One of the many perks of Bucharest is that, because of it’s location near the south border of Romania, it can be quite easy to visit some neighbouring countries whilst you’re there.
So whilst there, Dan and I decided to take a quick trip across the border on a day tour to explore a little slice of Bulgaria’s history.
Our first stop was the Monastery of Saint Dimitri Basarabov.
The monastery was founded over the cave where Saint Dimitri the New lived, near the town of Basarabov.
The current monastery was built in 1865, however historical evidence points to a monastery being there since the 15th century, and holds a long history including a devastating fire, thefts and an ongoing struggle to keep the monastery going.
Our next stop was Veliko Tarnovo, a town in north central Bulgaria located on the Yantra River. It is famously known as the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom and is home to Tsaravets Fortress.
This medieval stronghold served as the Second Bulgarian Empire’s primary fortress and strongest barricade between 1185 and 1393, housing the royal and the patriarchal palaces.
Right at the top of Tsaravets Fortress you will find the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Ascension of God, which was rebuilt on the grounds of an Early Christian church.
Reconstructed in 1981 and painted in 1985, it is decorated in a striking modernist style rather than a traditional Orthodox one, and depicts conventional Christian subjects as well as glorious and tragic moments of the Second Bulgarian Empire.
