Veliko Tarnovo (Велико Търново)

The Medieval Bulgarian capital has a 7000 years long history. A little over 60km separate the guests of Tryavna from Veliko Tarnovo. The picturesque road though Gabrovo and Dryanovo will take you to Tsarevgrad Tarnov before you realise it. A place where not only numerous life changing battles have been fought, but also a place that you cannot visit without falling in love.

The houses, snuggled on top of the nearby hills, the fascinating stone bridges, the quiet chatter of the Yantra river, the Sound and Light show on Tsarevets and… you name it! For a day you can visit a few of those places.

Tsarevets is probably the most significant landmark of Veliko Tarnovo. Strolling along the cobbled pathways you can visit two of the most imposing buildings here- the Kings Palace and the Patriarch’s complex.  The Baldwin tower and the legend of capturing Baldwin of Flanders by king Kaloyan after the Edirne battle in 1205 are ever so curios to visitors, as well.

Trapesitsa- the hill right next to Tsarevets. You can take a walk on a pleasant eco path in order to make your way to the top of the hill or take the modern glass funicular instead.

Patriarch Euthymii mentions the name “The Highly Glorious Town of Trapesitsa” in relation to moving the relics of St. Ivan Rilski to one of the churches here. The excavations are still in progress and even nowadays new evidence of the medieval life here is being found on regular basis. On the territory of Trapesitsa up to now the remains of a fortification system, military base and 18 churches have been found.

In the town the one-of-a-kind in Bulgaria park museum Mini-Bulgaria has been built, that presents over 80 real miniatures of significant landmarks from all over the country. Here you can enjoy a bird’s eye view of the Rila Monastery, to make yourselves familiar with the details of the Varna train station, to take a walk though the city centre of Sofia or enjoy the beauty of the Rose Valley.

As a compulsory visit you can mark the medieval churches St. Demetrius (in which the uprising of Asen and Peter had been announced) and the St. St. Peter and Paul, the Shishman’s bath, of course we should not miss to mention the Samovodska Charchiya Craft street and the multimedia visitors centre Tsarevgrad Tarnov.