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 discopalace

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.