Description of the attraction
The Historical and Archaeological Museum of Veliki Preslav is located three kilometers south of the modern city of Preslav. In the 9th century, it was Veliki Preslav that was the capital of the legendary Bulgarian kingdom.
Archaeological excavations at the site of the ancient city began to be regularly carried out towards the end of the 19th century. Archaeologists have done a great job to understand that the city was originally divided into two parts: the inner city, which included a full-fledged complex of royal buildings (all of them were also surrounded by a solid stone wall), and the outer city (also surrounded by a ten-meter stone wall).
Specialists investigated the ruins of palaces in the inner city: all structures were built of very large stones. Among the palace ruins was the Grand Palace, otherwise it is usually called the Throne Chamber. Here archaeologists have discovered parts of the columns, which were completely intact, as well as slabs with all kinds of floral ornaments that were carved by ancient craftsmen. The floor slabs of marble and porphyry have also survived in the Throne Chamber.
The exploration of the outer city so far has focused on fragments of workshops and residential buildings. Here, scientists have discovered for the whole world the remains of the Golden Church, which is otherwise called the Round Church; it was erected here in about the 10th century. The temple has been partially preserved to this day: it is a building with an atrium and a vestibule, luxuriously and richly decorated with marble, mosaics and ceramic tiles with glaze patterns.
The museum is surrounded by a pine forest with gazebos. Nearby there is the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius, which has also become a cultural monument.
