Holy Forty Martyrs Church

The church of the tsars

The Holy Forty Martyrs Church in Veliko Tarnovo is one of Bulgaria's most important medieval monuments. It was built in 1230 at the foot of Tsarevets hill, on the order of Tsar Ivan Asen II, in thanksgiving for his crushing victory at Klokotnitsa (9 March 1230) over the Despotate of Epirus. Veliko Tarnovo (Tarnovgrad) was then the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, and this church became a royal foundation and dynastic necropolis.

What to see

The church is an elongated six-columned basilica with three semicircular apses and a narrow narthex to the west. Its most precious feature is the inscription of Ivan Asen II, carved on one of the marble columns, which records the Klokotnitsa victory in the tsar's own words — a first-rank historical document. The church also holds ancient inscribed columns of Old Bulgarian history, among them the column of Khan Omurtag, placed here as a tribute to the rulers' ancestors. The interior was decorated with frescoes, partly preserved. Royal graves attributed to figures of the Asen dynasty were uncovered in the crypts.

Practical

The church stands in the historic Asenova quarter, below Tsarevets fortress, and is an easy walk from the old town centre. It is both an active place of worship and a heritage monument — dress modestly and respect services. It is best visited together with Tsarevets fortress and the Samovodska Charshia craft quarter. Visitors rate it very highly (around 4.7/5).