Shumen: Plateau, Madara and history

Shumen can be explored through two defining themes: the Shumen Plateau, with its natural features and hiking trails, and a rich cultural heritage whose traces span the earliest settlements to the Bulgarian National Revival. Shumen Plateau Nature Park covers 3,896 hectares. It has been protected since 5 February 1980 to preserve plant and animal species, the plateau landscape, and places for recreation and tourism.

Nature and trails on the Shumen Plateau

The park’s hiking trails connect natural and historical attractions and are designed for active recreation and educational tourism. Visitor facilities include the Forest Maze and the Forest School. There are 11 designated tourist routes in the area. Infrastructure also includes accommodation and dining areas, shelters, pavilions and picnic areas with benches, tables and fire pits, as well as cultural monuments and religious or ritual sites. Individual facilities may change, so check the situation before your visit.

The Shumen Plateau Visitor Centre introduces the park’s walking and cycling trails and helps visitors find caves, rock formations, monasteries and shelters. Bicycle hire is also available. As facilities at the visitor centre may change, it is worth checking before making plans.

Biserna Cave is in the Kyoshkovete area, about one kilometre west of Shumen and at an elevation of 404 metres. Its total length is approximately 3,000 metres, of which 2,200 metres have been mapped. The formations described include stalactites, stalagmites and stalactones, as well as formations named “The Castle”, “Beehive”, “Cacti”, “Throne” and “Ship”.

The fortress and Madara: history in the landscape

Shumen Fortress stands on a rocky hill about three kilometres west of Shumen. Steep slopes and strong walls protect the site on three sides. Its location and fortifications form a striking contrast with the open landscape of the plateau.

Madara Reserve brings together archaeological monuments, natural scenery and the Madara Horseman. Settlement remains there date from the 5th millennium BC to the 15th century. Madara also includes a Thracian sanctuary, pagan temples, Christian churches dating from the 5th to the 14th century, and a rock monastery with more than 150 cells and churches.

The Madara Horseman is carved into a 100-metre-high cliff near Madara. Inscriptions beside the relief recount events from 705 to 801; Madara was an important sacred site of the First Bulgarian Empire. UNESCO describes the relief as unique and without parallel in Europe. In the wider destination of Shumen Province, the Madara Horseman has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1979. The museum in the reserve displays archaeological finds from all historical periods; the exhibition layout may change.

Houses, mosque and museums in Shumen

The Tombul Mosque is Bulgaria’s largest Muslim house of worship from the Ottoman period. It was built in 1744 at the behest of Sherif Halil Pasha. Another perspective on the city’s history can be found in the Armenian quarter: Avsharyan House is a local cultural monument and one of the few surviving three-storey houses from the National Revival period. Built in 1872, Srebrova House showcases traditional Bulgarian architecture of the late 19th century and houses an exhibition about Shumen’s ethnic communities.

The Regional Historical Museum focuses on Chalcolithic material and spiritual culture, Thracian culture, the medieval “Stone Grandmothers”, regional history, and archaeological and numismatic finds. Its collections offer a view spanning early cultures through later historical periods.

Getting around and travelling to Shumen

The Tourist Information Centre in Shumen provides information about attractions, excursions, accommodation, recreation ideas and cultural events. Tourist maps are also available there, and guided city walks are offered. When planning accommodation, the information service is a practical starting point, without implying anything about individual properties or their facilities.

City bus route 4 serves the Tombul Mosque, museums, Avsharyan House and Srebrova House. Route 61 goes to Kyoshkovete Park on the Shumen Plateau; routes 7 and 71 reach Divdyadovo, a starting point for hikes on the plateau. Bus routes and timetables may change, so check them locally. The central bus station and railway station are next to each other. Daily trains connect Shumen with Madara, Varna and Sofia; check the timetables before travelling.

A winery 15 kilometres from Shumen produces wine from the old Bulgarian grape variety Gergana. Its mission is described as reviving forgotten Bulgarian grape varieties. The Kabiyuk Stud Farm is in Konyovets, 13 kilometres from the centre of Shumen. The site includes a horse museum, the summer residence of Prince Alexander I Battenberg, and a Bulgarian icon-painting gallery in a chapel. In the wider destination of Shumen Province, a visit to the stud farm is possible only with an advance telephone reservation; confirm this requirement before making plans.

More historical sites in Shumen Province

In the wider destination of Shumen Province, the historical picture extends beyond Shumen. Pliska was the capital of the First Bulgarian Empire from 681 to 893. Veliki Preslav was declared the capital of the Bulgarian state after the Church and People’s Council of Preslav in 893. The National Historical and Archaeological Reserve of Veliki Preslav preserves remains of numerous churches, monasteries, workshops, studios and palaces. The Archaeological Museum of Veliki Preslav displays, among other things, the Preslav Gold Treasure, a ceramic iconostasis and a unique collection of lead seals.

The Founders of the Bulgarian State Memorial Complex stands on a hill at an elevation of 450 metres. It depicts Bulgaria’s cultural and social development from the 7th to the 10th century and forms a visual centre for the Bulgarian antiquities of Pliska, Preslav, the Madara Horseman and Shumen Fortress.

Discover more destinations: Madara, Veliki Preslav, Venetz, Varbitza, Kaspichan.

View the wider travel overview: Shumen Province.