Medieval fortress Kaleto-Tash Hisar-Ovech

Overview

The Provadia fortress was built on the majestic plateau east of the town, known as Kaleto. It was used from the middle of the 3rd to the end of the 17th century, with a break from the first decades of the 7th to the 10th century. The Byzantines called it Provat, the Bulgarians - Ovech, and the Turks - Tash Hisar (stone fortress). The unique natural resources make it difficult to conquer. The fortress is protected on all sides by rocks with a height of 11 to 18 m. A narrow rocky isthmus connects it with the neighboring plateau Tabiite. There was a long wooden bridge between Kaleto and Tabia in the past. The highest part of the fortress is the so-called "Citadel" with 166 m above sea level. Ovech remembers the time of Peter II and Kaloyan, the movement led by Tsar Ivailo, the knights of Amedei VI of Savoy, the Ottoman invasion, the anti-Ottoman uprising of the early fifteenth century, the campaign of Polish-Hungarian King Wladyslaw III Jagiello. In the 14th century it was the seat of a metropolis. Today you can see the foundations of three churches, residential buildings located in the northern part of the fortress, three entrances (north, east and west), defenses, a well with a depth of 79 m, eleven cisterns, 30 early Christian tombs, streets and more. In 2008, Ovech was declared an immovable cultural monument of national importance.