Tarnovo is a masterpiece, in making it man ivorked in close contact with nature.
Peter Biengonski, Polish architect, ivbo visited the town in 1947 Tarnovo gained its freedom before the whole of Bulgaria was liberated. While battles were still going on in other parts of the country, the Tarnovo citizens were getting ready to make their city Bulgaria’s capital. But preferences went to Sofia, and this determined the fate of the eternal town. So Tarnovo preserved its old atmosphere and original beauty, which would have been lost, had it had to develop as a capital city.
The country’s liberation found Tarnovo with a definite character of its own, leading an advanced economic, cultural and social life. Only Plovdiv, Sofia and Rousse could be compared with it.
The well-to-do Turks had left Tarnovo in the troublesome days when the Russian troops crossed the Danube. Only poor Turks had remained there after the Liberation, for it made no difference to them where they lived, as long as they could stay in their homes.
To make up for the disappointment of Tarnovo’s citizens that it was not selected as the capital, the General Staff of the Russian Occupation Forces decided to hold there the Constitutional Assembly, which was to work out the fundamental laws of the new state.
For a while the town focussed the country’s public and political life. From February 10 to April 16, 1879, Tarnovo became the meeting place of the leaders of the two main political trends. Here the ‘young’ Bulgarians opposed their views to those of the ‘old’ Bulgarians. The liberals put up a stiff fight against the conservatives to secure the triumph of the liberal democratic trend. In this heated contention, Tarnovo itself took an active part with its own representatives, Petko Slaveikov, a poet and public figure, and Stefan Stambolov, the promising future statesman.
On March 9, 1878 - the Day of the 40 Holy Martyrs - the former Kavan Baba Tekc Djamissi in Assenova Mahala was made a Christian church again and became the symbol of the nation’s independence. Three decades later, on September 22, 1908, Bulgaria’s independance was finally proclaimed in this same church, as the Berlin Congress in June, 1878, had dismembered Bulgaria and made it a principality subservient to the sultan.
The First Grand National Assembly, which elected Alexander Battenberg as the first Bulgarian Prince, and before which he took an oath to be loyal to the Constitution, convened in Tarnovo on April 17, 1879, after the Constitutional Assembly. Thus, a tradition was established to carry out the important acts of state in the old Bulgarian capital. This tradition was observed up to 1912, when the Balkan War broke out. The other four grand national assemblies were also convened here, the last of which took place in 1911.
Another important decision made in those days was to accept the language spoken in Tarnovo as the fundamental Bulgarian literary language, because it was the purest. The ground for this decision was prepared by the founders of the Tarnovo School of Phonetics, headed by Nikola Mihailovski and Ivan Momchilov, in the sixties of the past century. Both educators were born in the small town of Elena, not far from Tarnovo.
The town rapidly spread to the west, descending towards Marno Pole. The southern slopes of Orlovets were dotted with new brick houses, facing the sun, and the new inhabitants of the town set about organizing their life after the European fashion, businessmen, officers and civil servants came to the fore and replaced the old craftsmen.
Till the beginning of the 20th century, Tarnovo’s economic development followed an ascending line. There was great abundance and the shops were full of goods. The rich villages in the vicinity offered large quantities of inexpensive farm produce.
Those who would like to see how the past, present and future can blend in the life of a town should visit Tarnovo. Nowhere else are they so clearly visible as they are here, and nowhere else are their individual qualities so manifest.
On December 27, 1955, the Council of Ministers issued a decree, which proclaimed Tarnovo a museum town, owing to its historical importance and numerous monuments of architecture and art.
* * *
The train whisks down the iron bridge to vanish in the tunnel below the town and the traveller gets off at the Trapezitsa station. As he turns his eyes towards Tarnovo, the town looks as though it has been suspended from the rocks, as if it is not real, but a fantastic stage setting.
A flight of steep steps leads up to the town. With every new step, the picture changes. The slope with the houses moves aside and the horizon opens wider and wider, till it reveals a whole range of hills and rocky terraces.
