Veliko Tarnovo: the medieval capital that rivalled Byzantium

Veliko Tarnovo — or simply Tarnovo to Bulgarians — was for two centuries one of Eastern Europe’s most important cities. As capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185-1396) it rivalled Constantinople, kept its own literary school, and when it fell to the Ottomans in 1396 it closed with it the last medieval Bulgarian state. Today, on three hills in the meanders of the Yantra, it’s the country’s most evocative city: stone, fortress, red roofs hanging off rock, and the feel that everything here carries historical weight.

Why Tarnovo sits here

Pure geography. Three hills — Tsarevets, Trapezitsa, Sveta Gora — ringed by meanders of the Yantra, easily defensible. Slavs arrived in the 6th c., Byzantines fortified the hills, and in 1185 the brothers Asen and Peter led the rebellion against Byzantium from here. They proclaimed the Second Bulgarian Empire with capital at Tarnovo.

During the 13th c., Ivan Asen II stretched the empire to three seas. Tarnovo was a fortified city with 22 churches in Tsarevets alone, libraries, monastic scriptoriums and its own painting school. The Ottomans took and sacked the citadel in 1393. It resisted 3 months. Then came 500 years of oblivion.

• 📅Capital 1185-1396
• 💰Tsarevets 10 BGN (5 €)
• ⏱Stay 2 days minimum
• 🚆From Sofia 4 h train / 3.5 h bus

Tsarevets: the royal citadel

The most important hill. Entry via the monumental bridge rebuilt over the precipice. Inside:

• Royal palace: restored walls marking the footprint. Main courtyard, throne room.
• 22 churches: marked foundations. The most important was the patriarchal cathedral.
• Church of the Ascension (rebuilt 1981): on top, with controversial contemporary frescoes by painter Teofán Sokerov (1985). Expressionist, deliberately not Byzantine. Some Bulgarians hate them, others consider them among the most important 20th-c. Bulgarian art.
• Baldwin’s Tower: from where — per legend — the Latin emperor Baldwin I was thrown on orders of Tsar Kaloyan in 1205 after the battle of Adrianople. Dark history Bulgaria tells with pride: Baldwin was the emperor of the Latin empire installed in Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade. Bulgarians caught and killed him.

Sound & Light show

Friday to Sunday evenings in tourist season (April to October), Tsarevets hosts a laser, music and firework show projecting Bulgarian history on the walls. Kitsch but impressive. Free from the old town (visible from any high point). Duration: 25 min. Starts at dusk (21:30 in summer).

Old town: Gurko, Samovodska, General Gurko

The Bulgarian Revival city (19th c.) developed clinging to the precipice, houses that seem to grow from the rock. Walk Gurko street — the most photographed — through 19th-c. houses still lived in. Samovodska Charshia street revives the Ottoman-Revival bazaar with active artisans: silversmiths, cabinet-makers, potters. Not a museum: a functional bazaar.

Trapezitsa: the complement

The second hill, across the river. Secondary fortress with 17 documented churches. Partly excavated, far less visited. Entry 6 BGN, cable car available from centre (5 BGN return). 1-2 h is enough. If you have only one day in Tarnovo, you can skip it; two days, it’s worth the historical extension.

Arbanasi: the merchants’ village

4 km north of Tarnovo (taxi 15-20 BGN, or bus). Arbanasi in the 17th-18th c. was the village of Bulgarian merchants who traded with Constantinople and Vienna. Solid stone houses with hidden courtyards, churches humble outside but interiors fully frescoed. A must: the Nativity church (17th c.), frescoes covering every inch inside — windows small on purpose to preserve pigments. 2 BGN, essential.

Konstantsaliev house-museum (4 BGN): merchant home with original furniture, inner courtyard, private hammam (!). Shows how the Bulgarian mercantile elite lived under Ottoman rule.

Where to eat

• Hadji Nikoli Inn: 19th-c. han (inn) restored in the heart of the bazaar. Traditional cuisine, carved ceilings, 20-35 BGN a dish.
• Shtastlivetsa: on Gurko, terrace with Yantra view. Best kyufte in town.
• Alternative: mehanas in Arbanasi (lamb spit, Mavrud wine, 25-40 BGN full dinner).

Where to sleep

• Meridian Boliarski: historic hotel in the old town, 70-110 €.
• Hotel-Mehana Gurko: guesthouse in Revival house with river view, 50-80 €.
• Hostel Mostel Tarnovo: famous-chain branch, 15-20 €.

Ideal zone: Gurko or near Samovodska Charshia.

Easy day trip: Dryanovo + Bozhentsi

Dryanovo (30 min): 12th-c. monastery in a cave, Revival architecture, lovely walk by the river.

Bozhentsi (45 min): entire protected Revival museum-village since 1964. More commercial than Arbanasi but pretty.

Tarnovo or Plovdiv as second Bulgarian city?

Both deserve 2 days. If you can only pick one after Sofia:

• Tarnovo: if you value medieval epic, imperial history, dramatic landscapes.
• Plovdiv: if you value Roman archaeology, best-preserved Revival old town, current urban life.

The ideal route: Sofia → Plovdiv → Tarnovo → Rila → Sofia, 7-10 days.

The complete Bulgaria guide from Far Guides covers Tarnovo with Tsarevets map, description of each medieval church, and combined routes with Arbanasi, Bachkovo and Tryavna.