Clock Tower of Razgrad, Ottoman clock tower in Razgrad, Bulgaria

The Clock Tower of Razgrad is a rectangular stone structure rising about 26 meters high, built on a square base measuring roughly 4.4 meters per side. The lower section features stone blocks while the upper part transitions into a wooden octagonal form.

A Gothic-style tower with a steeple stood here until 1864, when Midhat Pasha, governor of Ruse, had it demolished and replaced by the present tower. The mason Todor Tonchev, born in the hamlet of Durcha near Tryavna, built the new structure; its limestone blocks and many of its builders came from the village of Arnaut Kui, now Poroishte. The original bell, cast in 1731 in Oravica, Banat, was kept.

The tower's bell carries an inscription in Hungarian giving 1731 and Oravica in Banat as its place of manufacture; it is thought to have reached Razgrad during one of the Austro-Turkish wars. A marble plaque over the entrance, placed in 1998, names Todor Tontchev as builder and records the restoration by the Municipality of Razgrad with Armagh District Council, Northern Ireland.

The tower stands in central Razgrad, a short walk from the Ibrahim Pasha Mosque, and its stone shaft is visible above the surrounding roofs. The clock mechanism sits at the base beside the wooden staircase that climbs to the clock faces and the bell. A marble plaque over the entrance records the 1864 construction and the 1998 restoration.

The bell kept from the earlier tower carries a Hungarian inscription giving its place and year of casting: Oravica in Banat, 1731. It is thought to have reached Razgrad during one of the Austro-Turkish wars. The 1998 renovation also replaced the crescent that once topped the dome with a metal ring.