cherven

The old fortress is great to be visited with a guide. There are not too many written explanations on site, but you can imagine the old town.

Cherven is a medieval hilltop fortress in a rural yet stunning country setting, about 30 miles from the City of Rousse. Considering its age it is not surprising that there are very few standing structures, but once you have climbed the many stairs to reach the hilltop site (take care, this is not for the less energetic or mobility impaired) the views are stunning and you can easily appreciate the natural protection of this fortified town. You can also look down on the village of Cherven too .... very little here for the tourist, but a quaint Bulgarian settlement nonetheless.

It is one of the most well preserved medieval Bulgarian fortresses. I visited it in April when flowers and trees were blossoming and the citadel and old city streets are covered with tiny purple flowers. A must-see is the tower, which is I think the only preserved tower from medieval Bulgaria. An interesting fact is that this tower was used as a model for re-building the much more famous Baldwin tower at Tsarevets hill in our old capital Veliko Tarnovo. The walk around the fortified part takes approx. 1 hour without any hurry, but the town of Cherven used to be much bigger than that and the unfortified part where most of the city houses and shops used to be is a little further downhill to the west. There is a nice path in the vicinity of the fortress, which makes almost a full circle around it, following the curves of the river which surrounds medieval Cherven. So if you have enough time, you can spend half an hour more to go downhill through the unfortified city, then reach the westernmost part of the hill there this path is passing and follow it back to the parking and main entrance to the fortress. If you wish, you can stroll along the river in the opposite direction - this path mentioned above is a part of an eco-path inside the natural reserve "Rusenski Lom", I heard there is an old mill some minutes after the fortress, but haven't gone there.In the end, after you've visited the fortress, you can sit and relax at the small pub at the parking. Barbecue facilities are also available.

The Cherven (Червен) Fortress is situated aprox. 35 km from Ruse and is not hard to reach it. To get to the fortress you should climb some stairs and you can get a little tired after you climb them, but the view and the site worth the effort. At the bottom of the fortress there is a restaurant with very good prices and a little adventure park.

Arrivare fin qui, da Ruse, è piuttosto impegnativo, anche se il viaggio si può abbinare con quelli alle chiese rupestri di Basarbovo e Ivanovo, più o meno sulla strada. Sarà per questo che avevo più alte aspettative. Si presenta come "città medievale", ma scavi e ricostruzioni hanno riportato alla luce solo un tratto di mura, parte di una torre e poco più delle fondamenta di alcune chiese e del castello. Come spesso succede in questi casi, bisogna rimediare con la fantasia e con un paio di disegni a quello che manca. Panorama interessante.