Provadia, Ovech Fortress

Het fort van Ovech, een andere schilderachtige plaats met een stenen bolwerk, ligt ten oosten van de stad Provadia. Net als de Madara-regio is het rijk aan unieke natuurlijke formaties, zoals aantrekkelijke bovengrondse en ondergrondse karstgrotten. Er zijn ook zinkgaten, schilderachtige valleivormingen in de vorm van kleine ravijnen en ontoegankelijke rotsrichels.

The fortress, built on a ship-shaped plateau, has been called by different names over the centuries. The oldest is the Byzantine name Provat. Bulgarians called it Ovech which means "ram" in Bulgarian, while Turks called it Tash hisar (which means a stone fortress translated from Turkish). The fortress was inhabited successively by Thracians, Romans, Byzantines, Bulgarians and Turks.

It has three entrances. The eastern entrance has been preserved in its original form with steps carved into the rock. The western entrance is accessible from the city via the original spiral staircase with 111 steps, which we have found to be the most attractive for you and as such marked it with GPS coordinates.

The northern entrance is the main entrance to the fort. In front of it, an imposing 160 m long wooden bridge construction connects the fortress with the adjacent plateau.

The golden years of Ovech were in the period of 12th-14th century when the fortress was a military, religious, economic and administrative centre of the region. In the fortress, visitors can also see the speaking 79 m deep well, formerly an echo pit, the bishop's church, the knight's prison, the tower with the devil's path, and the friar's cave.

At the top of the former fortress, the plateau and the connecting bridge, you can enjoy the breathtaking view.