The traveller reaches the Velchova Zavera Square in the heart of the town, named in memory of Velcho’s Fight for Faith. While the sun is still high above him, he climbs to Tsarevets. When he reaches the Square of Assen I, in front of the District People’s Council, he stops in surprise. The view is really quite fascinating. The broken lines of the rocky terraces set against the violet haze of the horizon, the winding white curves of the streets against the hillsides, and the waters of the Yantra shimmering down below, all form part of this beautiful panorama. The river makes whimsical turns and appears in the opposite direction, hiding its course from the on-looker, as it vanishes in the depths of the beautifil gorge.
The visitor makes a quick tour of Tsarevets, promising himself to see all the details later. He climbs down to Assenova Ma-hala and fears that if he stays too long at one place, the all-round effect of the first impression will be spoiled. He, therefore, pays a quick visit to the churches of the 40 Holy Martyrs, Sts. Peter and Paul, and St Dimitar, and leaves the rest for later.
Trapezitsa is impressive with its strange silence, and its ruins which fill one with respect. This now desolate place was full of life and bustle once.
Early next morning the traveller strolls down the crooked small streets of Varousha, between picturesque old houses, the wide eaves of which nearly touch. He climbs up to the top of the hill and takes in the view from the yard of the church of St Nikola, Sveta Gora lies right across in all its loveliness and the new part of the town stretches in the valley below him. The sun goes up and gilds the roofs of the houses through the morning haze.
The traveller descends towards the main street of the town, passing through a real maze of rambling streets. Fragments of blue sky meet his eyes here and there between the hanging eaves, or parts of the fairy-tale view of the awakened town. Here is Hadji Nikoli’s Inn, the beautiful masterpiece of Nikola Fichcv. Not far trom it stand two other old buildings, which used to play a prominent part in the town’s economic life: Ivan Stambolov’s Inn and Pavel Droumev’s Warehouse.
Then the traveller returns to the old town again. Here is the beautiful building of the City People’s Council, another masterpiece of Nikola Fichev. The old Turkish prison stands behind it. It has been turned into a museum. There is a lot to be seen and learned there. This is the place where the gallows once stood. The visitor leaves the prison quite depressed, but the harmonious lines of the monumental library nearby restore the peace of his mind.
The Tarnovo National Library is not one of the oldest and largest in Bulgaria, but those who work in it have the ambition to collect and arrange everything written about Tarnovo, about its inhabitants and by its inhabitants. The District Museum stand next door to the library. Its exhibits from Roman days are extremely valuable. The models of buildings from the Middle Ages and the Revival period made by Leon Philipov of Tarnovo are also of particular interest.
Walking down Indje Street, the visitor comes to Maxim Raikovich Street, which offers a beautiful view of Sveta Gora, and then to Gurko Street, on which there are several of the most interesting houses built in the Revival period.
On leaving this labirynth of old buildings, he reaches the square in front of the City People’s Council where the Cathedral of St Mary draws his attention. It stands on a small rocky terrace giving on Tsarevets. The Cathedral was built on the site of an old church, destroyed by the earthquake of 1913 and was painted by the artists Dimiter Gyudjenov and Nikola Kozhouharov.
The visitor then goes down to the nearby Turkish quarter, crosses the Yantra and tinds himself at the foot of Sveta Gora. Before climbing up to the hilltop to see the delightful view, he pays a short visit to the Cyril and Methodius Teachers’ Institute, opened in 1963. It is one of the newest and most important institutions of the town and a whole university campus will rise around it in the near future.
* * *
While in Tarnovo, the visitor should see some important monuments in its vicinity.
The ruins of the once powerful Roman town of Nicopolis ad Istrum lie between the village of Nikyup and the Rossitsa River 18 km from Tarnovo. It was a well-planned town, inhabited by war veterans, whom Emperor Trajan presented with fertile land in its outskirts. In the course of time, it became an important trade centre of the Roman province of Moesia.
