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 (13 months ago)
Unique beautiful church. We arrived at the time of mass and it was very impressive

Vladislav Ciorici (14 months ago)
Absolutely superb ! An unique style of interior decoration for an orthodox church.

Camilla Keller Nordskjold (16 months ago)
Very beautiful. Worth a visit.

Ana Valeva (17 months ago)
Tsvetnitsa brought light and warmth to the citizens who visited the church.

Polina Pavlova (6 years ago)
The architecture is stunning. You can also feel the pull and the power of this magnetic place.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historical Gems of Costa Verde

Photo from Flickr, copyright itmpa

Historic Site of the week

Dryburgh Abbey

Dryburgh Abbey on the banks of the River Tweed in the Scottish Borders was founded in 1150 in an agreement between Hugh de Morville, Constable of Scotland, and the Premonstratensian canons regular from Alnwick Abbey in Northumberland. The arrival of the canons along with their first abbot, Roger, took place in 1152.

It was burned by English troops in 1322, after which it was restored only to be again burned by Richard II in 1385, but it flourished in the fifteenth century. It was finally destroyed in 1544, briefly surviving until the Scottish Reformation, when it was given to the Earl of Mar by James VI of Scotland. It is now a designated scheduled monument and the surrounding landscape is included in the Inventory of Gardens and Designed Landscapes in Scotland.

David Erskine, 11th Earl of Buchan bought the land in 1786. Sir Walter Scott and Douglas Haig are buried in its grounds.