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History
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| Drive
south from Plovdiv into the Rhodope mountains to the town of Assenovgrad and
there take the road to your right. This is the road which would bring you, like
thousands of tourists each year, eventually to the Pomporovo ski resort. You
will probably plan to stop at the town of Bachkovo and tour the Bachkovski
Monastery. But there's a curious sight high up on a hill just ahead on the right. It looks like a medieval castle . |
 Stairs in the fortress |
This is what remains of an
ancient fortress - in Bulgarian, a krepost. Like the town below (Assenovgrad) it
bears the name of Bulgarian Tsar (King) Ivan Assen II. What remains today of
Assenova Krepost is only this medieval church, 'Holy Mother of God' and some
pieces of the original fortress wall. Bulgaria expanded to three seas and extended over Thrace,
Macedonia and part of Albania. Ivan Assen made a peace contract with the kingdom of Hungary and married the Hungarian princess. In 1230, Ivan Assen was victorious in battle against the Byzantines near the village of Klokotnitza, destroying the enemy army. The captured soldiers were set free, and this generous act made a favorable impression to everyone. Tsar Assen II ruled with significant statemanship and diplomacy, successfully marrying all of his sisters, daughters and cousins to rulers of neighboring lands, guaranteeing peace in that way. By his mild conduct and other diplomatic means, he ensured the Bulgarian political, economic, military and cultural prosperity. Ivan Assen's sincere faith endeared him even to his foes. He restored the autonomy of the Bulgarian church and established a central administration. In 1230 his army defeated Epyr king Theodor Komnin at Klokotniza. |
| The city of Veliko Turno became
the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire. Tsar Assen was faced with constant
struggle to defend his throne and in 1196 he was felled by the Bolyar, Ivanko,
who headed a rebellion incited by Byzantium. But the Second Empire was as ephemeral as the first. After the death of Assen II, the country was ruled by his sons, Kaloman Assen I, who took the throne at age 7 and reigned from 1241 through 1246, and then Michail, who reigned until killed by his cousin Kaloman II in 1257. Kaloman II ruled for one year until he was abandoned by the Bolyars and killed. Tsar Mizo Assen ruled for one year, 1256-57. He was defeated by Constantin Tih, declared Tsar by the Bolyars who had become displeased with the rule of the Assens. This was a period of decline began that coincided with the Tartar invasion of 1241 and led to the restoration of the Byzantine Empire. Genghis Khan consolidated under his command the Tartars of the Golden Horde, a Turkish-Mongolian people from Central Asia. |
 St Mary of Petrich church |
| Beginning in 1240, the Tatars had launched a series of invasions toward the
west. The main body of the Tatar force commanded by Genghis's son, Batu, moved
up the Hungarian plain in an orgy of plundering and devastation, and in the
process a large portion of the local population perished. Ivalio organized
village rebels in 1277 and defeated Tsar Constanin Tih. Byzantine Emperor
Michail VIII Paleolog, gave the power of Emperor to Ivan Assen III, grandson of
Ivan Assen II. Tsar Ivalio was infuriated and sought assistance from the Tartar
Khan Nogay to regain his crown and expelled Assen III, ending the direct Assen
lineage. Ivalio was killed by the Tartar Khan. The church was partially restored in the 1900's. It is a very rare and valuable representation of sacral architecture in Bulgaria, a paragon of Bulgarian Rococo style. There also remain some small sections of wall paintings inside the church which are dated from the 14th and 19th centuries. The lower level served as a funeral crypt. |
 The view to the fortress from north-west side |
The fortress was a busy place
during both Roman and early Byzantine epochs. The first written data on
its existence was found in the Statute of Bachkovo Monastery where it was
referred to as "the stronghold of Petrich". During the Middle Ages the
fortress was subjected to largescale construction work, the most
significant part of which was done in the 13th century under tsar Ivan
Assen ²². An eight-line inscription in Bulgarian at the entrance of the
fortress commemorates his glory. "In 6739/1231/, Indiction 4, Ivan Assen,
by God's will Tsar of the Bulgarians, the Greeks and other peoples,
installed Alexi Sevast here in power and erected this
fortress".It was this inscription that
encouraged people later to give Petrich Fortress a new name - Assen's
Fortress and to rename the nearby town of Steinmachos Assenovgrad. Thanks
to excavation work were found the fortress walls, the castle of the feudal
lord and three water reservoirs |
| It had existed even
during the Thracian ages, but became strategically important
in the medieval ages. It is named after the great Bulgarian
ruler Ivan Asen II.The fudal castle of the fortress with
the tower and the 2 water reservoirs are thoroughly studied
and conserved. The only building preserved – the church “Holy
Mother of God, Petrichka” – was restored in 1934 and 1985,
while the restoration of the wall paintings was completed in
1991. The same year the church was awarded a statue of
functioning temple.
The first written source about the fortress dated from XI
century. In 1083 Georgian Gregory Bakuriani, who held a high
post under the Byzantine Emperor Alexi I Komnin (1081-1118),
built the Bachkovo Monastery and wrote its Regulations,
where for the first time the fortress was mentioned. According
to these regulations it functioned as such and was a strategic
fort with its own military and administrative power and own
feudal castle. The fortress was situated 2km north of
Stanimahos village overlapping some of the border parts of
Byzantine. It was described by the chroniclers as a
well-fortified castle and a beautiful town. During the
Crusader III by Frederic I Barbarosa the Crusaders perhaps
conquered it. But the fortress was mostly developed under the reign of the Bulgarian king Ivan Asen II. After he had extended Bulgarian borders reaching 3 seas – White Sea,Black Sea, and Adriatic Sea, he activated and enormous construction work with aim to strengthen and fortify the fortress of Rhodope rampart. The walls of the fortress were built of stones connected with white plaster. Wooden gratings, longitudinal and cross beams were used to strengthen the walls. Towers, usually in a rectangular shape protected the approachable places. By the order of Ivan Asen II the church “Holy Mother of God, Petrichka” was built. In 1410, after the fall of Bulgaria under Ottoman Rule, the fortress was destroyed, because of the civil struggles of the Turkish commanders. The work of restoration started in 1934 and continued until nowadays |