‎March 22 is a holiday in Veliko Tarnovo – a day to honor the glorious past of Bulgaria's medieval capital

published on 3/22/25 11:05 AM

Photo: velikoturnovo.info

Veliko Tarnovo is proud of its glorious past, encoded in the city’s holiday, associated with the day of the Holy Forty Martyrs – the spiritual patrons of Bulgaria's medieval capital. On the day of the 40 followers of Christ (March 22 according to the Julian calendar), a key historical event also took place – the Battle of Klokotnitsa, which helped Bulgaria establish dominance on the Balkan Peninsula in the following decades.

The Forty Holy Martyrs church in Veliko Tarnovo

On this day, Tаrnovo residents head to the church of the same name from early dawn, which has become a symbol of the town since Bulgaria's Liberation from the Ottoman rule in 1878. A festive Divine Liturgy is held there. Citizens and guests of the town lay offer at the sarcophagus of Tsar Kaloyan, one of the most celebrated rulers of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. Later, the church celebrates the blessing of water and a blessing for health, and the holiday does not pass without recalling the words of Tsar Ivan Asen II, inscribed on a marble victory column from 1230 - the inscription contains valuable information about the great victory of the Bulgarian tsar at Klokotnitsa 795 years ago, the capture of the Epirus ruler Theodore Komnenos and the expansion of Bulgaria's borders to Edirne (in present-day Turkey) and Durres (in present-day Albania).

The first information about the celebration of March 22 as a holiday in Veliko Tarnovo dates back to 1879. Then the event was organized on the initiative of citizens in the church The Forty Holy Martyrs situation on the banks of the Yantra river meandering between the historical hills of Trapezitsa and Tsarevets. The most prominent people in the newly liberated Bulgaria attended the liturgy served at that time. The imperial commissioner Prince Alexander Dondukov-Korsakov was there, as well as high-ranking officials and clergy.

The Revival and Constituent Assembly Museum in Veliko Tarnovo

And since at that time a Constituent Assembly was being held in Tarnovo, in the church, along with ordinary people, stood the representatives of the people, among whom were some of the great figures for the freedom of Bulgaria. With this act, for the first time after the five-century Ottoman rule, the people of our country paid tribute to our glorious past. From then until 1944, March 22 was annually celebrated as Tarnovo Day and the holiday of the Tarnovo garrison. The celebrations were resumed in 1970 on the initiative of patriotic citizens from the Assenov quarter, which came to life in the Middle Ages and has never changed its Bulgarian appearance over the centuries.

The Sound and Light show at Tsarevets Fortress

Festive fireworks, a laser show and an audio-visual spectacle "Tsarevgrad Tarnov - Sound and Light" mark the culmination of the March holiday in Veliko Tarnovo.

Traditionally, a procession with portraits passes through the town in honor of the benefactors who contributed to the prestige of the town.

Photos: velikoturnovo.info, BTA, Svilen Enev, archive

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‎March 22 is a holiday in Veliko Tarnovo – a day to honor the glorious past of Bulgaria's medieval capital

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