Fortress & castleSofia & Western Bulgaria

Tsepina Fortress, the Medieval Stronghold of the Western Rhodopes

Tsepina is the ruin of a medieval fortress and town on a steep cone-shaped peak, 1,136 m high, in the Western Rhodopes, 6 km by road from the village of Dorkovo. In the Middle Ages it was the best-known fortress of the Rhodopes, fought over by Bulgarians and Byzantines for centuries. Its walls, cisterns and church foundations make it a rewarding detour for anyone interested in medieval Bulgaria.

This steep Rhodope peak was once the seat of a despot who declared himself independent after the Bulgarian tsar was murdered. The Ottomans finally took it only after cutting off its water.

WhereWestern Rhodopes, on the peak of Tsepina (1,136 m), north of the village of Dorkovo, Rakitovo municipality, Pazardzhik Province

TypeRuined medieval fortress and town, with a Thracian and early Christian past

Best forHistory and archaeology fans, hikers and photographers

Getting thereBy a 6 km asphalt road from Dorkovo; about 11 km east of Velingrad and 23 km south-west of Pazardzhik

The history of Tsepina Fortress

Archaeologists have found that the site was already settled in prehistoric times, and that a Thracian settlement existed here in the early Iron Age, continuing through the Roman and late antique periods. Remains of a large three-aisled basilica from the fifth to sixth century show that the settlement was Christian in early Byzantine times; under the First Bulgarian Empire it was rebuilt as a single-nave church. Many houses from the second half of the first millennium CE have also been uncovered: rectangular buildings with stone lower walls bound with clay, mud-brick above and roofs of large tiles, mostly with a single room, built side by side without yards.

The Bulgarians took the fortress in the ninth century, but at the end of the First Bulgarian Empire, in the early eleventh century, the Byzantines conquered it. In the twelfth to fourteenth centuries it was fought over again and again because of its strategic position. Under Tsar Kaloyan (1197–1207) it came back under Bulgarian rule and became the residence of his nephew, the despot Alexius Slav, who governed the Rhodopes from here. After the tsar was murdered in 1207, Alexius Slav declared himself independent.

In 1246 the fortress fell, together with other strongholds in the region, to the Empire of Nicaea. Michael II Asen recovered it after the death of the Nicaean emperor John III Vatatzes in 1254, in a short campaign in which the Bulgarians also took other fortresses of the western Rhodopes, including Stanimaka, Perushtitsa and Krichim. The Nicaeans tried several times to win it back, and in 1256 Michael II Asen gave it up by treaty to Theodore II Laskaris. Tsepina then stayed in Byzantine hands and, with nearby Stenimachos, formed its own province, until it was ceded to the Bulgarians in 1343 or 1344, during the Byzantine civil war.

Around 1373 the fortress was seized by the Ottomans under Daud Pasha after a bloody siege that lasted nine months. It fell only when the attackers cut the water conduit. Soon afterwards the inhabitants abandoned it and it fell into ruin, although one of the churches remained in use until the seventeenth century, perhaps as part of a monastery; this explains the local names Metoha and Manastirat for the place.

Excavations show that the medieval fortress had two parts: a fortified town core with an inner citadel, and a suburb at the foot, called a polis by Byzantine chroniclers, which is unexplored except for one church. The outer wall of the core is 640 m long and 1.8 m thick, enclosing about 25 decares, with a single entrance in the south-east, a polygonal tower in the north-east and five buttresses. It was built of rough stone and white mortar with hidden timber ties. The citadel on the highest point has its own wall, 142 m long, and includes two of the largest cisterns. The first excavations were carried out in the late nineteenth century by the Russian scholar P. Sirku.

Curious facts about Tsepina Fortress

Byzantine writers called the place Tzepaina, and they used the word polis for the suburb that lay at the foot of the fortress.
In the Middle Ages Tsepina was the best-known fortress of the Rhodopes and a key point in the defences of both Bulgaria and Byzantium.
The Ottomans took it after a siege of nine months only when they cut the water conduit, which shows how much the fortress depended on its cisterns.
The cisterns reach up to 10 m in depth; one of them, on the very top, was 8 m high, rectangular inside and octagonal outside, and a polygonal donjon tower probably stood above it.
One church kept in use until the seventeenth century, probably as part of a monastery, gave the settlement the local names Metoha and Manastirat.
The Tsepina station of the Rhodope Railway lies about 3 km west of the fortress, in the valley of the Chepinska river.

Tours near Tsepina Fortress

Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:

PRIVATE return transfer from Sofia to Borovets

★ 5 (116 reviews)

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Private Ski Lesson in Bulgaria

★ 4.9 (107 reviews) · 2 h

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Borovets: Private Ski or Snowboard Tuition

★ 5 (55 reviews) · 2 h

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Food Walk: Bulgarian Food and Culture Tour in Plovdiv

★ 5 (35 reviews) · 3 h

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Visiting Tsepina Fortress: what to expect

A 6 km asphalt road climbs to the foot of the peak from Dorkovo; the summit itself is steep and can be reached only from the south.
At the foot, about 300 m from the fortress, a mountain hut stands beside a small museum exhibition of finds from the excavations.
On the peak look for the sections of the outer wall, the walls of the citadel, the cisterns and the foundations of the churches. Wall sections up to 6 m high were reported to survive in 2009.
The Tsepina station of the Rhodope Railway is about 3 km from the fortress, and the walk from the station is described as around three and a half hours.
Check the current opening hours and conditions of the hut and the exhibition before you go, as the sources give no details.

Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.

Map: where Tsepina Fortress is

Photos of Tsepina Fortress

Questions

What is Tsepina Fortress?

Tsepina is a ruined medieval fortress and town on a steep peak in the Western Rhodopes. It was one of the best-known fortresses of the Rhodopes in the Middle Ages.

Where is Tsepina Fortress and how do you get there?

It stands north of the village of Dorkovo in southern Bulgaria, reached by a 6 km asphalt road. It lies about 11 km east of Velingrad and 23 km south-west of Pazardzhik.

Who ruled from Tsepina?

Under Tsar Kaloyan the fortress became the residence of his nephew, the despot Alexius Slav. After the tsar's murder in 1207 Alexius Slav declared himself independent.

How did Tsepina Fortress fall?

Around 1373 the Ottomans under Daud Pasha took it after a bloody siege of about nine months, and the fortress fell only after they cut the water conduit.

What can you see at Tsepina Fortress?

Visitors can see parts of the outer walls and the citadel, four cisterns and the foundations of three churches. A small museum exhibition stands at the foot of the peak.

How old is the settlement at Tsepina?

The site was settled in prehistoric times, with a Thracian settlement in the early Iron Age. The fortress itself was Bulgarian and Byzantine in turn from the ninth century until the Ottoman conquest.