Central Fore Balkan. The town is built on the banks of the Yantra River, on four hills, resembling an amphitheatre – Tsarevets, Trapezitsa, Momina Krepost and Sveta Gora. There is a caste on the hill Tsarevets, which used to be the capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom in the 12th century AC. The ancient travelers used to compare the beauty of Veliko Turnovo to the one of Constantinople. The town is also the main styage for other important events – the apogee of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom (12-13th century) and the acceptance of the First Bulgarian Constitution in 1874.

While Tsarevets was the capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, it played a great part in the political and spiritual lives of the Bulgarians. However few are the evidences, they clearly show the might of the Bulgarian Tsar dynasties and the Bulgarian Patriarch. Archeologists have found many great civil, residential and cult buildings, the most magnificent of which are the King’s and Patriarch’s Palaces. The many architectural accomplishments, realistic wall decorations, beautiful mosaics and handicraft masterpieces reveal the great mastery and skillfulness of the Bulgarian artists such as Zachary Zograf and Kolio Ficheto.

The old town of Veliko Turnovo is still very well preserved. There can be seen Bulgarian Renaissance houses with their unique interior, workshops and other interesting sights. Some people nowadays consider it the most gorgeous town in Bulgaria and it also has administrative, economical and cultural functions.  A must-see in the town is the audio-visual performance “Sound and Light” on the hill Tsarevets.