Preslav Round Church

Veliki Preslav, Bulgaria

The Round Church is a large partially preserved early medieval Eastern Orthodox church. It lies in Preslav, the former capital of the First Bulgarian Empire, today a town in northeastern Bulgaria. The church dates to the early 10th century, the time of Tsar Simeon I's rule, and was unearthed and first archaeologically examined in 1927–1928.

Considered to be one of the most impressive examples of medieval Bulgarian architecture, the Round Church takes its name from the distinctive shape of one of its three sections, the cella, which is a rotunda that serves as a place of liturgy. The church's design also includes a wide atrium and a rectangular entrance area, or narthex, marked by two circular turrets.

The church has been likened to examples of religious architecture from the late Roman (Early Christian) period, the Caucasus, and the Carolingian Pre-Romanesque of Charlemagne because of its characteristic plan, which is significantly different from contemporaneous Bulgarian or Byzantine buildings. The church's alternative name, the Golden Church, stems from its possible and popular identification with a 'new golden church' in Preslav referenced in a medieval literary source.

The Round Church's rich interior decoration, which makes ample use of mosaics, ceramics and marble details, distinguishes it from other churches in Preslav. Its interior features hundreds of drawings depicting ships, fauna, and Christian figures. Medieval inscriptions on the walls range from names of saints in Byzantine Greek to separate letters and short texts in the Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets.

References:

Comments

Your name



Details

Founded: 10th century AD
Category: Religious sites in Bulgaria

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.8/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Brian Helms (3 years ago)
Wonderful archeological site in the middle of nowhere. Entry for all 3 sites and the museum is on ly 6 lev (3usd). You can walk from the palace grounds or drive if mobility is an issue.
Sasho Antonov (4 years ago)
Nice place
VAN GoGo (5 years ago)
Next to Veliki Preslav, one of the pivotal places of faith in the second Bulgarian kingdom.
Ivo Rakitin (6 years ago)
Interesting place. Must see. But it is not very well maintained. Do not forget to visit the museum.
Rumen Parunov (8 years ago)
The great history place Eastern orthodox church also known as Golden church, located on the fortress of the capital of the first Bulgarian kingdom Preslav.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Historic Site of the week

Rosenborg Castle

Rosenborg Palace was built in the period 1606-34 as Christian IV’s summerhouse just outside the ramparts of Copenhagen. Christian IV was very fond of the palace and often stayed at the castle when he resided in Copenhagen, and it was here that he died in 1648. After his death, the palace passed to his son King Frederik III, who together with his queen, Sophie Amalie, carried out several types of modernisation.

The last king who used the place as a residence was Frederik IV, and around 1720, Rosenborg was abandoned in favor of Frederiksborg Palace.Through the 1700s, considerable art treasures were collected at Rosenborg Castle, among other things items from the estates of deceased royalty and from Christiansborg after the fire there in 1794.

Soon the idea of a museum arose, and that was realised in 1833, which is The Royal Danish Collection’s official year of establishment.