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Architecture

The network of cities in the Second Bulgarian Empire grew in the 13th and 14th centuries; numerous new urban centres rose to prominence. The cities were usually constructed in difficult-to-access locations and generally consisted of an inner and outer town. The nobility lived in the inner town, which included the citadel, while most citizens inhabited the outer town. There were separate neighbourhoods for the nobility, craftsmen, merchants, and foreigners. The capital Tarnovo had three fortified hills— Tsarevets, Trapezitsa, and Momina Krepost, built along the meanders of the Yantra river. Several neighbourhoods along the river's banks including separate quarters for Western Europeans and Jews.

Fortresses were built on hills and plateaus—the Byzantine historian Niketas Choniates said the Bulgarian castles in the Balkan Mountains were situated "at heights above the clouds". They were built with crushed stones welded together with plaster, in contrast to the monumental ensembles in the north-east of the country dating from the period of the First Empire. The gates and the more vulnerable sections were secured with pinnacled towers; these were usually rectangular but there were also irregular, circular, oval, triangular, or horseshoe-shaped towers.

Religious architecture was very prestigious; churches were among the most decorated and solid edifices in the country. Throughout the 13th and 14th centuries, basilicas were replaced with cruciform, domed churches with one or three naves. The church's exteriors had rich, decorative ornamentation with alternating belts of stone and brickwork. They were further decorated with green, yellow, and brown ceramic pieces. This feature is seen in several churches in Messembria, including the Church of St John Aliturgetos and the 14th century Church of Christ Pantocrator —which had rows of blind arches, four-leaved floral motifs, triangular ornaments, circular turquoise ceramics, and brick swastika friezes running along the external walls. Every church in Tsarevets—over 20—and many of the 17 churches in Trapezitsa were decorated with similar techniques. A rectangular belfry above the narthex is a typical characteristic of the architecture of the Tarnovo Artistic School. Some churches, such as Holy Mother of God in Asen's Fortress built during the Byzantine rule, were reconstructed with belfries.

The Church of the Holy Mother of God in Donja Kamenica in the western part of the Bulgarian Empire (in modern Serbia) is notable for its unusual architectural style. Its twin towers are topped off by sharp-pointed pyramidal elements, with additional sharp-pointed details in each of the pyramids' four corners. The towers and their design were entirely unusual and unprecedented in medieval Bulgarian church architecture and were an influence from Hungary or Transylvania.

The Imperial Palace in Tarnovo was initially a bolyar castle; it underwent two major reconstructions under Ivan Asen II (r. 1218–41) and Ivan Alexander (r. 1331–71). The palace had the shape of an irregular ellipse and a built-up area of 5,000 m (54,000 sq ft). The walls were up to 2 m (6.6 ft) thick. The entrance gates were guarded by round and rectangular towers; the main entrance was located in the round tower of the northern façade. The edifices were built around an inner yard with a richly decorated royal church in the middle. The Patriarch Palace was situated on the highest point of Tsarevets and dominated the city. Its plan resembled that of the Imperial Palace and occupied 3,000 m (32,000 sq ft). A four-cornered bell tower adjoined the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Ascension of God. The residential and office sections were located in the southern part of the edifice.

Few examples of nobility houses have survived. To the north of the Imperial Palace, the foundations of a bolyar house from the beginning of the 13th century have been excavated. It had a Г-shaped plan and consisted of a residential area and a small, one-nave church. There were two types of mass dwellings; semi-dug houses and overground houses. The latter were constructed in cities and usually had two stories; the lower floor was built with crushed stones soldered with mud or plaster and the second was built with timber.