Church of St Demetrius of Thessaloniki, Veliko Tarnovo
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The Church of St Demetrius of Thessaloniki is a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox
church in the city of Veliko Tarnovo
in central northern Bulgaria
, the former capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire
.
The church lies at the northeastern foot of the Trapezitsa and Tsarevets
hills, on the right bank of the Yantra River
, outside the city's medieval fortifications. Architecturally, it has a pentahedral
apse
and a cross-domed design with a narthex
and a fore-apse space. It was once part of a large monastery
and belonged in its southeastern part. The church's exterior is decorated with blind arch
es and colourful ornaments: glazed rosette
s, suns, rhombs and other painted figures. The church was built of stone
alternated with three rows of brick
s. It is 15.75 by 8.4 m (51.7 by 27.6 ft) in size.
According to the account of Niketas Choniates, the church was the place where the anti-Byzantine
Uprising of Asen and Peter was proclaimed in 1185; it was this uprising that led to the reestablishment of the Bulgarian Empire
and the proclamation of Tarnovo for its capital. It is theorized that it was a royal church in the early years of the empire and it received donations from members of the Asen dynasty
. According to the legend, the nobles (bolyari
) Asen
and Peter
announced that the patron of Thessaloniki
, the warrior saint Demetrius
, would desert his city and come to Tarnovo to aid the Bulgarian rebels. The brothers built and inaugurated a church in his honour.
The Church of St Demetrius was destroyed in the second half of the 13th century, probably due to an earthquake
, but was reconstructed in the 1350s. A single-apse church was built nearby in the 1360s and existed until the 17th century; it used materials from the destroyed Church of St Demetrius. The monastery yard and the destroyed buildings became a predominantly Christian
necropolis
during the Ottoman
rule of Bulgaria. During the Bulgarian National Revival
, the church was associated with the leather
workers' guild
.
In the late 18th and early 19th century, the Church of St Demetrius was plundered by robbers. In the second half of the 19th century it was in a very bad condition, which was noted by Bulgarian and foreign researchers, including Felix Philipp Kanitz
. An earthquake in 1913 destroyed it completely, leaving only the apse and fragments of the original fresco
es.
The Church of St Demetrius of Thessaloniki was reconstructed beginning in 1977–1985 based on the available architectural remains and the example of better preserved Bulgarian churches from the same period. The project was headed by Teofil Teofilov. Of the original church, two layers of frescoes have been preserved: an early one dating either to the church's construction or to the second half of the 14th century and a later one painted after the 14th century.
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6.5 million members in the Republic of Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2.0 million members in a number of European countries, the Americas and Australia...
church in the city of Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred to as the "City of the Tsars", Veliko Tarnovo is located on the Yantra River and is famous as the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists...
in central northern Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, the former capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire
Second Bulgarian Empire
The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state which existed between 1185 and 1396 . A successor of the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II before gradually being conquered by the Ottomans in the late 14th-early 15th century...
.
The church lies at the northeastern foot of the Trapezitsa and Tsarevets
Tsarevets
Tsarevets is a medieval stronghold located on a hill with the same name in Veliko Tarnovo in northern Bulgaria. It served as the Second Bulgarian Empire's primary fortress and strongest bulwark from 1185 to 1393, housing the royal and the patriarchal palaces, and is a popular tourist...
hills, on the right bank of the Yantra River
Yantra River
The Yantra is a river in northern Bulgaria, a right tributary of the Danube. It is 285 km long and has a watershed of 7,862 km²....
, outside the city's medieval fortifications. Architecturally, it has a pentahedral
Pentahedron
In geometry, a pentahedron is a polyhedron with five faces. Since there are no face-transitive polyhedra with five sides and there are two distinct topological types, this term is less frequently used than tetrahedron or octahedron....
apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
and a cross-domed design with a narthex
Narthex
The narthex of a church is the entrance or lobby area, located at the end of the nave, at the far end from the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex was a part of the church building, but was not considered part of the church proper...
and a fore-apse space. It was once part of a large monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
and belonged in its southeastern part. The church's exterior is decorated with blind arch
Blind arch
A blind arch is an arch found in the wall of a building which has been infilled with solid construction so it cannot serve as a passageway, door, or window. The term is most often associated with masonry wall construction, but is also found in other types of construction such as light frame...
es and colourful ornaments: glazed rosette
Rosette (design)
A rosette is a round, stylized flower design, used extensively in sculptural objects from antiquity. Appearing in Mesopotamia and used to decorate the funeral stele in Ancient Greece...
s, suns, rhombs and other painted figures. The church was built of stone
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
alternated with three rows of brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
s. It is 15.75 by 8.4 m (51.7 by 27.6 ft) in size.
