The town was founder of the foot of the Northern Fore - Balkan Range.
Historians date it back to the 4th millenium B. C.. The town of Veliko
Tarnovo had inherited centuries-old Prehistoric, Thracian and Antique
culture and 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 become the
most significant political, economic, cultural and religious centre of
Bulgaria.
Modern Veliko Tarnovo is a town - museum rich in many cultural museums and
monuments and architectural preserves. Every year the town is visited by
thousands of tourists from Bulgaria and from abroad. It is a prime concern
of the whole nation to study and preserve the numerous historical and
architectural monuments, the rich museums and the museum cultural artifacts.
Modern Veliko Turnovo, with its modern Central Mall shopping Centre with
multiplex cinemas, ten pin bowling alleys and host of stores, is in contrast
to Gurko Street and Veliko Turnovo's old parts. Arbanassi is just up the
hill from Veliko Turnovo, accessed by bike (Dangerous road), on foot (Very
scenic) or by car.
__________Getting Around
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Getting around Veliko Turnovo is easy. There are metered taxis everywhere,
and the fare from one end of town to the other is about $1 USD. There are
also city buses.
It's a great city for walking, and you can go almost anywhere in about half
an hour if you have your mountain legs on.
Because the city is built on, in, and around a series of hills, you can see
the lay of the land quite easily.
______Getting There
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Veliko Turnovo is accessible by train and by road. There are direct trains
from Bucharest and Istanbul. Trains from Sofia and Varna connect at Gorna
Oryahovica, which is also a short shuttle-bus ride away.
Buses leave the bus park next to the main railway station in Sofia for
Veliko Turnovo and continue on to Turgovishte, Shumen, Varna, and other
locations in eastern Bulgaria.
If you arrive in Sofia by plane, the bus park next to the main railway
station is a fifteen-minute ride from the airport. |
