Anevo Fortress castle
Anevo Fortress, also known as Kopsis, is a medieval castle situated in central Bulgaria within the Plovdiv Province. Located approximately three kilometers from the village of Anevo in Sopot Municipality, the ruins rest on a steep hilltop at the southern foot of the Balkan Mountains near the Stryama River. Originally constructed during the first half of the 12th century, the site sits atop a hill that has been inhabited since antiquity, with evidence of settlement dating back to the Roman and early Byzantine periods. The fortress reached its historical zenith in the late 13th century when it served as the capital of a short-lived, quasi-independent domain ruled by the renegade Bulgarian nobles Voysil and Radoslav, brothers of Tsar Smilets.
Architecturally, the complex was dominated by a fortified inner city or citadel surrounded by defensive walls, gates, and towers, covering a total area of roughly 7,000 to 8,000 square meters. The structure originally featured eight defensive towers, several of which remain today as rectangular or polygonal ruins reaching heights of up to twelve meters. The western wall is currently in the best condition, showcasing construction techniques known as opus emplectum, which utilized local broken stones and river stones bound by white mortar. Inside the citadel, residential buildings typically stood one or two stories high, and archaeologists have unearthed the foundations of four churches, indicating the site's significant religious and administrative role during its peak.
Today, Anevo Fortress exists primarily as a ruin, offering visitors a glimpse into Bulgaria's feudal history and medieval military architecture. While much of the outer city and monastery structures have succumbed to time, the preserved sections of the western wall and remaining tower fragments provide insight into the defensive strategies of the Second Bulgarian Empire. The site stands as a testament to a turbulent era of feudal separatism and remains an important landmark for understanding the region's complex political landscape during the 13th century.
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- Anevo Fortress or ''Kopsis'' is a medieval castle in central Bulgaria, the ruins of which are located some 3 from the village of Anevo in Sopot Municipality, Plovdiv Province. Constructed in the first half of the 12th century, it lies on a steep hilltop at the southern foot of the Balkan Mountains, not far from the Stryama river. In the end of the 13th century, the fortress was the capital of a small short-lived quasi-independent domain ruled by the brothers of Tsar Smilets of Bulgaria, Voysil and Radoslav.