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Hidden gem1st – 7th c. ADUnknown

Novae

Нове

fort · Veliko Tarnovo Province, Bulgaria

What it is
Novae was a Roman legionary fortress on the Danube frontier, 4 km east of Svishtov, which grew into a town and, in late antiquity, a bishop's seat.
What you’ll see
The most complete remains are those of the bishop's complex, 6,500 m² with two churches, houses and service buildings, built from the first quarter of the 5th century on the site of the soldiers' baths, which were destroyed in the Gothic wars of 376–382.
Worth the trip?
If you are travelling along the Danube, yes: a legionary fortress you can walk into is rare along the Danube frontier.
Getting there & cost
Novae is 4 km east of the centre of Svishtov, at the place called Pametnitsite or Staklen (bg.wikipedia). Car parks are mapped about 265 m from the centre of the site; no bus stop is mapped nearby (OpenStreetMap).UnknownHours, tickets and parking
Restored low walls of pale squared stone with brick courses, forming rooms and a large rectangular hall across an open site, with a modern glass panel over one part and a line of trees behind.
The bishop's complex, with the cathedral. · Photo: Alexander.D.Hristov · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
A row of modern white canopies on steel posts over excavated walls beside a road, with a pedestrian crossing sign, street lamps and trees under a clear blue sky.
The entrance to the site from the road. · Photo: Alexander.D.Hristov · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Long parallel rows of low stone wall foundations forming small rooms on either side of a grassy central corridor, on a slope with woods behind.
The foundations of the legionary hospital. · Photo: Janusz Recław · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Novae was a Roman legionary fortress on the Danube frontier, 4 km east of Svishtov, which grew into a town and, in late antiquity, a bishop’s seat. It is one of the few fortresses along the Danube frontier to have been excavated and opened to the public (en.wikipedia; bg.wikipedia).

What is there today

The most complete remains are those of the bishop’s complex, 6,500 m² with two churches, houses and service buildings, built from the first quarter of the 5th century on the site of the soldiers’ baths, which were destroyed in the Gothic wars of 376–382. The cathedral, at the western end of the forum, was a basilica with three aisles, 40.60 m long and 24.30 m wide (bg.wikipedia). The foundations of the legion’s headquarters and of its hospital have also been excavated, and four more churches are known in the ancient town (bg.wikipedia; the photographs’ own descriptions).

Is it worth the trip?

If you are travelling along the Danube, yes: a legionary fortress you can walk into is rare along the Danube frontier. What you see is foundations and low restored walls under modern canopies, so the interest is in the plan and the story rather than in standing buildings.

Getting there

Novae is 4 km east of the centre of Svishtov, at the place called Pametnitsite or Staklen (bg.wikipedia). Car parks are mapped about 265 m from the centre of the site; no bus stop is mapped nearby (OpenStreetMap). We could find no opening hours or fee published by an operator.

Visiting details

Tickets
Unknown
Parking
Car parks are mapped about 265 m from the point (OSM way/1527951296 and way/1527951297).

Before you go

  • We could find no operator page with opening hours or a fee for the site (searched 2 October 2026); figures on tour and route websites are not the operator's.
  • No bus stop is mapped near the site; you will need a car.

History

The legion VIII Augusta was stationed here in 48 and built the first fortifications; in 69/70 it was replaced by the legion I Italica, which built a permanent base and stayed for almost four centuries as the main force guarding Lower Moesia. The camp measured 368 m by 492 m, and a civilian settlement of colonists, veterans and traders grew up beside it. The emperors Trajan, Hadrian and Caracalla visited (bg.wikipedia).

In 250 some 70,000 Goths under Cniva crossed the Danube here; they besieged Novae but did not take it (bg.wikipedia). The fortress was rebuilt under Constantine I, and the last major building work was done under Justinian I. At the end of the 6th and the start of the 7th century the town was attacked by the Avars (bg.wikipedia).

More photographs

Excavated stone walls of a large building with several rooms on a terraced, grassy site, surrounded by trees.
The headquarters building of the legionary fortress. · Photo: Kleo73 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Nearby

  • A broad excavated area of low stone walls and fallen blocks in long green grass, with several standing white columns and a tall fragment of wall on the right, trees behind, under a blue sky with white clouds and a visitor walking among the ruins.

    Photo: Nk · Public domain · Commons

    47 km · city · Veliko Tarnovo Province

    Nicopolis ad Istrum

    You walk the city's streets, paved with huge stone blocks, with their pavements and the central drain and its inspection shafts still in place.

Straight-line distances.

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from the records below, each used under the licence noted.

SourceLicence
Pleiades 216899CC BY
Wikidata Q2257083CC0
Vici.org 11286CC BY-SA (text), CC0 (metadata)
OpenStreetMap relation/16388886ODbL
Wikipedia (en) — Novae (fortress)CC BY-SA 4.0
Wikipedia (bg) — НовеCC BY-SA 4.0