The inhibitance of the hill of Tsarevets begun during the Copper age (5,000 BC). During the Late Bronze and Early Iron age a Tracian village developed here. From the 4th to 7th centuries a fortress was built for the Early Byzantine town. A Bulgarian settlement was established during the 10th century. The citadel of the medieval capital Turnovgrad with fortress, gates, and towers rose on the hill from the end of 12th to the end of 14th c. The Palace and the Pathriarchy Complex were built there. From the end of 14th to the end of 19th c., there were some muslim quarters on the hill, which were destroyed in 1877. In 1908 the Indipendance of Bulgaria was proclaimed here. The fortress of Tsarevets was declared National antiquity in 1927 and National historic monument in 1967. The restoration of the walls, the pallace, churches, and the rest of the buildings was accomplished between 1933 and 1987.
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