Church of St Petka of the Saddlers, Sofia, Bulgaria

The Church of St Petka of the Saddlers is a small one-naved building partially dug into the ground located in the very centre of both the modern and the antique city, in the TZUM underpass. The church features a semi-cylindrical vault, a hemispherical apse, and a crypt discovered during excavations after the Second World War. The walls are 1 m thick and made from brick and stone.

The church was first mentioned in the 16th century and was constructed at the place of a former Roman religious building. It is today a monument of culture known for its mural paintings from the 14th, 15th, 17th and 19th century depicting biblical scenes.

The church is dedicated to St Petka, an 11th-century Bulgarian saint. The Church of Saint Petka acquired its present name due to it being a patron of the saddlers in the Middle Ages, who performed their rituals in the church. The adjective samardzhiyski ('of the saddlers') was derived from the Ottoman Turkish word semerci, meaning 'saddlemaker'.

References:

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Religious sites in Bulgaria

User Reviews

Seah Shao Jun Nigel (7 months ago)
Marvelous orthodox church located in Roman ruins and the Seredika station. You simply can't miss it. Stop by for a short while to witness its marvel and also how human civilizations have advanced over these centuries

Kaushik Manjunatha (7 months ago)
A nice orthodox old church near the ruins of Roman times..

Stanislav Degtjarjov (8 months ago)
Wonder that is hidden between modern buildings and highways. Kept as authentic as possible. Thanks to the city heritage preservation program kept untouched and maintained.

L AKi (8 months ago)
Not very friendly staff member just stared at us like she didn’t want us there. We did not feel welcome. Also you cannot take photos for some reason, even without flash. We left as we did not feel welcome without even looking around properly. You cannot go upstairs as it is closed off.

Klaus Wanderer (5 years ago)
Small church in the city center, one of the oldest churches in Sofia together with the St. George Rotonda. It was first mentioned in the 16th century but it is probably much older than that. I couldn't get inside as ut was locked but from the outside it seems well preserved. Too bad such an old monument today serves as the entrance to a subway station.

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The Hellenistic theater at Argos is cut into the hillside of the Larisa, with 90 steps up a steep incline, forming a narrow rectilinear cavea. Among the largest theaters in Greece, it held about 20,000 spectators and is divided by two landings into three horizontal sections. Staircases further divide the cavea into four cunei, corresponding to the tribes of Argos A high wall was erected to prevent unauthorized access into the theatron and may have helped the acoustics, but it is said the sound quality is still very good today.

Around 120 CE, both theaters were renovated in the Roman style.

Church of St Petka of the Saddlers

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