Medieval Orthodox Boyana Church

Boyana Church is a beautiful Medieval Orthodox Church located in Boyana Quarter set in the outskirts of the capital of Bulgaria- Sofia. Originally built in the late 10th to the early 11th century, the Boyana Church was expanded a few times, in the 13th century by Sebastocrator Kaloyan, as well as in the mid 19th century. The Boyana Church houses exquisite frescoes which are one of the most complete and perfectly preserved monuments of east European medieval art. It was included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site in1979, together with two more Bulgarian sights- Madara Rider and Kazanlak Tomb.

  

The frescoes of Boyana Church were made in 1259. They were in fact the second later, painted over original artwork done in the earlier centuries. There are a total of 89 scenes with 240 human images painted on the frescoes. The name of the artist, as discovered during restoration, was one "zograph Vassilii, from the village of Subonosha, Sersko, and his apprentice Dimitar". As for the 11th-12th century original frescoes, only fragments were preserved, as it is the second later done in 1259 which is the more famous. In addition, the church also houses later work done in the 14th, 16-17th centuries, as well as those from 1882. The oldest section of the Boyana church is the one-apse cross-vaulted chapel built in the late 10th to early 11th century.

To this, the ruler Sebastocrator Kaloyan added an annex in the mid 13th century. The annex is a two-floor tomb-church, with the ground floor holding the family sepulchre, and the upper floor the family chapel. The newest section of the church was built in the mid 19th century from funds donated by the surrounding community. This place is one of the most visited by the tourists traveling to Sofia, together with the Historical Museum and the "St. Nevski" Cathedral Church.

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Ancient City of Nessebar

Nessebar is charming town located in the southern Black Sea coast and is one of the most popular Bulgarian Black Sea resorts. It is divided into two parts determined as "The New "and "The Old" city. The Old City is the preferred part, while the new one is more specified in accommodation service.

The old Nessebar in fact is located on a small peninsula connected to the mainland by a thin piece of land. The first thing which will welcome you is a big wooden windmill. Soon after, you will meet the stone walls of the ancient city. The old city of Nessebar is quite popular with its historical churches

 and buildings dating back to ancient times.

For this reason this town is included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Originally a Thracian settlement, the Nessebar was later a Greek polis, then a Roman colony. The largest number and best known buildings date from 11th to 14th centuries almost all of them churches in the so called "picturesque" style: walls intersected by pilasters and lunettes, with stone, brick and ceramic ornaments and arches along the cornice. According to legends, the churches of Nessebar were no less than 41, which, when compared to the small population of the town, make the latter one of the world's settlements with the highest number of churches per capita.

One of the oldest sanctuaries is the Basilica built on the coast most probably around the beginning of 5th century. The Old Bishop's Residence located in the centre of the town is probably the most impressive church in Nessebar. It is more than 25m long and 22m wide while its three naves were decorated with a colonnade and arches. St. Ivan the Baptist Church was built much later, in the 11th century. It is a typical cross-domed church with three naves, and four columns supporting the dome. There you can see fragments of frescoes dating back to the 13th century.

The St. Stefan Church or the so-called New Bishop Residence, situated in the vicinity of the harbor, was built in the 10th century. Its decoration is so picturesque that it marked the beginning of a typical local style, seen in the construction of churches of later times. If you are tired of sightseeing the summer resort of Sunny Beach is only 2km. away.

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