Castles of Bulgaria

In this new article on our blog, We are going to talk about another of the tourist attractions of Bulgaria. We are talking about the fortresses and castles of Bulgaria. Although they are less well known than castles in other areas of Europe, the Bulgarian tradition and its culture influenced by peoples of the East, give these castles a distinctive touch of personality. These castles are for those who like cultural tourism, one of the biggest attractions in the Balkan country, and not only for its historical importance or its architectural dimension, if not for the places where they are located in most cases, fairy tale places in the middle of nature.

In Bulgaria there are currently a total of seventeen castles and fortresses, corresponding to different periods and in different degrees of conservation. In this article we are going to comment on those that are in a better state of conservation.

In the Belogradchik area, we found one of the best preserved castles in Bulgaria. In reality it is a blockhouse with walls of a thickness of 2 meters and a maximum height of 12 meters. This castle is one of the main attractions of the place. The castle has a long history dating back to Roman times. It has been rebuilt and expanded several times throughout history. The castle before the most recent renovations and reconstructions, It owes its physiognomy and architecture to the Ottoman Empire who was in charge of rebuilding it on the old Roman fortress.

It is located in a rocky area about 70 meters high, this position makes it an excellently defended castle. The castle was enlarged several times by the Ottomans. It was expanded more recently in the 19th century , French and English engineers participated in this extension who gave it the most European appearance. The last time this fortress was used was in the war with Serbia in the late 19th century.

Baba Vida is another fortress castle in an excellent state of preservation, some consider it to be the best preserved in the country, It is also known as "Babini Vidini kuli" which in Spanish would come to mean “The Towers of Grandmother Life”. At present it is used as a museum for the pieces found there and in the surroundings of the castle and the history of the castle and the most relevant data are explained to visitors. It was deeply restored given its great tourist interest. During the Middle Ages it was the main defense post of the region, It was destroyed by the Byzantine empire after long months of siege, and after its destruction the emperor Srtsimir rebuilt it again to use it as his capital.

The Hungarian monarchy took control of the fortress in 1365 and Emperor Sratsmir had to capitulate and join the Hungarian crown. It also endured long months of siege in 1388 to finally remain in Ottoman hands and be used as a prison and as a warehouse for weapons

The marble city or castle of Lyutitsa, owes its name or nickname to marble as the main building material, with which it was built. It is a very big castle, with a wall of 600 meters long in ellipse shape. It has 12 imposing towers with octahedral and rectangular plan. In the entire castle area and its surroundings, multiple archaeological sites have been found with a large number of objects such as ceramics, weapons, coins, everyday utensils etc.

These 3 castles that we have mentioned are the best preserved, although there are others 14 castles and fortresses that also have all their charm and that luckily for travelers are located in the middle of nature in the most beautiful places. Some of them are Samuel's Fortress, Trapezitsa, Tsarevets, Tsepina, Ustra… Remember, If with this article you have not yet made you want to visit Bulgaria, visit our section "Reasons to travel to Bulgaria" here.