Church of St Paraskeva

Sofia, Bulgaria

The Church of St Paraskeva is a Bulgarian Orthodox church in Sofia. The church, dedicated to Saint Paraskeva, is located on 58 Georgi Rakovski Street in the centre of the city. It is the third-largest church in Sofia.

Plans to build a church at the site date to 1910, when Stuttgart-educated Bulgarian architect Anton Tornyov (1868–1942) won a competition for the church's design. Due to the Balkan Wars and World War I, however, the construction was postponed. In 1922, the church board of trustees announced another competition, which was again won by Tornyov. The construction of the Church of St Paraskeva was complete by 1930, but the finishing works on the porticos did not cease until 1940.

St Paraskeva has a somewhat unusual design for an Eastern Orthodox church. For example, the cella is in practice a round chamber over 20 metres in diameter. The cella gradually disintegrates into the surrounding apses.

References:

Wikipedia

Religious sites in Bulgaria

Address

Georgi Rakovski 58, Sofia, Bulgaria

See all sites in Sofia

Details

Founded: 1910-1940
Category: Religious sites in Bulgaria

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Boyana Church (8,1 km)
Cherepish Monastery (49,5 km)
Dragalevtsi Monastery (9,5 km)
Kremikovtsi Monastery (18 km)
Klisurski Monastery (54,5 km)
Lozen Monastery (20,2 km)
Mezdra Fortress (57,6 km)

User Reviews

Shachar Pinkas (2 years ago)
Unique beautiful church. We arrived at the time of mass and it was very impressive

Vladislav Ciorici (2 years ago)
Absolutely superb ! An unique style of interior decoration for an orthodox church.

Camilla Keller Nordskjold (2 years ago)
Very beautiful. Worth a visit.

Ana Valeva (2 years ago)
Tsvetnitsa brought light and warmth to the citizens who visited the church.

Polina Pavlova (7 years ago)
The architecture is stunning. You can also feel the pull and the power of this magnetic place.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Photo from Flickr, copyright Max Streltcov

Historic Site of the week

House of Blackheads

House of the Blackheads (Melngalvju nams) is a building situated in the old town of Riga. The original building was erected during the first third of the 14th century for the Brotherhood of Blackheads, a guild for unmarried German merchants in Riga. Major works were done in the years 1580 and 1886, adding most of the ornaments.

The structure was bombed to a ruin by the Germans June 28, 1941 and the remains demolished by the Soviets in 1948. The current reconstruction was erected from 1995 to 1999. Today the House of Blackheads serves as a museum and sometimes concert hall.