Sozopol Foundation is a consultant in the implementation of the project activities.
Implementation period: 2012 ÷ 2013 years. Value of the implemented project activities – EUR 2 178 103,40. Funded by the European Union under the Operational Program “Regional Development” 2007 – 2013.
The Trapezitsa Hill is part of the capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom Tarnovgrad, the second most important urban core in it after the Tsarevets Hill Citadel. The two hills were connected by a bridge across Yantra, which was reached by a road cut into the rocks. In Trapezitsa, naturally fortified from three sides by the river, many churches with exquisite frescoes were built, as well as monastery and palace-style buildings hidden behind its thick fortified walls with a main entrance from the south. Most of them belonged to the Asenevci dynasty, who resurrected the Bulgarian state in 1186 after almost two-century Byzantine domination.
During the archaeological excavations at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century stone ruins of 17 churches were discovered. In one of them – under the conditional designation № 8, monastery, the relics of St. Ivan Rilski before being transferred to the Rila Monastery. After a long break, archaeological studies on the hill have been restored over the past two decades. With love and dedication, archaeologists, architects and other specialists restore excavations and conservation and restoration works for new life to old age in this part of the ancient capital city whose beauty, according to medieval authors, has competed against Constantinople itself. This activity contributes to the expansion of today’s Veliko Tarnovo as a center of tourism and for the preservation of its cultural heritage for the future generations.
Fortress wall and tower on Trapezitsa Hill