Hotalich Fortress

Sevlievo, Bulgaria

Ruins of the medieval town-fortress Hotalich are located 4km north-west from the today`s town of Sevlievo. The fortress was built by the Byzantines in the 5th century. In 10th century, at the same location, the Bulgarian state began construction of defense facilities to defend the country from the barbarian invasions from the north and Byzantium from the south.

The fortress was the largest in area except these of the old Bulgarian capitals Pliska, Preslav and Veliko Tarnovo.The excavations of medieval town of Hotalich and the fortress began for the first time in 1981. The archaeologists were found a high tower, two parallel walls (first of them dates back to the Early Byzantine period and the second from the 9th-10th century), remains of two main gates, ruins of quarters, churches, palace of the boyar (the local ruler), etc.

References:

visit.guide-bulgaria.com

Castles and fortifications in Bulgaria

Address

Sevlievo, Bulgaria

See all sites in Sevlievo

Details

Founded: 10th century AD
Category: Castles and fortifications in Bulgaria

More Information

visit.guide-bulgaria.com

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Shipka Monument (40,4 km)
St George the Conqueror Chapel Mausoleum (52,9 km)
Dryanovo Monastery (32,4 km)
Sokolski Monastery (36,7 km)
Storgosia Fortress (50,3 km)

User Reviews

Alisa Kapler (2 years ago)
Great place to visit if you are around Sevlievo and want to explore the history in this region. Be prepared for a lot of stairs in bad condition, however when you reach the top you will understand that the breathtaking views were definitely worth a struggle ?. There are many places to seat and enjoy the view ?

Ivaylo Kostadinov (3 years ago)
Amazing views from the top. There are a lot of stairs to go there.

Danko (3 years ago)
Really beautiful place with a view over Sevlievo city and Rositsa river. It takes a while to walk up and some water would be fine in the back-pack.

Martin Vasilev (4 years ago)
Opened 24h,good to visit when not very hot as it is on the top of a hill. Nice reconstruction and well preserved. Great view and a lot of history to learn

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Photo from Flickr, copyright Andy Hay

Historic Site of the week

Argos Theater

The ancient Argos Theater was built in 320 BC. and is located in Argos, Greece against Larissa Hill. Nearby from this site is Agora, Roman Odeon, and the Baths of Argos. The theater is one of the largest architectural developments in Greece and was renovated in ca 120 AD.

The Hellenistic theater at Argos is cut into the hillside of the Larisa, with 90 steps up a steep incline, forming a narrow rectilinear cavea. Among the largest theaters in Greece, it held about 20,000 spectators and is divided by two landings into three horizontal sections. Staircases further divide the cavea into four cunei, corresponding to the tribes of Argos A high wall was erected to prevent unauthorized access into the theatron and may have helped the acoustics, but it is said the sound quality is still very good today.

Around 120 CE, both theaters were renovated in the Roman style.