The famous Roman monument Stulbat (the Pillar) rises not far from Nikyup. It is a part of a Roman pillar, eleven metres high. Its origin has not been well clarified. In all probability, there must have been a fortress at that place.
The Belykovski Caves are also worth visiting. They are seven kilometres away from Tarnovo and are an interesting freak of nature. Not far from them is the big Preobrazhenski Monastery. Another monastery, Sveta Troitsa, stands right across the gorge, protected by the high cliffs.
The famous Kilifarcvski Monastery is to be found 17 km south of the town. The foundations of the old Kilifarevski monastery lie next to it. This monastery once housed the school of Theodossi of Tarnovo. Not far are the Plakovski and Kapinovski monasteries.
There are other monasteries near the town, such as St Panta-leimon and St Archangel of Prisev, and the 40 Holy Martyrs of Merdan to the south-east. Among the old monasteries is that of Sts Peter and Paul in Lyaskovetz, which was closely connected with Bulgaria’s national liberation movement. On his way to it, the visitor can stop at the village of Arbanassi.
Arbanassi, the summer residence of the Bulgarian medieval kings, has great many monasteries, churches, old houses and interesting fountains. The rulers of Wallachia also came from the Carpathian Mountains to enjoy the beautiful air and scenery in this picturesque spot. Many of them had their own palaces here and felt obliged, like the medieval Bulgarian kings, to show their favour to the Sveta Troitsa Monastery, a short distance away, in the rocky gorge of the Yantra.
The Arbanassi houses speak of the well-being of their owners. They arc massive and spacious and offered all the comforts which people enjoyed in those days. They were built to survive down the ages. Their owners did not feel like temporary visitors in this world. Not only the architecture of the houses, but also their furniture speaks of security. Nevertheless, Arbanassi often attracted robbers, who appeared unexpectedly and raided the stone walls of the houses to return disappointed, leaving a victim or two, pierced by the bullets of the defender. Only the Kurdjali hordes, which besieged it on all sides, managed to crush the resistance of its inhabitants in 1798.
Tarnovo, lying down in the valley, looks like a dream town from here. The hues blend in an infinite gamut of nuances, while the town’s outlines disappear in the haze and look quite unreal.
Tarnovo, however, is not a dream, but a reality. A reality which evokes day dreams. Ivan Vazov, the Bulgarian national poet, who contemplated the beauty of the town and pondered over its past glory, recreated the dramatic events of its history. His example was followed by many poets and writers, who devoted many beautiful pages to it. Bulgarian artists, too, among them Nikola Mihailov, Boris Denev, Ivan Hristov, Vassil Stoi'lov, Nikola Tanev and Tsanko Lavrenov, have been inspired by Tarnovo’s beauty.
In his travelogue, written after his first visit to Tarnovo, Ivan Vazov expressed his regret that the millions spent on embellishing Sofia as Bulgaria’s capital were not spent on Tarnovo. Later on he added: "It would have been a miraculous town, the whole world would have flocked to see it - a town created by the joint efforts of nature and man’s artistry."
These lines, written seven decades ago, do not fill the reader’s heart with regret today, because Bulgaria can afford to translate the poet’s dream into a living fact and also because the old part of the town has been preserved, restored and embellished.
In spring, the whole town is decked with blossoms and fresh verdure. The ruins also seem to wake up from their slumber and whisper their legends to the bewildered visitor, who wanders on Tsarevets and on the banks of the Yantra.
When summer comes, and the sun lights up the wonderful landscape, one is ready to believe that Tarnovo is the most beautiful town in the world. Especially at night, when there is a full moon, one understands why those who visited it seven centuries ago called it "the queen of all towns".
In autumn, when rain falls and the Yantra begins to murmur its songs, fog wraps its veil around Tsarevets and Trapezitsa to add another quality to their unique beauty.
And when winter spreads its white blanket over the streets and roofs, the eternal town assumes an entirely new, enchanting look.
The seasons come and go, but the visitor to Tarnovo become a captive of this town of enchantment for ever.
