The modern Veliki Preslav or Great Preslav ( bg, Велики Преслав, ), former Preslav ( bg, link=no, Преслав; until 1993), is a city and the seat of government of the

Veliki Preslav Municipality Veliki Preslav Municipality ( bg, Община Велики Преслав; former Preslav Municipality, bg, link=no, Община Преслав) is a municipality ('' obshtina'') in Shumen Province, Northeastern Bulgaria, located in the area o ...

(Great Preslav Municipality, new Bulgarian: ''obshtina''), which in turn is part of

Shumen Province Shumen Province ( bg, Област Шумен, transliterated ''Oblast Shumen'', former name Shumen okrug) is a province in northeastern Bulgaria named after its main city Shumen. It is divided into 10 municipalities with a total population, as ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

. Veliki Preslav is situated at an altitude of 132 m (92 m above sea level). A former village, it assumed the name of the medieval capital in 1878 and became a town in 1883. As of December 2009, it had a population of 8,951 inhabitants.Bulgarian National Statistical Institute – Bulgarian towns in 2009
/ref>
/ref> Preslav was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire from 893 to 972 and one of the most important cities in medieval Southeastern Europe. The ruins of the city are situated in modern northeastern

, some 20 kilometres southwest of the regional capital of Shumen, and are currently a national archaeological reserve.

History

The name of Preslav is of Slavic origin; apparently it was initially founded and functioned as a Slavic settlement until its fortification at the beginning of the ninth century. The proximity to the then Bulgarian capital of

Pliska Pliska ( , cu, Пльсковъ, translit=Plĭskovŭ) was the first capital of the First Bulgarian Empire during the Middle Ages and is now a small town in Shumen Province, on the Ludogorie plateau of the Danubian Plain, 20 km northeast o ...

led to the fast development and expansion of Preslav during the reign of the Khans

Krum Krum ( bg, Крум, el, Κροῦμος/Kroumos), often referred to as Krum the Fearsome ( bg, Крум Страшни) was the Khan of Bulgaria from sometime between 796 and 803 until his death in 814. During his reign the Bulgarian territory ...

and

Omurtag Omurtag (or Omortag) ( bg, Омуртаг; original gr, Μορτάγων and Ομουρτάγ', Inscription No.64. Retrieved 10 April 2012.) was a Great Khan ('' Kanasubigi'') of Bulgaria from 814 to 831. He is known as "the Builder". In the v ...

. By the time of the coronation of Khan Boris I in 852, Preslav had turned into an important strategic military centre and was the seat of the

Ichirgu-boil The Ichirgu-boila or Chargobilya ( el, ητζιργου βοιλα; Old Bulgarian: , bg, Ичиргу боила) was a high-ranking official in the First Bulgarian Empire. He was the commander of the garrison of the capital and was the third most ...

. A number of churches were built in the city after the conversion of the

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely unders ...

to Christianity in 864. The pagan revolt of the

nobility led by Prince

Vladimir Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

in 892 was decisive for the future destiny of the city. In 893 Vladimir was dethroned and during the

Council of Preslav The People's Council of Preslav ( bg, Преславски народен събор) took place in 893. It was among the most important events in the history of the First Bulgarian Empire and was a cornerstone of the Christianization of Bulgaria u ...

Boris I appointed

Simeon the Great Tsar Simeon (also Symeon) I the Great ( cu, цѣсар҄ь Сѷмеѡ́нъ А҃ Вели́къ, cěsarĭ Sỳmeonŭ prĭvŭ Velikŭ bg, цар Симеон I Велики, Simeon I Veliki el, Συμεών Αʹ ὁ Μέγας, Sumeṓn prôto ...

as his successor and decided to move the capital of the state from the still somewhat pagan Pliska to Preslav. In the following 80 years the city developed rapidly, turning into a centre not only of Bulgarian politics and diplomacy, but also of Slavic culture, literature and fine arts. A chronicler mentioned that it took Simeon 28 years to establish and build up his new capital. Archeological excavations have, however, proved that the city continued to develop also during the 930s and 940s and reached the peak in its growth and magnificence in the middle of the rule of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria. Golden Church in Veliki Preslav

In view of the impressive town planning, the vital economy and the grandeur of buildings like the

Round Church A round church is a church construction with a completely circular plan. There are many Nordic round churches in Sweden and Denmark (notably the island of Bornholm); round churches were popular in Scandinavia in the 11th and early 12th centurie ...

and the Royal Palace, Preslav was a true rival of the largest and most important city centres in the western hemisphere. Culturally, it was the centre of the

Preslav Literary School The Preslav Literary School ( bg, Преславска книжовна школа), also known as the Pliska Literary School or Pliska-Preslav Literary school was the first literary school in the medieval Bulgarian Empire. It was established by ...

which was founded in Pliska in 886 and was moved to Preslav along with the rest of the court in 893. The greatest Bulgarian writers from the

Old Bulgarian Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic literary language. Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with standardizing the language and using it in translating the Bible and othe ...

period worked in Preslav, among them

John Exarch John the Exarch (also transcribed Joan Ekzarh; ) was a medieval Bulgarian scholar, writer and translator, one of the most important men of letters working at the Preslav Literary School at the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th centu ...

Constantine of Preslav Constantine of Preslav () was a medieval Bulgarian scholar, writer and translator, one of the most important men of letters working at the Preslav Literary School at the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th century. Biographical evidence ...

