Kaliakra Fortress

Kavarna, Bulgaria

Kaliakra is a long and narrow headland in the Southern Dobruja region of the northern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, located 12 km east of Kavarna and 60 km northeast of Varna. The coast is steep with vertical cliffs reaching 70 m down to the sea.

In 4th century BC a settlement called Tirrisis was founded bearing the name of a local Thracian tribe. In Roman times the fortress rapidly grew – lots of public buildings and facilities were built. There were plumbing system, churches, public baths (Roman thermes), fortification walls most of which can still be seen today. The cape became a strong Bulgarian fortress and flourished in the second half of the 14th century as a capital of the Dobrotitsa dukedom. It was a powerful medieval town minting its own coins. The fortress declined when it was conquered by The Ottoman Empire.

References:

Comments

Your name



Address

Kavarna, Bulgaria
See all sites in Kavarna

Details

Founded: 14th century
Category: Castles and fortifications in Bulgaria

More Information

visit.varna.bg

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Žilvinas P. (2 years ago)
"Kaliakra (Bulgarian: Калиакра; Romanian: Caliacra) is a cape in the Southern Dobruja region of the northern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, which ends with a long and narrow headland 12 kilometres (7 mi) east of Kavarna, 60 kilometres (37 mi) northeast of Varna and 65 kilometres (40 mi) southwest of Mangalia. The coast is steep with vertical cliffs reaching 70 metres (230 ft) down to the sea. Kaliakra is a nature reserve, where dolphins and cormorants can be observed. It sits on the Via Pontica, a major bird migration route from Africa into Eastern and Northern Europe. Many rare and migrant birds can be seen here in spring and autumn and, like much of this coastline, is home to several rare breeding birds (e.g. pied wheatear and a local race of European shag). The rest of the reserve also has unusual breeding birds; saker falcon, lesser grey shrike and a host of others."
Ivan Tomić (2 years ago)
Splendid place with big history and excellent preservation works. There is also small museum in the cave and the restaurant. Worth visiting.
Timea Hügel (2 years ago)
Found this place by previous reviews here. It is a wast area to explore. Ruins and view. A musem and restaurant on the cliffs. We arrived by sunset. Big parking lot. Don't know if there is an etrance fee. By sunset many locals were out for a walk, nobody stopped us wondering around. Police car was on patrol, there seems to be an activ military base. For us it was an amazing experience, wished we had more daylight time to explore.
Weronika K. (3 years ago)
Interesting place, especially the charming restaurant with a truly cinematic view. The price a little out of proportion to the attractions, especially since we didn't get to observe the promised dolphins
Димитър Растев (4 years ago)
Beautiful landscape. Have plenty of parking places and many places for pictures. There is a small fee to pay prior entry. You can visit nearby beach Bolata.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Sigmaringen Castle

Sigmaringen Castle was first mentioned in the year 1077 in the chronicles of Petershausen monastery. The oldest parts of the castle are concealed beneath the alterations made during the 17th and the 19th centuries. The secret of the earliest settlement built on this defendable rock will never be fully revealed: large-scale excavation work would be necessary, which the extensive land development renders impossible. Judging from the many Roman remains unearthed in the area around Sigmaringen, the 12th century keep known as the 'Roman Tower' could be traced back to a Roman predecessor.

The castle remains that have been preserved (gate, great hall and keep) date back to the Staufer period around 1200. The castle remains were integrated into subsequent buildings. The foundations of the castle buildings are to a large extent identical to the surrounding castle wall.

These remains give us a good idea of how the castle might have looked during the 12th century.