Ovech Stone Fortress

There are two stone fortresses on the territory of Varna region: Petrich Kale near the village of Razdelna and Ovech, called Provat by the Byzantines and Tash Hisar by the Turks. Ovech (as the Bulgarians called it) is located in the Kaleto plateau, east of the town of Provadia. In different periods, it was inhabited by different cultures – Thraces, Romans, Byzantines, Jews. It was conquered by knights, Turks, Russians. During the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, Ovech was an important administrative, economic and religious center. King Peter II came to live in the fortress, after he gave up his crown and handed the power down to his younger brother Asen back in 1190. He was a keen hunter, that’s why he came here, where people say once there were marvelous forests. According to one legend, Ovech was the place where the movement of Ivaylo (the so-called “peasant king”) was born. Gradually, the fortress was abandoned. Some of the things reminding of its former splendor are the unique bridge connecting the fortress and the Tabiite plateau, many wells and train tanks, the ruins of the Metropolitan Church, the watch-towers, the stone gate, the knights’ prison, the marble pillars of Omurtag. The crest of the fortress represents an eagle, carved in the stamp-rings, found inside the fortress.