The Boyana Church of “St. Nicholas and St. Panteleimon”  is a real jewel at the foot of Vitosha Mountain. The church was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List 41 years ago. Preserving unique pre-Renaissance frescoes for 761 years, the church still keeps unresolved mysteries, such as whose hand painted the beautiful frescoes. The preserved 240 images are masterpieces of Byzantine and Bulgarian schools from the 13th century and contain a number of innovative elements.

St. Nicholas is the patron saint of the lower floor of the monastery, which served as the local church. 18 scenes from his life are depicted and some of them are rare in church paintings. Here is the oldest portrait of St. John of Rila, patron saint of the Bulgarian people. According to André  Grabar, here is the only image in the world of Christ as a juvenile in the fresco "Jesus among the scribes in the temple."

The upper floor, dedicated to St. Panteleimon, was a family chapel of the governors of the Sofia region at that time - Kaloyan and Desislava. During a natural disaster in the Middle Ages, the roof was severely damaged and most of the frescoes were lost forever. Church visits are now carried out under a special regime.

Take a look behind the walls of the temple through the article "Boyana Church under UNESCO aegis" from the collection of Radio Bulgaria.

Editor: Elena Karkalanova