Veliko Tarnovo

Veliko Tarnovo
	Veliko Tarnovo; Велико Търново
	The medieval stronghold of Tsarevets
	; Coat of arms
	; Coat of arms
	; Veliko Tarnovo Location of Veliko Tarnovo
	Coordinates: 43°05′N 25°39′E / 43.083, 25.65
	Government
- Mayor	Rumen Rashev
Elevation	325 m (1,066 ft)
	Population (2008-06-16)
- Total	71,546
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
- Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal Code	5000
Area code(s)	062

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"Turnovo" redirects here. For the village in the Republic of Macedonia, see Turnovo, Republic of Macedonia.

Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgarian: Велико Търново, sometimes transliterated as Veliko Turnovo) is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred to as the "City of the Tsars", Veliko Turnovo is located on the Yantra River and is famous as the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists with its unique architecture.

The old city is situated on three hills, Tsarevets, Trapezitsa and Sveta Gora raising amidst the meanders of the Yantra. Tsarevets housed the palaces of the Bulgarian Emperors and the Patriarchate, as well as a number of administrative and residential edifices surrounded by thick walls. Trapezitsa was known for its many churches and as the main residence of the nobility. In the Middle ages it was among the main European centres of culture and gave its name to the Tarnovo Artistic School of architecture, painting and literature.

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

The population in 2008 is 110 000 urban area and more than 200 000 with the Metro area.

[edit] History

[edit] Prehistory and Antiquity

Map of medieval Tarnovo

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.

[edit] 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. The city was described by Bulgarian cleric Gregory Tsamblak in the 14th century as "a very large city, handsome and surrounded by walls with 12,000 to 15,000 inhabitants"^[1].

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[1] besides a dominant Bulgarian population. The discovery of three Gothic statuette heads, indicating there may have also been a Catholic church.[2]

[edit] Ottoman rule

View over Veliko Tarnovo and the surrounding area in the morning

Kolyu Ficheto's imposing Cathedral of the Birth of the Theotokos, completed 1844 and reconstructed 1913

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 — 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).

Samovodska Charshiya Street in the Old Town.

[edit] 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. '

[edit] 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

[edit] 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)

[edit] Photos

[edit] Notable people

[edit] 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
Krassimir Balakov (born 1966), footballer
Mariya Ilieva (born 1977), singer
Kaloyan Stefanov Mahlyanov (born 1983), professional sumo wrestler (Kotooshu Katsunori)

[edit] 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

[edit] 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