The Medieval Gate

Hisar Kapia is the medieval eastern gate of the Acropolis, which we will explore in a while, built in the 11th–13th century directly over a Roman gate’s 2nd-century foundations. Look up at the arch: above it, you can spot Second Bulgarian Kingdom–style masonry—stone courses edged with brick fragments set in white mortar. In the 18th and 19th centuries, wealthy merchants’ Revival houses were literally built into the old fortress wall, so the ground floors you see today rest on ancient ramparts. The gate lost military use in Ottoman times and was structurally reinforced in the early 20th century as a heritage landmark.