Madara and Shumen: Bulgaria's first capital and Europe's only medieval rock relief

In northeast Bulgaria — 80 km from Varna — stands a rock wall 100 metres high with an 8th-century carved relief: a horseman with a lion under the horse’s hooves and a dog behind. It’s the Madara Horseman, Europe’s only rock relief of its kind, UNESCO since 1979, and the principal monument of the First Bulgarian Empire (681-1018). 20 km away is Shumen, and 30 km from there Pliska — the first Bulgarian capital.

The Madara Horseman

8th century (probably 705-715 AD, reign of khan Tervel). 4 m × 3 m relief carved in limestone at 23 m height — no one knows how it was done without modern scaffolding. Shows the khan on horseback, spear in hand, with three Greek inscriptions narrating Bulgarian victories over Byzantines and Arabs. Unique in Europe: no other medieval European monarch had themselves depicted in rock relief.

• 📅Dating 8th century (705-715 AD)
• 🗿Unique rock relief Medieval Europe
• 💰Complex entry 5 BGN
• ⏱Visit 1-2 h

Pliska: the first capital

681-893 AD. Founded by Asparuh, first Bulgarian khan, after crossing the Danube in 680 and founding the First Empire. Pliska was capital for 200 years until Simeon I moved it to Preslav.

Today it’s citadel, wall and palace ruins. Enormous scale (23 km² — far larger than any European city of the era). 5 BGN entry, 1.5 h. Essential for understanding Bulgaria’s non-Slavic origins (the original Bulgarians were Turkic proto-Bulgars from Central Asia who Slavicised later).

Veliki Preslav: the second capital

893-972 AD. Simeon I the Great moves the capital here. Here the “Bulgarian Golden Age” flourishes — literature, art, religious translations from Greek into Old Bulgarian. Golden Preslav ceramic in the museum, religious architecture, palaces. 5 BGN entry.

Preslav fell to John I Tzimisces (Byzantine) in 972 and never recovered. But its glazed ceramic workshops are among the most advanced in 10th-c. Europe.

Shumen: base city

82,000 inhabitants. Logistical base for visiting Madara-Pliska-Preslav. Has its own striking monument: the 1300 Years of Bulgaria Monument (1981) — brutalist-sculptural structure on a hill, with house-sized mosaics and statues depicting Bulgarian history. Aesthetically divisive but imposing. 5 BGN.

Shumen Fortress (above the city): Thracian-Roman-Byzantine-Bulgarian origin, partially restored. Panoramic view. 3 BGN.

Shumen Regional Museum: reference archaeological collection for the First Bulgarian Empire.

2-day route

• Day 1: Varna → Madara (80 km, 1 h) → Pliska (20 km). Night in Shumen.
• Day 2: Veliki Preslav (20 km south of Shumen) → 1300 Years Monument → back to Varna or continue to Veliko Tarnovo (2 h west).

Coming from Sofia: longer trip (400 km). Justifies 3 nights (base in Shumen) or combining with Veliko Tarnovo + Ruse.

Sleeping in Shumen

• Grand Hotel Shumen: 4*, 70-110 BGN.
• Hotel Solo: central, 50-80 BGN.
• Guest House Shumen: budget, 30-50 BGN.

The complete Bulgaria guide from Far Guides dedicates a section to the northeast with a First Empire map, Madara Horseman analysis and Shumen-Tarnovo route strategy.