The town of Shumen is the centre of the district and has a population of 87 000 inhabitants. It lies at a distance of 360 km northeast of Sofia. It is located at the southeastern foot of Shumen Plateau at an altitude of 200 m. The town is a crossroads of major roads connecting Danube and Eastern Stara Planina Mountains with the Black Sea. Life has existed in the town of Shumen for more than 3 200 years. The first settlers of the town are the Thracians. A whole settlement from the early Iron Age of XII-XI c. B. C. has been archaeologically researched. In V-I c. B.C. the Getty tribe fortify the settlement with two walls. In I-IV c. the Thracian fortification is turned into a Roman fortress which survives the devastating invasions of the Goths in III and IV c. In V and VI c. the Shumen fortress is one of the strongest Byzantine fortresses. During the First Bulgarian Kingdom Shumen enters the system of old Bulgarian fortresses which guard the roads towards the capitals Pliska and Preslav. In XII -XIV c. Shumen becomes a significant economic, trade, agricultural and cultural centre with well-developed crafts. The town is a very active cultural and educational centre during the Golden Age of Bulgaria when it is also called Simeonis. There are two versions about this name of the town. The first is that the name comes from the name of Tsar Simeon the Great - Simeonis - Shimeonis- Shumen. The second version is that the name comes from the word "shuma" - or this is the Bulgarian word for foliage. The town falls under the Ottoman yoke after a long siege. During the period of the Ottoman domination Shumen is a big administrative and military centre with public buildings and numerous workshops. From the period of the Ottoman yoke is preserved the Tombul Mosque.

During the Revival period Shumen is a leading cultural centre. It is here that the first Bulgarian orchestra is established in 1851 and the first theatrical performance is staged in 1856. The Revival-period houses, the fountains from XVII-XIII c. and the clock tower from XVII c. have an impressive architecture. The leader of the Hungarian revolution Layosh Koshut has lived in one of the revival period houses. From the Revival period are also the churches "Sveto Vaznesenie"/Holy Ascension/ from 1829 and "Saint tri svetiteli" from 1857.

After the Liberation Shumen develops as a big administrative, economic, cultural and educational centre.

The tourist sights of the town are: the history museum, the house-museums of Dobri Voinikov and Layosh Koshut, Revival houses, Tombul Mosque, the church "Saint Vaznesenie" /Holy Ascension/ and others.

On the territory of the Shumen District are located the following cultural-historic monuments: the Madarski Konnik/ Madara Horseman/ - included in the UNESCO Cultural Heritage List, the historic reserve "Shumen fortress", the national historic reserve Pliska and the national reserve and museum of Veliki Preslav.

On the territory of Shumen District are located the following natural landmarks: the "Shumen Plateau" natural park, the "Bukat" reserve, the "Patleyna" and "Dervisha" tended reserves. Important ornithological sites are the "Ticha" dam-lake and the Provadiya-Royak Plateau.

The region is known for its wineries - Shumen, Veliki Preslav, Osmar and Novi Pazar.

Tourist sights

The archaeological reserve "Madara" in Shumen is situated at a distance of 16 km from the district centre. The reserve consists of different objects of high historic value. The Madarski konnik /Madara Horseman/ is the most remarkable early Middle Ages monument of the Bulgarian monumental art. It is hewn at a height of 23 m from the base of a big rocky wreath in the Shumen Plateau at the beginning of VIII c. The monument represents a horse rider in almost natural size piercing a lion with his lance and a dog running behind him. The whole area of the monument together with the inscriptions is 40 m². Around the image there are several inscriptions in Greek representing the chronology of the events that has occurred between 705 and 831, symbolizing the victorious actions of the Bulgarian rulers from the period of the First Bulgarian State. The Madarski Konnik is the only rocky bas-relief in Europe and is included in the UNESCO Cultural Heritage List.

At the foot of the rocky wreath with the Madrski Konnik life has existed since 3 500 B.C. In the I-st millennia B.C. a Thracian sanctuary of the three nymphs has existed under the rocks near a karst spring in the "Big Cave". In the late ancient times there has existed a settlement at the foot of the rocks and in the early Middle Ages here is located the Madara - the most important cult centre of the Bulgarian Sate. Madara preserves its role of a cult settlement until the period of XII-XIV c. In the protruding rocks are hewn out more than 170 cells and rocky churches. On the plateau above the rocks is situated the Bulgarian fortress of Matora.

Tombul Masque in Shumen is the biggest preserved Muslim cult complex on the Bulgarian lands. The complex consists of a main building, a yard and an annex building. The mosque is surrounded by four yards separated by walls or buildings. The mosque is decorated with mural paintings, woodcarvings and has a refined minaret. In the yard of the mosque there is a fountain formed like an octagonal pavilion. The dome of the mosque is at a height of 25 m. The chamber is decorated with floral ornaments, geometrical figures and inscriptions in Arabic. The minaret of the mosque is of a height of 40 m.