Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Nikopol
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Church of Saints Peter and Paul ( bg, църква „Свети свети Петър и Павел“, ''tsarkva „Sveti sveti Petar i Pavel“'') is a partially preserved medieval
Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
church in the town of Nikopol, which lies in north central
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 Macedo ...
on the south bank of the
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
and is administratively part of
Pleven Province Pleven Province ( bg, Област Плевен or Плевенска Област) is a province located in central northern Bulgaria, bordering the Danube river, Romania and the Bulgarian provinces of Vratsa, Veliko Tarnovo and Lovech. It i ...
. The church was built in the 13th or 14th century and was decorated with brick and marble patterns. The west part of the church (the
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 ...
) is entirely in ruins.


History and architecture

The Church of Saints Peter and Paul is known to the locals as "The Little Monastery" (Манастирчето, ''Manastircheto''), possibly because it once belonged to a now-ruined medieval monastery. Located beneath the northeastern part of Nikopol's medieval fortress, the church has been conclusively dated to the 13th–14th century, that is, the time of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396/1422). During this period, Nikopol evolved into a major Bulgarian fortress on the Danube and a cultural centre of its region. The church is of the crossed-dome style and its
cella A cella (from Latin for small chamber) or naos (from the Greek ναός, "temple") is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek or Roman temple in classical antiquity. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extended meanings, of a hermit's or ...
is almost square, as it measures . The church has a single
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''. ...
and a single
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 it used to have three domes. The elongated main octagonal dome has been preserved, though the two other domes, which were positioned over the narthex, have not, as the entire narthex has been destroyed. The walls of the church were constructed out of rectangular stone blocks interchanged with two rows of red
brickwork Brickwork is masonry produced by a bricklayer, using bricks and mortar. Typically, rows of bricks called ''courses'' are laid on top of one another to build up a structure such as a brick wall. Bricks may be differentiated from blocks by si ...
. More elaborate stone and brick patterns decorate the facade and the main dome. Each of the dome's eight sides features arches, with either a narrow window or a
blind arch A blind arch is an arch found in the wall of a building that has been infilled with solid construction and so cannot serve as a passageway, door or window.''A Dictionary of Architecture''; Fleming, John; Honour, Hugh & Pevsner, Nikolaus (1966) T ...
nested in.
Marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
was employed in the facade's decoration. The overall architectural style has been likened to that of
Veliko 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 ...
and
Nesebar Nesebar (often transcribed as Nessebar and sometimes as Nesebur, bg, Несебър, pronounced ) is an ancient city and one of the major seaside resorts on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, located in Burgas Province. It is the administrative cen ...
's medieval churches. The Church of Saints Peter and Paul could possibly be the one referenced in 15th-century writer Vladislav the Grammarian's account of the transportation of Saint
John of Rila Saint John of Rila, a.k.a. Ivan of Rila ( Bulgarian: Свети преподобни Йоан Рилски Чудотворец, Svеti prеpodobni Yoan Rilski Chudotvorеts; English: Saint (monk) John of Rila the Wondermaker) (876 – c. 946) wa ...
's relics from Tarnovo back to the
Rila Monastery The Monastery of Saint John of Rila, also known as Rila Monastery "Sveti Ivan Rilski" ( bg, Рилски манастир „Свети Иван Рилски“), is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is situate ...
in 1469. However, scholar Bistra Nikolova believes that the connection is far from certain, as the church from Vladislav's writings is only known as "the church of zhupan Bogdan" and was located within the Nikopol Fortress. The church is included among Bulgaria's monuments of culture of national importance. It was added to the list in 1927, with a publication in that year's '' State Gazette'' issue 69.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peter and Paul, Church of Saints Churches in Bulgaria Medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church buildings Buildings and structures in Pleven Province 13th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings 14th-century Eastern Orthodox church buildings Tourist attractions in Pleven Province