The Tower of Shemshi Bey

The Shemshi Bey Tower is located in the village of Ledenik, near Veliko Tarnovo. It is built on the picturesque hill of Mella by the Yantra River in the western part of the village. It was constructed around 1650 when the Turkish Bey was in possession of heritage land and decided to build on it a magnificent palace for its time. The entire building is a construction masterpiece, that was desgined to guard the inhabitants against Kardzhali attacks. The tower is also connected with the Bulgarian version of the most popular love story "Romeo and Juliet" - between the Bey's only son and the beautiful Bulgarian girl Neda. Nowadays, with partial restoration of the Shemshi Bey tower, a hotel is built, and the tower itself is an ethnographic museum on three floors. On the first floor is the museum, where there is an ethnographic exposure. On the second floor are Shemshi Bey's bedroom and several guest rooms. And on the third floor are two huge halls, richly decorated with tiles and carvings. On the top floor there are 9 indoor balconies to all sides for the 9 Beagle Wives. (Photo: kmeta.bg)