Shumen Oblast and the Cradle of the First Bulgarian State
Shumen Oblast occupies a stretch of northeastern Bulgaria between the Danubian plain and the eastern Balkan foothills, with a population of approximately 172,000. The city of Shumen has around 80,000 residents and sits at a strategic crossroads that has attracted settlement since antiquity. The most prominent landmark is the Founders of the Bulgarian State monument, a massive concrete structure on a hill above the city commemorating 1,300 years of Bulgarian statehood (681-1981).
Pliska and Veliki Preslav, both within the oblast, served successively as capitals of the First Bulgarian Empire. Pliska was the first capital from 681 to 893, and its archaeological site preserves the outlines of the Great Basilica and the khan's palace. Veliki Preslav succeeded it from 893 to 972 and was where Tsar Simeon I presided over a cultural golden age. The Madara Rider, a rock relief carved into a 100-metre cliff face near the village of Madara, depicts a horseman spearing a lion and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating to around 710 AD.
Show more
Shumen Oblast occupies a stretch of northeastern Bulgaria between the Danubian plain and the eastern Balkan foothills, with a population of approximately 172,000. The city of Shumen has around 80,000 residents and sits at a strategic crossroads that has attracted settlement since antiquity. The most prominent landmark is the Founders of the Bulgarian State monument, a massive concrete structure on a hill above the city commemorating 1,300 years of Bulgarian statehood (681-1981).
Pliska and Veliki Preslav, both within the oblast, served successively as capitals of the First Bulgarian Empire. Pliska was the first capital from 681 to 893, and its archaeological site preserves the outlines of the Great Basilica and the khan's palace. Veliki Preslav succeeded it from 893 to 972 and was where Tsar Simeon I presided over a cultural golden age. The Madara Rider, a rock relief carved into a 100-metre cliff face near the village of Madara, depicts a horseman spearing a lion and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating to around 710 AD.
Country selected
Region selected
Optional — select or proceed
