The relics of the legendary Bulgarian Tsar Kaloyan were buried Thursday exactly 800 years after his death at country's ancient capital Veliko Tarnovo.

The coffin, in which his bones are placed, wrapped in crimson shroud, was buried in the yard of the 40 Holy Martyrs. The relics were anointed with chrism and wine by the Veliko Tarnovo Metropolitan Bishop Grigoriy on Wednesday as part of the preparation of the second burial.

Bishop Grogoriy also said a forgiveness prayer and placed on them an icon of the Bulgarian saint Ivan Rilski. He also threw a handful of soil from the one in which the bones laid before they were found in 1972 by the archaeologist Valo Valov. After that the relics were wrapped in a crimson shroud and placed in a special coffin, made of rustproof, nickel-plated steel with Tzar Kaloyan's personal coat of arms, taken from the ring found in his funeral. The only difference is that there is a third year inscribed on the coat of arms in addition to the birth and death, 2007, the year of the re-burial.

When archaeologists first found the bones, they were kept in the Veliko Tarnovo museum, but now they were be moved into a special coffin, made of rustproof, nickel-plated steel with Tzar Kaloyan's personal coat of arms, taken from the ring found in his funeral.

The relics were buried according to the protocol of a state funeral, as Kaloyan, also called by some western historians Ioanitsa, was the head of state and commander-in-chief of the country. In the presence of a guard of honour and hundred of people the coffin was taken to the grave in a long procession. Country's President Georgi Parvanov delivered a speech saying Tsar Kaloyan realized Bulgaria gains profit from being the active mediator in the dialogue of the East and the West. Bulgaria managed to turn into a super power during Kaloyan's reign after a quick recovery from 180 years under Byzantine domination, Parvanov reminded.

During his rule Tzar Kaloyan managed to return to the state of Bulgaria the lands in Thracia, Macedonia, Transylvania and Moravia with his wars against Byzantium, Hungary and Serbia. In 1199 the Tzar received a letter from Pope Innocent III, who was hoping to add Bulgaria to the Catholic Church. Kaloyan answered not until three years later, demanding a king's crown and an independent church. In 1204 Kaloyan was declared emperor by Pope's messenger Cardinal Leo.

In 1205 the new emperor managed to capture Emperor Baldwin of Flanders and jailed him in the legendary Baldwin Tower in the Tsarevets Fortress, there leader of the fourth crusade spent the rest of his life.

Kaloyan was killed by his head commander Manaster in 1207 before the walls of Thessalonica.

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