Peter Biengonski, Polish architect, ivbo visited the town in 1947 Tarnovo gained its freedom before the whole of Bulgaria was liberated. While battles were still going on in other parts of the country, the Tarnovo citizens were getting ready to make their city Bulgaria’s capital. But preferences went to Sofia, and this determined the fate of the eternal town. So Tarnovo preserved its old atmosphere and original beauty, which would have been lost, had it had to develop as a capital city.
The country’s liberation found Tarnovo with a definite character of its own, leading an advanced economic, cultural and social life. Only Plovdiv, Sofia and Rousse could be compared with it.
The well-to-do Turks had left Tarnovo in the troublesome days when the Russian troops crossed the Danube. Only poor Turks had remained there after the Liberation, for it made no difference to them where they lived, as long as they could stay in their homes.
To make up for the disappointment of Tarnovo’s citizens that it was not selected as the capital, the General Staff of the Russian Occupation Forces decided to hold there the Constitutional Assembly, which was to work out the fundamental laws of the new state.
For a while the town focussed the country’s public and political life. From February 10 to April 16, 1879, Tarnovo became the meeting place of the leaders of the two main political trends. Here the ‘young’ Bulgarians opposed their views to those of the ‘old’ Bulgarians. The liberals put up a stiff fight against the conservatives to secure the triumph of the liberal democratic trend. In this heated contention, Tarnovo itself took an active part with its own representatives, Petko Slaveikov, a poet and public figure, and Stefan Stambolov, the promising future statesman.
On March 9, 1878 - the Day of the 40 Holy Martyrs - the former Kavan Baba Tekc Djamissi in Assenova Mahala was made a Christian church again and became the symbol of the nation’s independence. Three decades later, on September 22, 1908, Bulgaria’s independance was finally proclaimed in this same church, as the Berlin Congress in June, 1878, had dismembered Bulgaria and made it a principality subservient to the sultan.
The First Grand National Assembly, which elected Alexander Battenberg as the first Bulgarian Prince, and before which he took an oath to be loyal to the Constitution, convened in Tarnovo on April 17, 1879, after the Constitutional Assembly. Thus, a tradition was established to carry out the important acts of state in the old Bulgarian capital. This tradition was observed up to 1912, when the Balkan War broke out. The other four grand national assemblies were also convened here, the last of which took place in 1911.
Another important decision made in those days was to accept the language spoken in Tarnovo as the fundamental Bulgarian literary language, because it was the purest. The ground for this decision was prepared by the founders of the Tarnovo School of Phonetics, headed by Nikola Mihailovski and Ivan Momchilov, in the sixties of the past century. Both educators were born in the small town of Elena, not far from Tarnovo.
The town rapidly spread to the west, descending towards Marno Pole. The southern slopes of Orlovets were dotted with new brick houses, facing the sun, and the new inhabitants of the town set about organizing their life after the European fashion, businessmen, officers and civil servants came to the fore and replaced the old craftsmen.
Till the beginning of the 20th century, Tarnovo’s economic development followed an ascending line. There was great abundance and the shops were full of goods. The rich villages in the vicinity offered large quantities of inexpensive farm produce.
Those who would like to see how the past, present and future can blend in the life of a town should visit Tarnovo. Nowhere else are they so clearly visible as they are here, and nowhere else are their individual qualities so manifest.
On December 27, 1955, the Council of Ministers issued a decree, which proclaimed Tarnovo a museum town, owing to its historical importance and numerous monuments of architecture and art.
* * *
The train whisks down the iron bridge to vanish in the tunnel below the town and the traveller gets off at the Trapezitsa station. As he turns his eyes towards Tarnovo, the town looks as though it has been suspended from the rocks, as if it is not real, but a fantastic stage setting.
A flight of steep steps leads up to the town. With every new step, the picture changes. The slope with the houses moves aside and the horizon opens wider and wider, till it reveals a whole range of hills and rocky terraces.
