ancient ruins
Madara Rider
A UNESCO-listed 8th-century relief carved 23 metres up a cliff face near Shumen, with a visitor car park and stepped approach.
10 km · about 20 min drive
Shumen, Bulgaria · Europe
Pliska is worth a stop: 15 minutes from Kaspichan, 50km from Pobiti Kamani.
Pliska is a town located in Shumen, Bulgaria. With a population of 1,263, it is an important destination in Europe.
On a road trip, Pliska sits in Bulgaria, where you drive on the right. It's in the Europe/Sofia time zone. Below you'll find where to stay, things to do nearby, and everything you need to add Pliska to your route.
Pliska (Bulgarian: Плиска [ˈpliskɐ], Old Bulgarian: Пльсковъ, romanized: Plĭskovŭ) was the first capital of the First Bulgarian Empire during the Middle Ages and is now a small town in Shumen Province, on the Ludogorie plateau of the Danubian Plain, 20 km northeast of the provincial capital, Shumen.
Pliska was theRead more
first capital of Bulgaria. According to legend, it was founded by Asparuh of Bulgaria in the late 7th century; this legend is archaeologically unsubstantiated. The site was originally an encampment, with the first tent-shaped buildings at Pliska of uncertain date. No evidence exists of a settlement before the 9th century, and claims that the site dates from Late Antiquity have been contested.
By the early 9th century, Pliska was surrounded by a defensive wall and 2,300 hectares (5,700 acres) of land was further enclosed by an outer earthwork with stone revetment 21 kilometres (13 miles) long. The Byzantine army, led by the emperor Nikephoros I (r. 802–811), sacked and burned Pliska in 811. Omurtag (r. 814–831) rebuilt the city, using spolia from nearby Roman buildings and employing late Roman-inspired rectilinear and basilica plans in the architecture of his new ashlar palace, which descended from Late Antique prototypes like Diocletian's Palace at Split, Croatia. When Boris I (r. 852–889) converted to Christianity in 864, the religious buildings of Pliska were adapted for Christian use and it was after this point that the Great Basilica was constructed, together with a monastery which was attached to it. The monastery was home to the disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius.
After the tsar Simeon I founded his new capital at Preslav, Pliska was slowly abandoned. Pliska (Medieval Greek: Πλίσκοβα, romanized: Plískova) was captured at the turn of the 2nd millennium by Theodorokanos and Nikephoros Xiphias, during the campaigns of the emperor Basil the Bulgar-Slayer (r. 960–1025), which ended the First Bulgarian Empire.
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Pliska is located in Shumen, Bulgaria, Europe. The coordinates are 43.3667 latitude, 27.1167 longitude.
Pliska has a population of approximately 1,263 people, making it a town in Bulgaria.
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Essential numbers in Bulgaria
Vignette required for all roads outside towns.
Full driving guide for Bulgaria2 notable places within an hour's drive.
ancient ruins
A UNESCO-listed 8th-century relief carved 23 metres up a cliff face near Shumen, with a visitor car park and stepped approach.
10 km · about 20 min drive
natural wonder
A desert-like 'stone forest' west of Varna: hollow limestone columns up to 6 m tall formed 50 million years ago around methane seeps, standing in groups amid Bulgaria's only natural sand desert.
50 km · about 60 min drive
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