 Lyaskovets was bloodlessly liberated by the Imperial Russian Army in June 1877 due to the flight of the Ottoman garrison in the town after having heard that Veliko Tarnovo was captured, and became part of the Principality of Bulgaria.The former village was proclaimed a town on 15 March 1880.An earthquake in 1913 with a Richter magnitude of 7.0 destroyed many of the brick buildings in the town, including all five churches, which were later reconstructed.