Day Tour: Varna – Veliko Tarnovo and Arbanasi

This day tour from Varna will bring you to the middle of the country and the old Bulgarian capital – Veliko Tarnovo, preserved the atmosphere of the old Bulgarian Kingdom

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More about Veliko Tarnovo

Veliko Turnovo is in roughly the middle of the country, in Northern Bulgaria, towards the country’s center. It was Bulgaria’s capital in the past, and it has witnessed glorious period throughout the millennial history of the country. Until the year 1965 it was called just Turnovo, and Veliko, meaning Great, was added then, to recognize its importance for the whole history of Bulgaria. Its location, between the Danubian Plain and the hills of the Balkan Range, on the banks of the Yantra river, blends natural features whose variety enhances the appeal of the place.

The amphitheatrical arrangement of many of its houses perched on the hills and boasting old style architecture, the narrow cobbled Gurko street hugging the bank of the Yantra, these are just some of the features that make visitors fall in love with the town at once. Veliko Turnovo is a unique town revealing Bulgarian history and culture.

Details about Arbanasi

Arbanasi, a crucial trading center in the past, has sturdy merchant houses rise like fortresses, preserving the wealth merchants kept after trading in the entire Ottoman empire. The houses then were built so as to enable living inside for long periods and going out just to the well in the yard.
Then, in the 19^th century, Arbanasi was robbed and razed by fire by robbers. Plague set in, several earthquakes, too. After 1810 the revival started. Settlers came from the Balkan areas of the towns Elena and Tryavna. Two churches and a merchant’s house called Konstantsalia are musts to visit. The house was bought by a wealthy merchant, destroyed by an earthquake in 1913, and then rebuilt and arranged as a museum of customs of the locality.
The Nativity Church has parts for men and for women, a gallery. A chapel named St. John the Baptist rises in the east.