The village of Arbanassi is one of the most beautiful ancient villages in Bulgaria. It is located only 4 kilometers from the town of Veliko Tarnovo. With its revival architecture of houses and churches from 16th – 17th century it is real paradise for the tourists. The first written document for the village dates from 1538.
Arbanassi is a wonderful place for resting and tourism. It is located near the main road Sofia – Varna and has a good access to all important points in Bulgaria. It is very near to the old capital Veliko Tarnovo with all historic monuments that you can enjoy, and also to the town of Gorna Oryahovitza which is important railroad center and there is an airport too.
The zenith of the village is in the 17th and 18th century. In these times the village contains about 1000 houses and the inhabitants are rich families of traders. The main crafts in the village are farming, jewelery and vineyards. The people of Arbanassi have been exporting meat, leather and other animal products even to Baghdad and India, and on the back way importing spices, coffee and silk.
The evidences of the economical rising of the village are the big rich houses and the five churches built during the zenith. In the end of the 17th century – in 1792, 1798 and 1810 the village has been robbed and burned by bandits, and after that diseases like plague and cholera finish additionally destroy the life there. The richest traders emigrate to Romania and Russia. After 1810 new wave of people inhabits the village but the economical rising never turns back. Now we can see the monuments of this great past of the village.
