Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Novae - welcome to the legendary ancient town near Svishtov

Photo: bulgariatravel.org

Traces of the Roman legionary camp Novae are scattered very close to the Danube port city of Svishtov. It was founded in 45 AD by order of Emperor Claudius and like many other settlements in Bulgaria, it was built on the ruins of an earlier Thracian settlement.

In the past, the legion stationed here protected the conquered territories in Thrace and Macedonia from the invasions of tribes coming from the East. The military headquarters and the hospital of the camp were situated behind the fortress walls. Archaeologists have also found the remains of residential buildings, baths and barracks. Outside the fortress wall, a civilian settlement existed in the past. Over the centuries, the ancient city changed its appearance as new buildings, churches, workshops of craftsmen emerged. In the 5th-6th century Novae was the town where the seat of a bishop was situated. Nowadays, only the remains of fortifications and buildings show its former glory.


As they walk through the ruins of Novae, tourists can get a better idea of what the camp and the buildings around it looked like through a special computer reconstruction. Every year Novae and the nearby city of Svishtov host the traditional Ancient Heritage Festival. Thousands of guests come to the area to attend the spectacular reenactments of battles and see the rich cultural program offered by the municipality.


You will learn more interesting details about the Roman town from the article “The antique town of Novae near Svishtov – a gate to the past” from the collection of Radio Bulgaria.

Compiled by: Veneta Nikolova

English: Alexander Markov

Photos: bulgariatravel.org



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

The Radio Sofia building

When the BNR “spoke” Polish

Today, the Bulgarian National Radio’s foreign language service Radio Bulgaria “speaks” 11 languages. Through the years, languages have been added, others have been dropped – something that happened to the Polish-language programmes. They were aired by..

published on 2/16/24 7:10 AM

105th anniversary of the birth of legendary piper Dafo Trendafilov

On this day - 17 January - we celebrate the 105th birth anniversary of the legendary piper Dafo Trendafilov . He was born in 1919 in the village of Gela in the Rhodope Mountains and his whole life remains forever linked to this mystical land. He began..

published on 1/17/24 7:40 AM

Albena Danailova - Second concertmaster for the Vienna Philharmonic New Year's Concert

Bulgarian violinist Albena Danailova is the first assistant to concertmaster Rainer Honeck in the New Year's concert of the Vienna Philharmonic on January 1, 2024. Conductor will be Christian Thielemann . Albena..

published on 12/29/23 3:25 PM