The traveller reaches the Velchova Zavera Square in the heart of the town, named in memory of Velcho’s Fight for Faith. While the sun is still high above him, he climbs to Tsarevets. When he reaches the Square of Assen I, in front of the District People’s Council, he stops in surprise. The view is really quite fascinating. The broken lines of the rocky terraces set against the violet haze of the horizon, the winding white curves of the streets against the hillsides, and the waters of the Yantra shimmering down below, all form part of this beautiful panorama. The river makes whimsical turns and appears in the opposite direction, hiding its course from the on-looker, as it vanishes in the depths of the beautifil gorge.
The visitor makes a quick tour of Tsarevets, promising himself to see all the details later. He climbs down to Assenova Ma-hala and fears that if he stays too long at one place, the all-round effect of the first impression will be spoiled. He, therefore, pays a quick visit to the churches of the 40 Holy Martyrs, Sts. Peter and Paul, and St Dimitar, and leaves the rest for later.
Trapezitsa is impressive with its strange silence, and its ruins which fill one with respect. This now desolate place was full of life and bustle once.
Early next morning the traveller strolls down the crooked small streets of Varousha, between picturesque old houses, the wide eaves of which nearly touch. He climbs up to the top of the hill and takes in the view from the yard of the church of St Nikola, Sveta Gora lies right across in all its loveliness and the new part of the town stretches in the valley below him. The sun goes up and gilds the roofs of the houses through the morning haze.
The traveller descends towards the main street of the town, passing through a real maze of rambling streets. Fragments of blue sky meet his eyes here and there between the hanging eaves, or parts of the fairy-tale view of the awakened town. Here is Hadji Nikoli’s Inn, the beautiful masterpiece of Nikola Fichcv. Not far trom it stand two other old buildings, which used to play a prominent part in the town’s economic life: Ivan Stambolov’s Inn and Pavel Droumev’s Warehouse.
Then the traveller returns to the old town again. Here is the beautiful building of the City People’s Council, another masterpiece of Nikola Fichev. The old Turkish prison stands behind it. It has been turned into a museum. There is a lot to be seen and learned there. This is the place where the gallows once stood. The visitor leaves the prison quite depressed, but the harmonious lines of the monumental library nearby restore the peace of his mind.
The Tarnovo National Library is not one of the oldest and largest in Bulgaria, but those who work in it have the ambition to collect and arrange everything written about Tarnovo, about its inhabitants and by its inhabitants. The District Museum stand next door to the library. Its exhibits from Roman days are extremely valuable. The models of buildings from the Middle Ages and the Revival period made by Leon Philipov of Tarnovo are also of particular interest.
Walking down Indje Street, the visitor comes to Maxim Raikovich Street, which offers a beautiful view of Sveta Gora, and then to Gurko Street, on which there are several of the most interesting houses built in the Revival period.
On leaving this labirynth of old buildings, he reaches the square in front of the City People’s Council where the Cathedral of St Mary draws his attention. It stands on a small rocky terrace giving on Tsarevets. The Cathedral was built on the site of an old church, destroyed by the earthquake of 1913 and was painted by the artists Dimiter Gyudjenov and Nikola Kozhouharov.
The visitor then goes down to the nearby Turkish quarter, crosses the Yantra and tinds himself at the foot of Sveta Gora. Before climbing up to the hilltop to see the delightful view, he pays a short visit to the Cyril and Methodius Teachers’ Institute, opened in 1963. It is one of the newest and most important institutions of the town and a whole university campus will rise around it in the near future.
* * *
While in Tarnovo, the visitor should see some important monuments in its vicinity.
The ruins of the once powerful Roman town of Nicopolis ad Istrum lie between the village of Nikyup and the Rossitsa River 18 km from Tarnovo. It was a well-planned town, inhabited by war veterans, whom Emperor Trajan presented with fertile land in its outskirts. In the course of time, it became an important trade centre of the Roman province of Moesia.
