The Holy Theotokos of Petrich church

View from further

The Asenova krepost at the beginning of the twentieth century

Asenova krepost (Bulgarian: Асенова крепост, "Asen's Fortress") is a medieval fortress in the Bulgarian Rhodope Mountains, 2-3 km south of the town of Asenovgrad, on a high rocky ridge on the left bank of the Asenitsa River. The Asen dynasty ruled the Second Bulgarian Empire between 1187 and 1280. ... Landscape of the Rhodopes near the village of Hvoyna View from the Belintash Rock towards the village of Vrata The Rhodopes (Bulgarian: , Rodopi, usually used with a definite article: Родопите, Rodopite, sometimes also called Родопа, Rodopa or Родопа планина, Rodopa planina; Greek: , Rodopi, red aspect) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, with over... Asenovgrad (Bulgarian Асеновград) is a town in Southern Bulgaria. ...

The earliest archaeological findings date from the time of the Thracians, the area of the fortress being also inhabited during the Ancient Roman and Early Byzantine period. The fortress gained importance in the Middle Ages, first mentioned in the statute of the Bachkovo Monastery as Petrich (Петрич) in the 11th century. The fortress was conquered by the armies of the Third Crusade. Thracian peltast, fifth to fourth century BC. Thracian Roman era heros (Sabazius) stele. ... History - Ancient history - Ancient Rome This is a List of Ancient Rome-related topics, that aims to include aspects of both the Ancient Roman Republic and Roman Empire. ... It has been suggested that Eastern Roman Empire be merged into this article or section. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... Bachkovo Monastery in Bulgaria is one of the largest and oldest Orthodox Christian monasteries in Eastern Europe. ... The Third Crusade (1189–1192), also known as the Kings Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin. ...

It was considerably renovated in the 13th century (more precisely 1231) during the rule of Bulgarian tsar Ivan Asen II to serve as a border fortification against Latin raids, as evidenced by an eight-line wall inscription. The foundations of fortified walls (the outer ones being 2.9 m thick and preserved up to a height of 3 m, originally 9 - 12 m high), a feudal castle, 30 rooms and 3 water repositories have been excavated from this period. This is a list of Bulgarian monarchs from the earliest records in the Nominalia of the Bulgarian khans to 1946, when the monarchy in the country was abolished. ... Ivan Asen II (Ioan Asen II) (1218–1241), tsar of Bulgaria, was the son of Kaloyan, founder of the Second Bulgarian Empire. ... The Latin Empire, Empire of Nicaea, Empire of Trebizond and the Despotate of Epirus. ...

The best preserved and most notable feature of Asenova krepost is the Holy Theotokos of Petrich Church from the 12th-13th century. It is a two-storey cross-domed single-naved building with a wide narthex and a large rectangular tower, and features mural paintings from the 14th century. The conservation and partial restoration works on the church were finished in 1991 (the whole fortress was left to decay after the Ottoman conquest in the 14th century and only the church remained standing in its original apeparance as it was used by the local christians) and now it is in regular use as a Bulgarian Orthodox church. Theotokos of Kazan Theotokos (Greek: , translit. ... The narthex of a church is the entrance or lobby area. ... Motto دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1680, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299–1326) Bursa (1326–65) Edirne (1365–1453) Constantinople (Ä°stanbul, 1453–1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 Osman I  - 1918–22 Mehmed VI... The Bulgarian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6. ...

Taken by the Byzantines after Ivan Asen II's death, the fortress was once again in Bulgarian hands at the time of Ivan Alexander in 1344 only to be conquered and destroyed by the Ottomans during their rule of Bulgaria. Ivan Alexander (Bulgarian: , transliterated Ivan AleksandÇŽr;[1] IPA: ), also known as John Alexander,[2] ruled as Emperor (Tsar) of Bulgaria from 1331 to 1371,[3] during the Second Bulgarian Empire. ... // Early centuries of Ottoman rule Organisation of Ottoman Bulgaria The Ottomans reorganised the Bulgarian territories as the Beyerlik of Rumili, ruled by a Beylerbey at Sofia. ...

The town of Asenovgrad takes its modern name from the fortress, formerly being named Stanimaka. Asenovgrad (Bulgarian Асеновград) is a town in Southern Bulgaria. ...

External links

• The fortress at Asenovgrad.info
• Asenova krepost at the Asenovgrad Historical Museum website
• Famous mountain fortresses website
• Asenova krepost at HolyRhodope.com