According to the account of Niketas Choniates, the church was the place where the anti-Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
Uprising of Asen and Peter was proclaimed in 1185; it was this uprising that led to the reestablishment of the Bulgarian Empire
Bulgarian Empire
Bulgarian Empire is a term used to describe two periods in the medieval history of Bulgaria, during which it acted as a key regional power in Europe in general and in Southeastern Europe in particular, rivalling Byzantium...
and the proclamation of Tarnovo for its capital. It is theorized that it was a royal church in the early years of the empire and it received donations from members of the Asen dynasty
Asen dynasty
The Asen dynasty ruled a medieval Bulgarian state, called in modern historiography the Second Bulgarian Empire, between 1187 and 1280.The Asen dynasty and the Second Bulgarian Empire rose as the leaders of a rebellion against the Byzantine Empire at the turn of the year 1185/1186 caused by the...
. According to the legend, the nobles (bolyari
Boyar
A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....
) Asen
Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria
Ivan Asen I ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1189–1196. The year of his birth is unknown.-Life:...
and Peter
Peter IV of Bulgaria
Peter IV ruled as emperor of Bulgaria 1185–1197. Together with his brother Asen he managed to restore the Bulgarian Empire after nearly 170 years of Byzantine domination.-Name:...
announced that the patron of Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, the warrior saint Demetrius
Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki
Saint Demetrius of Thessaloniki was a Christian martyr, who lived in the early 4th century.During the Middle Ages, he came to be revered as one of the most important Orthodox military saints, often paired with Saint George...
, would desert his city and come to Tarnovo to aid the Bulgarian rebels. The brothers built and inaugurated a church in his honour.
The Church of St Demetrius was destroyed in the second half of the 13th century, probably due to an earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
, but was reconstructed in the 1350s. A single-apse church was built nearby in the 1360s and existed until the 17th century; it used materials from the destroyed Church of St Demetrius. The monastery yard and the destroyed buildings became a predominantly Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
necropolis
Necropolis
A necropolis is a large cemetery or burial ground, usually including structural tombs. The word comes from the Greek νεκρόπολις - nekropolis, literally meaning "city of the dead"...
during the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
rule of Bulgaria. During the Bulgarian National Revival
Bulgarian National Revival
The Bulgarian National Revival , sometimes called the Bulgarian Renaissance, was a period of socio-economic development and national integration among Bulgarian people under Ottoman rule...
, the church was associated with the leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
workers' guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
.
In the late 18th and early 19th century, the Church of St Demetrius was plundered by robbers. In the second half of the 19th century it was in a very bad condition, which was noted by Bulgarian and foreign researchers, including Felix Philipp Kanitz
Felix Philipp Kanitz
Felix Philipp Kanitz was an Austro-Hungarian naturalist, geographer, ethnographer, archaeologist and author of travel notes....
. An earthquake in 1913 destroyed it completely, leaving only the apse and fragments of the original fresco
Fresco
Fresco is any of several related mural painting types, executed on plaster on walls or ceilings. The word fresco comes from the Greek word affresca which derives from the Latin word for "fresh". Frescoes first developed in the ancient world and continued to be popular through the Renaissance...
es.
The Church of St Demetrius of Thessaloniki was reconstructed beginning in 1977–1985 based on the available architectural remains and the example of better preserved Bulgarian churches from the same period. The project was headed by Teofil Teofilov. Of the original church, two layers of frescoes have been preserved: an early one dating either to the church's construction or to the second half of the 14th century and a later one painted after the 14th century.