The famous Roman monument Stulbat (the Pillar) rises not far from Nikyup. It is a part of a Roman pillar, eleven metres high. Its origin has not been well clarified. In all probability, there must have been a fortress at that place.
The Belykovski Caves are also worth visiting. They are seven kilometres away from Tarnovo and are an interesting freak of nature. Not far from them is the big Preobrazhenski Monastery. Another monastery, Sveta Troitsa, stands right across the gorge, protected by the high cliffs.
The famous Kilifarcvski Monastery is to be found 17 km south of the town. The foundations of the old Kilifarevski monastery lie next to it. This monastery once housed the school of Theodossi of Tarnovo. Not far are the Plakovski and Kapinovski monasteries.
There are other monasteries near the town, such as St Panta-leimon and St Archangel of Prisev, and the 40 Holy Martyrs of Merdan to the south-east. Among the old monasteries is that of Sts Peter and Paul in Lyaskovetz, which was closely connected with Bulgaria’s national liberation movement. On his way to it, the visitor can stop at the village of Arbanassi.
Arbanassi, the summer residence of the Bulgarian medieval kings, has great many monasteries, churches, old houses and interesting fountains. The rulers of Wallachia also came from the Carpathian Mountains to enjoy the beautiful air and scenery in this picturesque spot. Many of them had their own palaces here and felt obliged, like the medieval Bulgarian kings, to show their favour to the Sveta Troitsa Monastery, a short distance away, in the rocky gorge of the Yantra.
The Arbanassi houses speak of the well-being of their owners. They arc massive and spacious and offered all the comforts which people enjoyed in those days. They were built to survive down the ages. Their owners did not feel like temporary visitors in this world. Not only the architecture of the houses, but also their furniture speaks of security. Nevertheless, Arbanassi often attracted robbers, who appeared unexpectedly and raided the stone walls of the houses to return disappointed, leaving a victim or two, pierced by the bullets of the defender. Only the Kurdjali hordes, which besieged it on all sides, managed to crush the resistance of its inhabitants in 1798.
Tarnovo, lying down in the valley, looks like a dream town from here. The hues blend in an infinite gamut of nuances, while the town’s outlines disappear in the haze and look quite unreal.
Tarnovo, however, is not a dream, but a reality. A reality which evokes day dreams. Ivan Vazov, the Bulgarian national poet, who contemplated the beauty of the town and pondered over its past glory, recreated the dramatic events of its history. His example was followed by many poets and writers, who devoted many beautiful pages to it. Bulgarian artists, too, among them Nikola Mihailov, Boris Denev, Ivan Hristov, Vassil Stoi'lov, Nikola Tanev and Tsanko Lavrenov, have been inspired by Tarnovo’s beauty.
In his travelogue, written after his first visit to Tarnovo, Ivan Vazov expressed his regret that the millions spent on embellishing Sofia as Bulgaria’s capital were not spent on Tarnovo. Later on he added: "It would have been a miraculous town, the whole world would have flocked to see it - a town created by the joint efforts of nature and man’s artistry."
These lines, written seven decades ago, do not fill the reader’s heart with regret today, because Bulgaria can afford to translate the poet’s dream into a living fact and also because the old part of the town has been preserved, restored and embellished.
In spring, the whole town is decked with blossoms and fresh verdure. The ruins also seem to wake up from their slumber and whisper their legends to the bewildered visitor, who wanders on Tsarevets and on the banks of the Yantra.
When summer comes, and the sun lights up the wonderful landscape, one is ready to believe that Tarnovo is the most beautiful town in the world. Especially at night, when there is a full moon, one understands why those who visited it seven centuries ago called it "the queen of all towns".
In autumn, when rain falls and the Yantra begins to murmur its songs, fog wraps its veil around Tsarevets and Trapezitsa to add another quality to their unique beauty.
And when winter spreads its white blanket over the streets and roofs, the eternal town assumes an entirely new, enchanting look.
The seasons come and go, but the visitor to Tarnovo become a captive of this town of enchantment for ever.
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