Tsarevets (Bulgarian: Царевец, romanized: Tsarevets) is a medieval stronghold located on a hill with the same name in Veliko Tarnovo in northern Bulgaria. Tsarevets is 206 metres (676 ft) above sea level. It served as the Second Bulgarian Empire's primary fortress and strongest bulwark between 1185 and 1393, housing the royal and the patriarchal palaces, and it is also a popular tourist attraction. The earliest evidence of human presence on the hill dates from the 2nd millennium BC. It was settled in the 4th century, and a Byzantine city, tentatively identified with Zikideva, was constructed near the end of the 5th century, on the grounds of which the construction of the Bulgarian stronghold was begun in the 12th century. After the Bulgarian Rebellion and the establishment of the Second Bulgarian Empire with its capital in Veliko Tarnovo, the fortress became the most important one in Bulgaria, often compared with Rome and Constantinople in magnificence. In 1393, the stronghold was besieged by Ottoman forces for three months before finally being conquered and burnt down on 17 July, which marked the fall of the Bulgarian Empire. The restoration of the fortress Tsarevets began in 1930 and was completed in 1981 in honour of the 1300 anniversary of the establishment of the Bulgarian state. Kings Petar, Asen, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen the second lived there. The castle was the biggest one in the 14th century.