Baldwin's Tower (, ''Balduinova kula'') is a

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...

located in the Tsarevets fortress in the Bulgarian town of

Veliko Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo (, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. It is the historical and spiritual capital of Bulgaria. Often referred to as the "''City of the Tsars''", Velik ...

. The tower's name originates from Baldwin IX of Flanders, who was imprisoned in the tower after his capture in the

Battle of Adrianople The Battle of Adrianople also known as Battle of Hadrianopolis was fought between the Eastern Roman army led by the Roman emperor Valens and Gothic rebels (largely Thervings as well as Greutungs, non-Gothic Alans, and various local rebels) ...

. It overlooks the Frankish Quarter (''Frenkhisar'') and Frenkishar Gate which is located southeast of the fortress wall of the Tsarevets fortress. ''The Sofia Globe'' regarded it as one Bulgaria's biggest historical tourism spots.

History

The tower's name originates from Baldwin IX of Flanders, one of the leaders of the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

which sacked Constantinople and first emperor of the

Latin Empire The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzantin ...

after their conquest of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. In 1205, Baldwin led a Crusader force against Bulgarian emperor

Kaloyan Kaloyan or Kalojan, also known as Ivan I, Ioannitsa or Johannitsa (; 1170 – October 1207), the Roman Slayer, was emperor or tsar of Bulgaria from 1196 to 1207. He was the younger brother of Theodor and Asen, who led the anti-Byzantine upr ...

and was captured after the

. It is commonly said that Baldwin was imprisoned in, and eventually died in, the tower. The tower survived until 1913 when it was destroyed by an earthquake. It was restored in either 1930, 1933, or 1938 by archaeologist and architect Alexander Rashenov based on the preserved medieval tower in the Cherven fortress near

Rousse Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, fifth-largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, ...

. On February 29, 2013, the

Bulgarian National Television The Bulgarian National Television ( Bulgarian: Българска национална телевизия, ''Balgarska natsionalna televizia'') or BNT (БНТ), stylized as ·Б·Н·Т· since 2018, is a public television broadcaster of Bulgaria ...

reported that Baldwin's Tower was in critical need of repair, alongside concerns it may be too dangerous for visitors. The reason for the damage was that tourists would pick stones out of the tower’s walls and floors, either as mementos or to throw them from the cliff into the nearby Yantra River. The cost of repairs was estimated to be , which was expected to come from entrance fees paid by tourists visiting Tsarevets.

Footnotes

Explanatory

Citations

{{coord, 43, 4, 51, N, 25, 39, 11, E, region:BG, display=title Tourist attractions in Veliko Tarnovo Province Buildings and structures in Veliko Tarnovo History of Veliko Tarnovo Tower houses in Bulgaria