‘Thorn Walks’
- Tours of Veliko Turnovo

Greetings! I’m Jessie Kollen, an ‘amateur-professional’ guide in Veliko Turnovo, Bulgaria.

In the early 2000s, I was 21 years old, living in Rome, Italy and my love for ancient history was born – I found the vocation of guiding. I’ve enjoyed discovering and sharing the story of every place I have lived since then – and now I’m based in Veliko Turnovo.

I call my tours ‘Thorn Walks’ because the name turnovo/tarnovo is derived from tranev or tranov, meaning ‘thorny’, referring to the rocky, thorny landscape of this area.

Guiding is my paid hobby rather than a day job, so the tours I offer are personalised half-day and full-day walking tours designed around your interests – and mine! While my primary expertise is prehistory through to the Middle Ages, with enough advance notice, I’m happy to design custom itineraries. A walk focused on Brutalist communist architecture? I have the connections! Or we can hire a car to explore the region’s nearby historic monasteries.

Tell me about your preferences and together we will create a memorable experience, with suitable dates and pricing.

Walks include those all-important restaurant recommendations and cover key local landmarks:

• Tsarevets Fortress: Exploring the seat of the Second Bulgarian Empire.

• Trapezitsa Hill: Uncovering medieval nobility and ancient churches.

• Holy Forty Martyrs Church: Discovering royal burials and epigraphic monuments.

• Samovodska Charshiya: Walking through the traditional 19th-century crafts market.

• Varusha quarter: Tracing Bulgarian National Revival architecture.

• Asenevtsi Monument and Sveta Gora: Commemorating medieval rulers below the historic wooded hill.