The Archaeological Reserve, located 2 km. east of the town of Razgrad, is one of the most remarkable cultural and historical attractions in Razgrad Municipality. The site is a cultural monument within the National Significance category, among the list of “One hundred Tourist Sites of Bulgaria” /a Bulgarian national movement/.
The ancient Roman city of Abritus was built in the late 1st century AD on top of an Ancient Thracian settlement. It came to be an important urban center of the passing roads of Odessos – Marcianopolis Nicopolis ad Istrum and Nicopolis ad Istrum – Sexaginta Prista. In the summer of 251 AD, in a great battle not far from Abritus, the Roman army suffered a disastrous defeat by the Goths, during which Roman Emperor Trajan Decius and his co-emperor and older son Herennius Etruscus were killed.
The city of Abritus was fortified with massive walls at the beginning of the 4th century AD, during the reign of Roman Emperor Constantine I the Great (306-337 AD). It had a total fortified area of 15 hectares, four gates, and thirty-five fortress towers. The walls were with a total length of 1,400 m and thickness of 2,10-3 m. They were built with the opus implectum construction technique and surrounded the settlement from all directions, following the terrain configuration. Their height, together with the battlements, reached 12 m. After it was built, Abritus became an important place in military, administrative, political and religious regard. During the 5th-6th century period, Abritus was one of the seven biggest cities in the Roman province of Moesia Inferior and was the seat of a bishop.
The Roman city of Abritus was wrecked several times by barbarian tribes – the Goths in 376-378 AD and the Huns of Attila in 447 AD. It was finally destroyed by the Barbarian invasion in 586 AD. At the end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th century AD, a Bulgarian fortress was built on top of the city’s ruins. It existed until the 11th century AD.
Abritus is a city of international fame. The fruits of its research have contributed substantially to the development of the Bulgarian historiography and culture.
The contemporary look of the Reserve is completed by “Abritus” Archaeological exposition, Interactive Museum and lapidaries, displayed out in the open.