Preslav Fortress, Archaeological museum and fortress ruins in Veliki Preslav, Bulgaria.

Preslav Fortress is the archaeological reserve and museum on the ruins of Veliki Preslav, capital of the First Bulgarian Empire from 893 to 972. The site covers about 500 hectares beside the modern town and includes conserved and restored sections of the medieval city. The museum, founded in 1906, has occupied its present building since 1981 and holds over 35,000 finds, around 1,700 of them on display.

The city was founded in the 9th century and quickly became one of Bulgaria's most important places. A famous ruler expanded it and built new structures and fortifications that made it stronger.

Preslav gave its name to the Preslav Literary School, where after 893 scholars such as Constantine of Preslav, John the Exarch and Chernorizets Hrabar worked in the new Cyrillic alphabet. The earliest Cyrillic inscriptions were found here, including the gravestone of Tudor and a cross fragment marking the grave of Ana, daughter of Boris I.

The site is mostly open and you can walk up the hillside to see the ruins up close. A small museum on the grounds displays discovered objects and helps you understand what you are looking at.

The museum holds one of the world's largest collections of Middle Byzantine lead seals, struck between 971 and 1088, after Preslav had fallen to Byzantium. Among the displayed finds are also 15 silver Byzantine coins of Emperors Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos and Romanos II.