Revival and Constituent Assembly Museum

The Revival and Constituent Assembly Museum is located in the northern part of Saedinenie Square in Veliko Tarnovo. The exposition is located in a building of the old Turkish konak. This architectural monument was built in 1872 by the great Revival builder master Kolyu Ficheto. It is a cruciform building with an arched entrance from the north.

The terrain on which it is built has predetermined its architectural solution - from the north there are two floors, and from the south - four. In 1985 the adaptation of the building was completed in view of its purpose as a museum. The exposition is spread over three of the floors. On the first floor are presented monuments illustrating the development of Christian art during the Ottoman rule. Central is the impressive collection of icons: from the middle of the 16th century, works of the Tryavna School of Painting, primitive icons, works of the first academically educated artists - Stanislav Dospevski and Nikolai Pavlovich. The exhibition features works by master carvers - royal doors, crosses, apostolic friezes; church utensils; Mount Athos icons-prints; shroud from 1559

The rest of the hall presents the economic development of Tarnovo and the region during the Renaissance. Objects and documents related to 17 of the 22 crafts practiced in the city are shown - goldsmithing, pottery, ironwork, leather, tailoring, fur and others. The domestic and international relations of the Tarnovo merchants, as well as the origin of the factory production are illustrated. Models and photos show the development of architecture and construction during the era. A special place is given to the magnificent architectural monuments created by Usta Kolyu Ficheto.

On the second floor, through material and documentary material are presented the stages and the most important moments of the national liberation struggle of the population of Tarnovo region during the Ottoman rule - bandit movement, First and Second Tarnovo uprisings, Velchova conspiracy, Hadzhistavreva revolt, uprising Captain Grandpa Nikola, the actions of the detachments of Philip Totyu, Stefan Karadja, Hadji Dimitar, the April Uprising, the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. Special attention is paid to the struggle for an independent Bulgarian church, the development of education and community center activities. the third floor is the restored hall in which the Constituent Assembly was held in Tarnovo in 1879, which laid the foundations for the development of modern Bulgaria.