Chernorizets Hrabar Chernorizets Hrabar ( chu, Чрьнори́зьць Хра́бръ, ''Črĭnorizĭcĭ Hrabrŭ'', bg, Черноризец Храбър)Sometimes modernized as ''Chernorizetz Hrabar'', ''Chernorizets Hrabr'' or ''Crnorizec Hrabar'' was a Bulgarian ...

. It was probably around the Preslav Literary School that the

Cyrillic script The Cyrillic script ( ), Slavonic script or the Slavic script, is a writing system used for various languages across Eurasia. It is the designated national script in various Slavic, Turkic, Mongolic, Uralic, Caucasian and Iranic-speaking co ...

developed in the tenth century. The city also had large ceramic workshops which produced art ceramics, glazed tiles, as well as ceramic icons and

iconostases In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed a ...

. The city's fortune underwent a dramatic downturn at the end of the 960s, when it was

occupied ' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October ...

by Kievan Prince Sviatoslav. The ensuing war between Rus' and Byzantines left the city burnt and ravaged by the army of

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...

John I Tzimisces John I Tzimiskes (; 925 – 10 January 976) was the senior Byzantine emperor from 969 to 976. An intuitive and successful general, he strengthened the Empire and expanded its borders during his short reign. Background John I Tzimiskes ...

. The conquerors took away the treasury, the Bulgarian

Tsar Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...

's regalia and a large part of the library of Simeon. Although the city did not lose its importance in the next three hundred years, the neighbouring outskirts and the big monasteries became desolate, the economy lost its vitality and significance. Preslav regained some of its importance in Bulgarian politics during the first years of the joint rule of the founders of the Second Bulgarian Empire,

Peter IV of Bulgaria Peter II,), because they take into consideration two previous leaders of anti-Byzantine rebellions, Peter Delyan (who assumed the imperial title in 1040) and Constantine Bodin (who took the name Peter in 1072)., group=note born Theodor, also kn ...

and

Ivan Asen I Ivan Asen I, also known as Asen I or John Asen I ( bg, Иван Асен I; died in 1196), was emperor or tsar of Bulgaria from 1187/1188 to 1196 as co-ruler with his elder brother, Peter II. Hailing from the Byzantine theme of Paristrion, his ...

. Apparently, Ivan Asen ruled from the centre of the uprising, Tarnovgrad, whereas his brother and co-ruler Theodore Peter resided in Preslav as a symbol of the renewed statehood of Bulgaria. The strategic advantages of Tarnovgrad were, however, decisive in the long run and the significance of Preslav waned in the course of the 13th century. The

Tatar The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

raids during the 1270s drove away the last citizens of Preslav, along with the protothroned bishop of the city. Some of the surviving refugees built up a village of the same name only two kilometres north from the fortress where the contemporary town of Veliki Preslav is now situated.

Preslav Crag Preslav Crag ( bg, връх Преслав, vrah Preslav, ) is a sharp peak rising to approx. 600 m in Friesland Ridge, Tangra Mountains, eastern Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. The peak has precipitous and ice-free ...

Livingston Island Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of Antarctic islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was the first land discovered south of 60 ...

in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 1 ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

is named after Preslav.

Population

Education

* Simeon Veliki's technical high school * Farming high school

Climate

Culture

The National Historical and Archaeological Reserve and Museum are located in the town. In 1906 Yordan Gospodinov with the help from K. Shkorpil, established Archaeological Society "Ticha". Every year in the town are conducted May cultural celebrations "Spring in Preslav". Community Center "Razvitie" were established in 1874.

Sport

* FC Preslav

Gallery

Image:St. Theodor.jpg, Ceramic icon of St Theodore Stratelates, Preslav, circa 900 AD, National Archaeological Museum, Sofia Image:PRESLAV 04 12a.jpg, Entrance to the Round (Golden) Church of Veliki Preslav Image:Veliki Preslav walls Enev.jpg, Interior of southern wall of the inner-town of Preslav and ruins of officer's quarters lining the wall Image:The Chronicle of Ioannis Skylitzis Preslav Attacked.jpg, The Byzantines attack Preslav, in a drawing from the 11th century chronicle of

John Skylitzes John Skylitzes, commonly Latinized as Ioannes, la, Johannes, label=none, la, Iōannēs, label=none Scylitzes ( el, Ἰωάννης Σκυλίτζης, ''Iōánnēs Skylítzēs'', or el, Σκυλίτση, ''Skylítsē'', label=none ; la, ...

Image:Preslav fortress 31.jpg Image:Preslav-Vhod.jpg Image:Preslav fortress 14.jpg Image:Preslav fortress 3.jpg Image:Preslav fortress 29.jpg Image:Preslav fortress 30.jpg Image:Preslav fortress 28.jpg Image:Preslav fortress 7.jpg Image:Preslav fortress 9.jpg Image:Preslav fortress 10.jpg Image:Preslav fortress 16.jpg Image:Preslav fortress 15.jpg Image:Preslav fortress 21.jpg Image:Preslav fortress 24.jpg Image:Temple Monumenti Cyril and Methodius.jpg

References

External links

Municipality of Veliki Preslav

Website of the National Historical and Archaeological Museum Veliki Preslav

Primary School

Nikolov, A. Making a new basileus: the case of Symeon of Bulgaria (893–927) reconsidered. – In: Rome, Constantinople and Newly converted Europe. Archeological and Historical Evidence. Vol. I. Ed. by M. Salamon, M. Wołoszyn, A. Musin, P. Špehar. Kraków-Leipzig-Rzeszów-Warszawa, 2012, 101–108
{{Authority control Tourist attractions in Shumen Province Populated places in Shumen Province First Bulgarian Empire Former capitals of Bulgaria