Devingrad, Medieval hill fortress in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

Devingrad is a medieval fortress set on a hill near Veliko Tarnovo, spreading across the elevated terrain. The site shows stone walls and defensive structures distributed across the different levels of the hill.

The hill was a stronghold since Byzantine times and became the third most important hill of medieval Tarnovgrad, capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396). Karel and Hermann Skorpil explored it at the end of the 19th century, and Ivan Velkov in the 1940s. In 1959, at the foot of the hill, Yanka Nikolova and N. Angelov uncovered a 13th–14th-century church measuring 12.41 m by 7.92–8.18 m.

The hill is also called Devingrad, and legends tell of the love between the boyar's daughter Velislava and the common soldier Borimir. Craftsmen such as potters and blacksmiths lived on the hill, and legends say the slope toward the Yantra was heavily polluted by their waste.

The climb to the fortress is possible from several spots, and the route is manageable in good weather conditions. Comfortable shoes are important because the path goes over uneven ground with some steep sections.

Archaeological digs at the fortress regularly uncover finds that show how people built and lived here in different periods. These discoveries help piece together the site's long history layer by layer.