Architectural and museum reserve of TZAREVETS

The Tzarevets hill has first been inhabited during the Stone Age /4200 years BC/. During the Late Bronze /XII-X century BC/ and Iron /X-I century BC/ Ages a massive Thracian settlement sprang up on its territory. Between the IV and VII century the hill hosted the citadel of the Late Roman and Early Byzantine city of Zikideva. The thick fortress walls and gates protected an extensive territory that was densely built-up with church and residential buildings. During the VII century the town was destroyed by the Avarians and Slavs. A small Bulgarian settlement was established on top of the fortress ruins in the X century. The citadel of Tarnovgrad – strong fortress walls, gates and towers that protected the capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom – dominated over the hill from the end of the XII century to the end of the XIV century. Also, here were the palace of the Bulgarian Tzars and the residence of the Bulgarian Patriarchs. Within the fortress there used to be hundreds of residential buildings, over 20 churches and monasteries. Several of Tarnovo's Muslim quarters existed on the Tzarevets hill from the end of the XIV century to the end of the XI century. They were destroyed in the summer of 1877, by the Russian army, during the town's liberation from Turkish Yoke.

Arbanassi

The village of Arbanassi is located just 4 km northeast of Veliko Tarnovo, on a high plateau that overlooks the Medieval Tzarevets and Trapezitsa Fortresses. The earliest record that tells of the existence of Arbanassi is the 1538 firman of Suleiman the Magnificent. According to this document the territories of the now-a-days settlements: Arbanassi, Gorna Oryahovitsa, Dolna Oryahovitsa, Lyaskovets and the near by small villages known under the common name of Arnaut Hass, were given as dowery to Rustem Pasha, the Sultan's son-in-law.

Craftsmen's shops and workshops

During the second half of the XIX century the Revival town of Tarnovo started to spread west of the Bajdarlak Square. As a result the Samovodska charshia market place quickly developed into an economic center. On market days villagers from the neighboring village of Samovodene would come here and sell vegetables, carefully arranged on colorful rags, spread directly on the ground. That is exactly where the name of the square – Samovodski pazar – derived from. Village women from Belyakovets used to sell milk, butter and cheese on the street next to the Hadji Nikoli Inn. Gradually two main store, workshop and inn streets formed in town. One of these streets starts from a small square that during the XIX century was called Un (flour) market. Today it is known as the Samovodski pazar and reaches as far as the Dryanovski han Inn. Also here are located the Hadji Davidov and Hadji Velinov Inns, the inns of Atanas Yonoolu and Hadji Nikoli, as well as many grocery, shoe, forge and other craft shops and workshops.