Regional museum of history

The Regional Museum of History in Veliko Tarnovo has over 130 years of history. It is the oldest institution in Bulgaria. Its mission is to collect, discover, popularize and keep cultural records from the past in the region of Veliko Tarnovo. The exhibition is divided into departments and is housed in various places in the old town.

The Archaeological museum which houses the exhibition "Veliko Tarnovo - the capital of Bulgaria XII - XIV c." is situated westward to the square of “Saedinenie”. The thousand year old history and culture of the region of Tarnovo is traced out there.

The Museum of the Bulgarian Revival and Constituent Assembly is in the north side of the square “Saedinenie” in Veliko Tarnovo. Its collection is housed in the old Turkish “konak” - the building where the Turkish authorities were. This architectural monument was built by the famous Revival muster builder Kolyo Ficheto in 1872. The entry of the cross formed building is from the north side. The steep terrain determines the interesting location of the building - it has two stories to the north and four to the south. The building was transformed into a museum in 1985. The exhibition is situated on three floors.

The Museum of contemporary history is situated next to the prison - museum. In the one of the halls is presented the temporary exposition “Veliko Tarnovo and the Bulgarian state system”.

The Museum of Prison is situated to the south of the Museum of the Bulgarian Revival and Constituent Assembly. It was built in the middle of the XIX th c. It worked as a prison until 1954.