Shumen

Shumen lies below a limestone plateau that carries two things. The first is the Shumen fortress, occupied from the Thracian period through the Byzantine, Bulgarian and Ottoman centuries, with walls, towers and gates excavated and partly restored on the plateau edge. The second is the monument to the Founders of the Bulgarian State, put up in 1981 for the thirteen hundredth anniversary, a very large brutalist concrete composition of angular figures of the early khans and rulers, reached by more than a thousand steps or by road, and visible from a long way across the plain. In the city below is the Tombul mosque of 1744, the largest in Bulgaria, with a courtyard, a madrasa and a library.

What you actually see

• The Founders monument - angular concrete figures from 1981 on the plateau.
• The Shumen fortress - walls and towers on the plateau edge.
• The Tombul mosque - the largest in Bulgaria, from 1744.
• A thousand steps up - the stair from the city to the monument.

When to go

April to October. Half a day. The stair up is a serious climb; a road reaches the monument for those who drive. The monument is floodlit at night and visible from the plain.

Honest expectations

The monument divides opinion sharply and is deteriorating in places. The stair is a hard climb with no shade. The fortress is at foundation and low wall level. The city itself is plain.

Nearby

Madara Rider is south-east; Pliska and Preslav lie either side.