Veliko Turnovo town

Veliko Turnovo is one of the most ancient towns in Bulgaria. Its history dates back to the 4^th millennia BC. The town of Veliko Turnovo inherited centuries old Prehistoric, Thracian and Antique culture. 

In 1185 it became the center of the Bulgarian Uprising against the Byzantine domination and the capital of the restored Bulgarian State. 

The medieval town of Turnovo was rapidly expanding and developed into the strongest Bulgarian fortress during the 12-14^th Century. It became the most significant political, economic, cultural and religious center of Bulgaria. Veliko Turnovo is famous for its remarkable architectural monuments, miniatures, mural paintings, literature, and plastic arts and crafts.

During the 15-19^th Centuries period Turnovo was a symbol of the former Bulgarian State system and a stronghold of the Bulgarian national spirit, a lading center of the struggle for national liberation, for religious and cultural independence. The town was also and important administrative, trade and industrial center during the Bulgarian National Revival period in the second half of the 18^th and the 19^th centuries. 

After the liberation from the Ottoman domination in 1877 until the wars in 1912-1913 and in 1915-1918 Turnovo played a significant role in the political, administrative and cultural formation of independent Bulgaria.

Modern Veliko Turnovo is a town-museum rich in many cultural museums, monuments and architectural sites. Every year the town is visited by thousands of Bulgarian and foreign tourists. The preservation of the ancient history of Bulgaria is not only the prime concern of the Veliko Turnovo Municipality, but of the whole Bulgarian nation.

The modern town of Veliko Turnovo develops dynamically. The architecture of its new housing estates is in harmony with the old masters’ traditions. Many schools and cultural institutes further develop the culture inheritance. They are the Veliko Turnovo “Saints Cyril and Methodius” University, “Vassil Levsky” High Military School, “Konstantin Kissimov” Dramatic and Musical Theatre, the Palace of Sports and Culture, and the Permanent Arts Collection “The Painter’s Vision of Veliko Turnovo”.

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