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.

Medieval Orthodox Church, Boyana Church, UNESCO World Heritage, Bugaria tourist attraction, Historical Museum