Description of the attraction
The Tsarevets Fortress was built in Veliko Tarnovo on the basis of a natural fortification - Mount Tsarevets. The date of the construction of the fortification is 1185, when the Second Bulgarian Kingdom still existed. At that time, Veliko Tarnovo was the capital city, in the whole Bulgarian kingdom it was the largest administrative center. In addition, in the same period, Tsarevets Castle became the residence of the royal nobility: Petar, Asen, Kaloyan.
The city and, accordingly, the Tsarevets fortress, were captured by the Ottoman Empire in 1393. During the fighting, some parts of the fortress were seriously damaged. Reconstruction work at this facility began only in 1930.
The fortress was built with thick walls surrounding the castle, as well as three gates. The fortification complex consisted of: the Royal Palace, the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Ascension, the palace church, residential houses of commoners and artisans. The total number of residential buildings discovered by archaeologists is equal to 400. In addition, there were once more than 20 churches and 4 monasteries. We can say that the whole life of the city was concentrated outside the walls of the Tsarevets fortress.
Today, fragments of the walls, a temple, towers and gates have survived from the fortress. One of the state projects "Light and Sound" was carried out near the Tsarevets fortress, within the framework of which the ancient fortress was surrounded by fantastic lights. In the evenings, the castle is illuminated by myriads of laser beams as part of a musical show about the history of the fall of the great Bulgarian Kingdom.
