Veliko Tŭrnovo [key], formerly Trnovo or Tirnovo, city (1993 pop. 69,059), N central Bulgaria, on the Yantra River. It is a commercial center and produces foodstuffs, textiles, and leather. Trnovo is the seat of an Eastern Orthodox metropolitan. The site was probably a Roman fortress. The second Bulgarian kingdom came into existence at Trnovo when Ivan I was proclaimed czar in 1186. It was the capital of Bulgaria under Ivan II, who built (1230) the Church of the Forty Martyrs. The city fell to the Turks in 1393. A Bulgarian constitution was drafted in 1879 at Trnovo, where the full independence of Bulgaria was proclaimed in 1908. In 1965 the city was renamed Veliko (“Greater”) Tŭrnovo. A university is located there.
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