Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Bulgaria restores religious temples of great historical and cultural significance

Holy Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki Cathedral in Vidin
Photo: BGNES

At its last sitting, Bulgaria’s cabinet approved more than EUR 2 million for the restoration of religious temples and church buildings. Almost a quarter of the amount is to be spent on the conservation and the restoration of the Muldava Monastery St. Petka in the municipality of Assenovgrad. The monastery was founded in the 14th century. It was a literary center during the National Revival period. Many ancient and rare manuscripts are kept at the monastery’s library. There was a monastic school at the library, which functioned until 1888.

Frescoes, depicting Bulgarian National heroes

The Holy Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki Cathedral in Vidin is also expected to be renovated. It is the second-largest cathedral in Bulgaria after St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia. In the northern part of the church, there is a unique mural of a biblical scene similar to the one painted in Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia- “King Peter’s envoys served gifts to St. John of Rila”, in which St. John of Rila returned all of the gold and precious gifts and accepted a small portion of fruits only. It is noteworthy that the images of Bulgaria’s national heroes Vasil Levski, Georgi Rakovski, Hristo Botev, Georgi Benkovski, Todor Aleksandrov and Lyuben Karavelov are depicted as envoys. The author of the mural Gospodin Zhelyazkov most likely painted the images of the historical figures with the blessing of the then Metropolitan of Vidin Neophyte.

Compiled by: Darina Grigorova

English version: Kostadin Atanasov

Photos: BGNES


Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

National Academy for Theatre and Film Arts to host major FilmEU conference in June

What would be the motivation in times of political crises, wars, migrant pressure and an unclear future to dream of a unified European university for film and media? An educated and cultured nation is much more difficult to manipulate..

published on 4/7/25 11:29 AM

BAS hosts a stage for young talents from the National Academy of Music

"The Way of the Musicians" (Musicorum Via) is the name of the joint initiative of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Music (NMA), which opens in the "Professor Marin Drinov" Hall of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. "During..

published on 4/7/25 7:45 AM

Violinist Alena Chekhova: Simfonieta-Vratsa is a phenomenon in the music life of Bulgaria

The Symphony Orchestra of Vratsa – Simfonieta, has become a haven for violinist Alena Chekhova. She was born in the Russian city of Tyumen /Western Siberia/, raised in Ukrainian Crimea and lived in Moscow for more than 10 years, where..

published on 4/2/25 9:13 PM