Veliko Tarnovo

Veliko Tarnovo is one of the most ancient Bulgarian towns. The picturesque situation and panoramic view of the town, its rich cultural and historical heritage wins Veliko Tarnovo the recognition as a historical, cultural and tourist center of contemporary Bulgaria. Historians date the establishment of the town back to the 4th millenium B. C. In 1185 it became a center of the Bulgarian Uprising against Byzantine domination and the capital of the restored Bulgarian state. The medieval town of Tarnovo was rapidly expanding and developed into the strongest Bulgarian fortress during the 12-14th centuries. It became the most significant political, economic, cultural and religious centre of Bulgaria. During the 15th- 19th centuries period Tarnovo was a symbol of the former Bulgarian state system and a leading centre of the struggle for cultural independence. During the Bulgarian National Revival period in the second half of the 18th and the 19th centuries the town was an important administrative, trade and industrial centre. After the Liberation from Ottoman domination in 1877 until the wars in 1912 - 1913 and in 1915 - 1918 as a historical capital Tarnovo played a significant role in the political, administrative and cultural formation of independent Bulgaria. In 1879 Bulgaria was restored for the second time. Then the Constituent Assembly drafted the supreme fundamental laws of the nation - the Tarnovska Constitution in the hall of the former Turkish konak (municipality building). The 1st, The 3th, The 4th and The 5th Grand National Assemblies (in 1879, 1887, 1893 and 1911) were held in Veliko Tarnovo.