The Church of St Petka ( bg, Църква Света Петка) is a late

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

in the village of

Vukovo Vukovo ( bg, Вуково) is a village in the Boboshevo Municipality, Kyustendil Province, western Bulgaria. As of 2013 it has 58 inhabitants. Geography The village is located in western Bulgaria to the south-east of the city of Kyustendil. It ...

Kyustendil Province Kyustendil Province ( bg, Област Кюстендил, trl ''Oblast Kyustendil'') is a province in southwestern Bulgaria, extending over an area of (constituting 2.7% of the total territory of the Republic of Bulgaria), and with a populati ...

Location, history, architectural and artistic features

The church is situated on the left bank of the

Struma River The Struma or Strymónas ( bg, Струма ; el, Στρυμόνας ; tr, (Struma) Karasu , 'black water') is a river in Bulgaria and Greece. Its ancient name was Strymṓn (Greek: Στρυμών ). Its drainage area is , of which in Bulgaria, ...

in the eastern part of the village of Vukovo, municipality of

Boboshevo Boboshevo ( bg, Бобошево ) is a town in Western Bulgaria. It is located in Kyustendil Province and is close to the towns of Kocherinovo and Rila. The town of Boboshevo is situated around to the south of Sofia and from Bulgaria's prime ...

. It is one

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and one

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

church without

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of early Christian and Byzantine basilicas and churches consisting of the entrance or lobby area, located at the west end of the nave, opposite the church's main altar. Traditionally the narthex ...

with wall piers which form a swallow arc on the western facade. Its dimensions are 8,10 x 4,34 m. The vault is semi-cylindrical. The semi-round apse has a small narrow window. It was built of stones and white plaster. The whole interior as well as the western external wall are painted. The

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es in the church are relatively well preserved and are an important source for the development of the late medieval painting in Bulgaria and the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. The church was constructed in the 16th century. The frescoes were painted in 1598 as seen from the ''

ktitor ''Ktetor'' ( el, κτήτωρ) or ''ktitor'' (; ka, ქტიტორი ''kt’it’ori''; ro, ctitor), meaning "founder", is a title given in the Middle Ages to the provider of funds for construction or reconstruction of an Eastern Orthodox ch ...

'' inscription in the western side of the naos with funds of rich people from the village. The decorative system of the frescoes is with traditional medallions with depictions of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

on the vault, friezes of medallions with saints and prophets and full-length portraits of saints under the arcade. Among the images of saints and martyrs are some of the oldest discovered depiction of

Saint Sava Saint Sava ( sr, Свети Сава, Sveti Sava, ; Old Church Slavonic: ; gr, Άγιος Σάββας; 1169 or 1174 – 14 January 1236), known as the Enlightener, was a Serbian prince and Orthodox monk, the first Archbishop of the autocephalou ...

, depictions of the sainted

Pope Sylvester I Pope Sylvester I (also Silvester, 285 – 31 December 335) was the bishop of Rome from 31 January 314 until his death. He filled the see of Rome at an important era in the history of the Western Church, yet very little is known of him. The acco ...

and

St Boniface Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations o ...

who are popular in the Catholic art. In the decoration of the church there are a lot of details of influence from the Italian art - the moustaches of some soldiers, half-faced people in the Betrayal of Judas, the knight banner of the centurion St. Longinus in the Crucifixion and others. With the new ideas and skilfully painted frescoes, the church is among the most valuable monuments from that period on the

. The church is an architectural monument of culture (DV, is.77/1972) and artistic monument of culture with national importance (DV, is.100/1969). The church is named after Saint Paraskeva or Petka of Bulgaria who lived in 10-11th century. From 1238 her relics were kept in the capital of the

Bulgarian Empire In the medieval history of Europe, Bulgaria's status as the Bulgarian Empire ( bg, Българско царство, ''Balgarsko tsarstvo'' ) occurred in two distinct periods: between the seventh and the eleventh centuries and again between the ...

Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

but after the fall of the country under Ottoman domination the relics were finally moved to Iaşi in modern

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

in 1641.

Literature

* Grabar, Andre. La peinture religieuse en Bulgarie. Paris, 1928. * Протич, А. - Денационализиране и възраждане на нашето изкуство от 1393 до 1879 г. Сборник България 1000 г. С., 1930, с. 198, 384 и 397. * Мавродинов, Никола. Изкуството на Българското Възраждане. С., 1957, с. 262 и сл. * Божков, А. За някои забравени паметници на българската монументална живопис от XVІ век. - Изкуство, 1964, № 9-10, с. 47 и сл.; * Василиев, Асен. Проучвания на изобразителните изкуства из някои селища по долината на Струма. - Известия на Института за изобразителни изкуства, VII, 1964, с. 151 и сл. * Панайотова, Д. Църквата "Св.Петка" при с.Вуково. - Известия на Института за изобразителни изкуства, VIIІ, 1965, 221-257. * Марди, В. - Бабикова - Научно мотивирано предложение за обявяване на църквата "Св.Петка" в с.Вуково, Кюстендилско за паметник на културата. София, 1968 г., Архив НИПК; * Дремсизова-Нелчинова, Цв. и Слокоска, Л. - Археологически паметници от Кюстендилски окръг, София, 1978 г., с.14; * Флорева, Елена. Средновековни стенописи Вуково (1598). С., 1987. * Енциклопедичен речник КЮСТЕНДИЛ А-Я. С., 1988. * Стефанов, Павел. Фрескови надписи и графити във Вуково (1598). - Palaeobulgarica/Старобългаристика, 1989, № 1, 67-80. * Минчева, Калина. Църквата "Св.Петка" в с.Вуково, - В: Църкви и манастири от Югозападна България през XV-XVII в., София, ЦСВП "Проф.Иван Дуйчев" към СУ "Св.Климент Охридски", 2007, 35-37. * Заедно по свещените места на планината Осогово. Пътеводител. С., 2008, с. 106. * Калина Минчева. Манастири и манастирска мрежа в Кюстендилския санджак през XV-XVII век. С., Вакон, 2010 (Studia Slavico-Byzantina et Mediaevalia Europensia, X).

Gallery

File:Sv.Petka.Vukovo.1.JPG File:Sv.Petka.Vukovo.2.JPG File:Sv.Petka.Vukovo.3.JPG File:Sv.Petka.Vukovo.4.JPG File:Sv.Petka.Vukovo.5.JPG File:Sv.Petka.Vukovo.6.JPG File:Sv.Petka.Vukovo.7.JPG File:Sv.Petka.Vukovo.8.JPG

External links

Паметници на културата в Община Бобошево

Църквата "Света Петка" - фотоалбум № 1

Църквата "Света Петка" - фотоалбум № 2

Църквата "Света Петка" - фотоалбум № 3

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