Shumen fortress
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''Shumenska krepost'' , location = Shumеn, Bulgaria , image = , caption = The main tower of the Shumen fortress , map_type = Bulgaria , coordinates = , map_size = 250 , type = Fortress , open_to_public = Yes , ownership =
Ancient Thrace The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...
, the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
, the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
, the Bulgarian Empire, and the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. , condition =Destroyed by the Ottomans, now partially restored , battles = Many , image2 = , caption2 = Plan of the Shumen fortress The Shumen fortress ( bg, Шуменска крепост, ''Shumenska krepost'') is an archaeological site overlooking the city of Shumen in north-eastern
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 ...
. It is an ancient fortress with historical links to a village nearby traced to early
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
and later owned by the
Thracians The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...
in the 5th century BC. Then, from 2nd to 4th centuries AD, it was controlled by the
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
who built towers and walls, and it was refurbished by the Byzantines as their garrison town. Shumen thrived in the Middle Ages as an important stronghold of the Bulgarian Empire. In 1444 the fort was destroyed by the Ottomans after their victory in the
Battle of Varna The Battle of Varna took place on 10 November 1444 near Varna in eastern Bulgaria. The Ottoman Army under Sultan Murad II (who did not actually rule the sultanate at the time) defeated the Hungarian– Polish and Wallachian armies commanded ...
over a Christian army under
Władysław III of Poland Władysław III (31 October 1424 – 10 November 1444), also known as Ladislaus of Varna, was King of Poland and the Supreme Duke (''Supremus Dux'') of Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1434 as well as King of Hungary and Croatia from 1440 until h ...
. The fortress remained deserted ever since. Restoration works on the fortress commenced in 2012 under the project titled “Bulgaria Begins Here”, and was completed partially in 2015 with financial assistance provided under the
European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade As ...
(EEA) and Norway Grants to the Shumen Municipality and the Shumen Regional Museum of History.


Location

The fortress is built over a hill which gives a commanding view of the Shumen city. It is located at a distance of from the Shumen city's Tombul Mosque. It is located within the Shumen Plateau Nature Park. From the entrance of the fortress, about away is the "Creators of the Bulgarian State" Monument erected in 1981 during the
communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...
to commemorate the 1300th anniversary of the Bulgarian state. An information center is away from this monument and a track from here leads to the fortress.


History

The fortress represents a substantial part of the history of Bulgaria. The Ancient Bulgars, semi-nomadic warrior tribes of Turkic peoples, not to be confused with Turkish, arrived in what is in now north-eastern Bulgaria to the south of the
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
in the late 7th century AD and founded the First Bulgarian Empire. The fortress formed the town of Shumen during the First and Second Bulgarian Empire. During archaeological excavations, carried out since 1957, a village dating back to the Iron Age (around 4th century BC) of the
First Empire First Empire may refer to: * First British Empire, sometimes used to describe the British Empire between 1583 and 1783 * First Bulgarian Empire (680–1018) *First French Empire (1804–1814/1815) * First German Empire or "First Reich", sometimes u ...
was revealed.
Thracians The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied t ...
ruled over the territory from 5th to 2nd century BC, which was followed by
Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
who ruled from first century BC to 3rd century AD, and then by the early
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
from 4th to 6th century AD. During the First Bulgarian Empire the fortress was part of a system of fortifications providing for the defense 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 ...
and
Preslav 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 (Great Preslav Municipality, new ...
, capital cities, and the religious centre of Madara. It then functioned as a minor fort during the 10th–12th centuries, as compared to the glory, economic prosperity and military might it had during the 4th–6th centuries. In the 13th century it again prospered as a political and economic entity of the reborn Bulgarian Empire. When the Byzantines temporarily took control of
Preslav 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 (Great Preslav Municipality, new ...
in 1278 during the
Uprising of Ivaylo The Uprising of Ivaylo ( bg, Въстанието на Ивайло) was a rebellion of the Bulgarian peasantry against the incompetent rule of Emperor Constantine Tikh and the Bulgarian nobility. The revolt was fuelled mainly by the failure ...
Shumen also acquired importance as an administrative and military centre. The fortress continued to thrive in the 14th century until the Ottoman Turks captured it in 1388 during a
campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...
of their first vizier
Çandarlı Ali Pasha Çandarlı is a coastal township with own municipality within the district of Dikili in western Turkey's İzmir Province. It is a well-developed town and an important tourist resort. It is a fishing village, were a lot of daily life revolves aro ...
. In 1444 King
Władysław III of Poland Władysław III (31 October 1424 – 10 November 1444), also known as Ladislaus of Varna, was King of Poland and the Supreme Duke (''Supremus Dux'') of Grand Duchy of Lithuania from 1434 as well as King of Hungary and Croatia from 1440 until h ...
(Varnenchik) (r. 1440–1444) of Polish-Hungarian descent attempted to drive the Ottomans out of Europe at the head of a large Christian army but was defeated and killed in the
Battle of Varna The Battle of Varna took place on 10 November 1444 near Varna in eastern Bulgaria. The Ottoman Army under Sultan Murad II (who did not actually rule the sultanate at the time) defeated the Hungarian– Polish and Wallachian armies commanded ...
. Following this battle the fortress was looted and gutted, and the Ottoman rulers eventually abandoned it completely.


Description

The fortress was the best developed citadel during the 14th century. Archaeological excavations have been carried out since 1957 and many artefacts and structures have been unearthed. The ruined fort was partially restored during the period 2012–2015. At the foot of the fortress, monasteries and churches were found; some of which were reconstructed in the 1980s. The restoration works completed in 2015 covered walls of the fortress, creating tracks for walking around the fortress, and also building
turnstiles A turnstile (also called a turnpike, gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce one-way human traffic. In addition, a ...
. Other infrastructure created to encourage tourism are artistic lighting and equipment for temperature and humidity control, publicity brochures and overall management aspects. Coins and seals from the site were studied. A particular circular seal cast in bronze with two headed eagle at the top has been identified as belonging to
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 ...
John Alexander (r. 1331–1371). The image on the seal is stated to be a common feature of the 14th century seals, which were also made of gold and silver. Another feature noted in the fortress was of a limestone projection which was carved on one side with a "double-headed eagle and a three-pointed crown seen between the heads of the birds." It was inferred that this marking was either made on the occasion of the visit of the ruler of Bulgaria to the fortress or may be a representation of the last emperor who ruled from
Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...
,
Ivan Shishman Ivan Shishman ( bg, Иван Шишман) ruled as emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria in Tarnovo from 1371 to 3 June 1395. The authority of Ivan Shishman was limited to the central parts of the Bulgarian Empire. In the wake of the death of Ivan Alexan ...
(r. 1371–1395). In the 1970 excavations to the south of Shumen fortress, archaeologist
Karel Škorpil Karel Václav Škorpil ( bg, Карел Вацлав Шкорпил; 15 May 18599 March 1944) was a Czech-Bulgarian archaeologist and museum worker credited along with his brother Hermann with the establishment of those two disciplines in Bulgar ...
unearthed the remnants of a church of size. An inscription found on the wall of the fortress, dated to 13th century, relates to frequent terror attacks by
Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
.


Restoration

The restoration of the fortress was initiated in 2012 under the project titled “Bulgaria Begins Here”. The works were completed partially in 2015 with financial assistance provided under the
European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade As ...
(EEA) and Norway Grants to the Shumen Municipality and the Shumen Regional Museum of History.


References


Sources

* * * * * * {{Castles in Bulgaria Shumen Castles in Bulgaria Medieval Bulgarian architecture Tourist attractions in Shumen Province Buildings and structures in Shumen Castle museums