For a long time we wanted to stay in those old houses in the old town of Veliko Tarnovo, where on the street you see a not very tall building but when you enter, you go 3 or 4 floors down to reach the yard. And from the yard you see a 4-5 floor building. This is a very typical architecture in the old part of Veliko Tarnovo and it is always impressive for the guests of the town, our family among them.
Together with this architecture, we have one favourite street for walks, which is not very popular among tourists but is one of the most beautiful streets in town – General Gurko street.
The old houses of Veliko Tarnovo
The houses built on a slope, where you do not move upstairs but rather downstairs, are very typical for Veliko Tarnovo. Such architecture is not reserved only for residential buildings but for public buildings as well. Among the examples are the buildings of the former Konak, now hosting the Museum of Bulgarian Revival and Constituent Assembly and the former prison just behind it. There is something very romantic in the houses, located one above another and overlooking the river.
So in this article we enter on of these houses. Besides traditional local architecture, it also features big historical importance. Here we are, in front of the door of Hristo Ivanov – Golemia, one of the closest people to Bulgarian revolutionary and national hero Vasil Levski.
History Inn Guest House – the coziness of 19th century
From the narrow but very cozy veranda we enter the small corridor, leading to the spacious foyer, where is the reception of History Inn Guest House. We feel more like visiting the home of friends. The carved ceilings are among the most beautiful details in the house. It is believed that they were made by a craftsman from Tryavna.
There are no numbers on the doors of the room. Instead, there are the names of the guests so they can easily find their room. These small details make us feel really special.
Our room was on the lower floor. We step down the stone staircase, unlock the massive entrance door with electronic cards and find ourselves in the cool foyer, where you can find also a spacious dining room. On the floor of the dining room there is a small door, opening to the underground hideout, where Vasil Levski is thought to have been hiding once. However, only the rooms of this house can confirm and deny this information.
Just against the front door is our room with our names on the door – Andrey and Maria. Next to it is the wooden staircase, leading to the lower floor.
[info] To be honest, I don’t know how to count the floors of the houses in Veliko Tarnovo. For example, what number is the floor we are entering? If it is 1st floor, then the lower ones should be -1, -2, etc. But if the entrance is on the upper floor and it is named floor 1 or 0, how do you understand how many levels the house has without going through all of them? It is a really interesting question. Do you have such examples in your country?[/info]
So, one floor below us (or two floors below the entrance) is Anna’s room, which she shares with her grandmother. While they are settling, someone runs around and knocks on their window. This is Andrey, who goes down the outside stairs to the yard. And sits there for a while to count the floors of the house.
Our cozy home for three days in Veliko Tarnovo
We enter for a rest in our room, furnished old-style and very romantically. The bed is comfortable and on the bedside table we are happy to find a bottle of rose wine from Mavrud – a traditional Bulgarian grape variety. The bathroom is clean, modern and very beautiful and the toiletries are organic and in eco-friendly packing.
Anna also loves her room and even agrees to sleep alone on her bed. While unloading the baggage, she even managed to make a small trouble.
We felt wonderful at History Inn guest house and we spent quite a lot of time there. The house made us happy with providing all the comforts we enjoy at home – wonderful wi-fi connection, baby crib, baby highchair. And not to forget the convenient free parking on the street just in front of the house. It is a great luck that the house is situated in the widest part of generally narrow General Gurko street and the traffic in the area is not very busy.
History Inn Guest House Inn has a really wonderful location in Veliko Tarnovo – with a view to the river, in the central part of the town, close to all the important historical places. We were looking for just that place, where we can wake up, have a good coffee, go out for a short walk or a longer one towards Tsarevets and Trapezitsa hills, or to some other attraction (there are plenty of them in Veliko Tarnovo). Then, when we get tired around lunch, we can quickly go to the house for a short break, where the kids will have their afternoon nap and we will have another relaxing coffee.
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One more detail
One detail we should mention about the place. All of the houses on Gurko street are amphitheatrically built above the main road to Russe and the train line. There is no way to avoid the occasional noise from both. Luckily, neither the road nor the train line are very busy. And in the History Inn hotel they have wonderful air conditioning so you can just close the windows.
How to book?
You can find the hotel on
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