Tarnovgrad - the old capital of Bulgaria
Veliko Tarnovo is a Bulgarian city located in central Northern Bulgaria. In its place there were Neolithic settlements, a Roman city, a Byzantine city and in the following years a Slavic settlement. The old name of the city was Tarnovgrad - an important Bulgarian city during the First Bulgarian Kingdom. After many years of Byzantine slavery, the Uprising of the boyars Asen and Peter broke out in the city. Tarnovgrad became the capital of the Second Bulgarian State. The city was located on four hills. The first was Tsarevets or Tarnov - reinforced with fortress walls of two crowns, with three gates. The fortress housed the Bulgarian Patriarchate, the palace of the royal family, first-class boyars and court citizens; Trapezitsa fortress - where the first palace of Asenevtsi was probably located, where boyars, Trapezites and citizens lived, Devingrad fortress - a fortress of military leaders, merchants and craftsmen, the Holy Mountain hill - where there was a large literary school of Patriarch Evtimii, two monasteries and monastic cells, New Town on both banks of Yantra lived mainly craftsmen and clergy, there were also the Great Lavra Monastery, the Church of "St. Demetrius of Solunsky", Frenkgrad or Frenkhisar - a quarter with foreign merchants - merchants from Dubrovnik, Venice, Genoa and other cities. After the fall of Bulgaria under Turkish slavery, the city was destroyed, most Bulgarians fled. Tarnovgrad, known among the Turks as Tirnova, was an important commercial and administrative center of the surrounding lands. Despite this, the Bulgarians in the city rose up in the First and Second Turnov Uprisings in 1598 and 1686 respectively and the Velchova Zavera Uprising in 1835. In 1598, for a short period, it was again the capital of the Bulgarian State. Despite foreign rule, the Bulgarian spirit was preserved. The supporters of this were revolutionaries, teachers, clergymen, merchants, and craftsmen. They created cultural centers in the Monasteries around the city and the Revival churches built by Kolyu Ficheto: "St. Nicholas" built in 1949, "St. Cyril and Methodius" built in 1860, "St. St. Constantine and Helena" built in 1873. In the enslaved Turnovgrad, the first Bulgarian school was opened in 1844, the first hospital, the first pharmacy, and the first maternity hospital. The city was home to the Zlatar Bazaar next to the Kurshum Mosque (southeast of Tsarevets), the agricultural market - Samovodska Bazaar, the Badjarlak market and the Bazaar through Tsarevets with the large clock tower. There were over 70 inns in the city - the largest of which were: Golemiya Khan, Khan Hadji Nikola, Dryanovo Khan, Stamboloviya Khan, Tarnovo Khan and others. Over 20 crafts developed: silk weaving, carpentry, pottery, blacksmithing and others. During the Bulgarian National Revival, the Tarnovo newspapers Draka and Narodno Zhashta were also published. The city was surrounded by a moat and entered through three gates: Golyamata, Malkata and Dervenstkata. In 1878, after the Liberation of Bulgaria, it became the temporary capital. The first Bulgarian archaeological society, a tourist society, and an Esperanto society were opened in the city. A charitable organization, the Women's Municipality, was founded. In 1899, Turnovo was connected to the Bulgarian railway network. The city had a People's University for the Acquisition of New Knowledge in the Humanities and a Bacterial Institute. The Stambolov Bridge and the Tsar Boris III Bridge were built. In 1915, the Svetlina Company was founded in Turnovo, and in the following years, the Strela Joint-Stock Company - a transportation company, was founded by the Georgiev brothers. In 1939, the Turnovo Fair was held. During the socialist period, in 1952, the Konstantin Kisimov Musical and Drama Theater was built, in 1958, the Ivailo Stadium was completed, five years later, Veliko Tarnovo University was opened, in 1965, a Soviet delegation and the first female cosmonaut - Valentina Tereshkova - visited the city. "Veliko" was added to the name of the city in 1965. The Tsarevets fortress and the medieval churches in the Asenova neighborhood have been partially restored, and the Asenevtsi monument was built in 1985. The largest enterprises in Veliko Tarnovo were the Radio Plant, the Memory Devices Plant and the Electric Hoist Plant, where 5,000, 2,000 and 1,500 people worked in the strongest years, respectively. After the democratic changes in early 2000, a road junction-south was completed, eight years later the city celebrated the culmination of the celebrations of 100 years of Independent Bulgaria. In 2019, Veliko Tarnov was declared the historical and spiritual capital of Bulgaria. In 2008, the city celebrated the culmination of the celebrations of 100 years of Independent Bulgaria.
