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The precipitously perched houses of VELIKO TARNOVO seem poised to leap into the chasms that divide the city into its separate quarters. Medieval fortifications girdling the Tsarevets massif add melodrama to the scene, yet even more transfixing are the huddles of antique houses that the writer Ivan Vazov likened to frightened sheep, bound to the rocks by wild lilac and vines, forming picturesque reefs veined by steps and narrow streets. Le Corbusier raved about Tarnovo's "organic" architecture, and even the dour Prussian Field Marshal Helmut Von Moltke was moved to remark that he had "never seen a town of more romantic location". But for Bulgarians the city has a deeper significance. When the National Assembly met here to draft Bulgaria's first constitution in 1879, it consciously did so in the former capital of the Second Kingdom (1185-1396) whose medieval civilization was snuffed out by the Turks. Reclaiming this heritage was an integral part of the National Revival, and since independence (especially during the socialist era) archeologists have been keenly uncovering the past of Tarnovo "the Great" - not only the medieval citadel of Tsarevets but also the churches of Sveta Gora and Trapezitsa . Nor is the city an isolated case, for in the hills and valleys around Tarnovo are several monasteries and small towns founded during the Second Kingdom or in the aftermath of its collapse, which make great excursions from town. Tarnovo's convenience as a touring base is backed up by the city's train and bus links with towns like Dryanovo, Tryavna and Gabrovo to the south - all easy day-trips from here. In addition, the Bucharest-Istanbul express train travels through once a day in each direction, useful if you're travelling further afield.
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