Veliko Turnovo Off The Beaten Path

The Prison Museum dates back from 1862 and it was here where Vassil Levski, Filip Totyu, Stefan Karadzha, and Bacho Kiro, the fighters for national liberation, were prisoned.
You see the area where the Turkish guards sat, drinking their tea and you see prison cells including the one where Levski was captured.

In the forrest about 5 kilometres from Veliko Târnovo, you find this beautiful 12 th. Th century monastery. It is the biggest one in the area of Veliko, It was destroyed by the ottomans and rebuild in the 18 th. Century. The three churches have murals painted in the second half of the ninetheenth century. They are made by Zograf, a famous artist. From the site of the monastery one has a great viw over veliko Târnovo. Go there with a taxi (3 leva) or bus 10 (starts at vasil Levski Steet)

When you stay a bit longer in Veliko Târnovo, Arbanasi is a nice half day trip. It is a small village where some of the Bulgarian rich and famous live. Living there in large houses behind high walls. The little village has monasteries and a lot of churches, that are mostly not accessible however. Arbanasi is found in the 15 th century by Albanian Christians. In the Ottoman time the village got prosperous by trading with Russia, Greece and India. But in 1798 it got got completely destroyed by the Turks. (For more details: see my Arbanasi Page)
You can get there by minibus, they depart at the Vasil Levski street where the busstation is. Or take a taxi, which costs about 2 lv.

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Preobrazhenski Monastery is situated about 6km from V.Turnovo on the road to G. Oryakhovica. It was originally built in 1360, destroyed by the Turks in the late 14th century and re-built in 1825. The beautiful murals in of the churches are currently being restored.

To get there, you can either walk (there's a marked trail through the forrest) or take bus No. 10 to the turn-off to the monastery. From there you still have to walk uphill for about 2km.

There's an entrance fee of 2 BGN for foreigners.

From the monastery you've got great views over the valley to another monastery on the other side

On the way to the river i met across with some beautifull puppies and i play a little bit..their mum dislike it at all i guess and she cross the narrow street straight to me with just one purpose, bite me, and bloddy dog she got it !!!! but nothing happenned, the owner just shouted it but didnt move a finger or said im sorry !!!! Bulgarians lol !!!

As i said in other tip i was finding something special or not touristic in a city where in those days just me and 10 people more were travellers... i was going down by some streets and finally i got the river. i was walking side by side by the edge amidst a "jungle" and i discovered that it was the sewage area and it stink !!! but i could enjoy of other point of view of the bridge and the city looking as not much people could take pics !! so it worth while loose yourself for a while

The Monastery of the Archangel Michael is located near the village of Prissovo, south of Veliko Turnovo. It is somewhat hard to find, so get a good map. The monastery was at one time much larger--all that now remains is the church and a few outbuildings. On our first trip here, two monks were gathering hay by hand and putting it into large bedsheets to carry to the barn. The older monk invited us to his room where he shared a cup of cold coffee with us. The church contains a beautiful iconostasis and one of the most eerie icons I have ever seen (see picture). This is a fascinating sidetrip--if you can find it!

Kilifarevo Monastery, or Monastery of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, is south of Veliko Turnovo near the town of Kilifarevo. Interesting churcch, outbuildings and vineyard. Orthodox nuns in residence.