ПРОГРАМИ
en de ru fr es sr gr al tr ro
Podcast in English
Share
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

Temple built by French crusaders in the 15th century still survives in Bulgarian village of Vladimirovo

Photo: BTA

Two churches named after St. Nicholas stand in a courtyard in the village of Vladimirovo near the town of Montana, Northwestern Bulgaria. One is an Orthodox church and the other is a half-ruined Catholic church. 

The Catholic church was built in th period 1422-1423 by soldiers of the crusader army who stayed in the then village of Preslavitsa (present-day Vladimirovo). 

For the past 25 years, the two churches have been maintained by Valentin Valkov, a volunteer from the village who is a former military officer but has now dedicated his life to the Christian faith, BTA reported. He says that the Catholic church is a monument of culture, but it is crumbling and only the heavy stone crosses in the courtyard and inside it are a reminder of the old times and its builders - soldiers of the crusader army, who came to Bulgarian lands to drive away the Ottoman invaders, but suffered defeat, after which some of them settled in different places in the Bulgarian lands.

According to Valkov, in the village of Preslavitsa there was a colony of wounded soldiers of French origin, most of whom survived and recovered, settled in the village and built their own temple. Texts from the Bible in Latin were inscribed on its walls but these have now faded. About 70-80 years ago, during the Socialist period in Bulgaria, the Latin church was painted and a slight repair was made, but then it was abandoned.

The Latin church in the village of Vladimirovo is a great rarity for Bulgaria, but it needs repairs to preserve it.

Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.
Radio Bulgaria History and religion    Catholic church church crusaders Montana Preslavitsa village of Vladimirovo Vladimirovo

More from category

Elmala Baba Teke

The dervishes in the Bulgarian lands – legends and mysteries from Bivolyane village

According to Ottoman documents around 500 dervishes once lived around what is today the village of Bivolyane in Momchilgrad municipality, trained at Elmala Baba Teke, a religious centre once famed as the biggest Dervish centre in this part of the..

published on 6/26/24 8:00 AM
Assoc. Prof. Spas Tashev

Eurointegration will not be among the top priorities of the newly elected government of North Macedonia

Holy Spirit Monday is also celebrated in Bulgaria as Macedonia Day. The tradition dates back to the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising (1903), originally it was the Day of the Struggle for the Liberation of Macedonia and Adrianople, and after the First World..

published on 6/24/24 12:31 PM
Metropolitan Daniil of Vidin

The Grace of the Holy Spirit is in Unity, Purity of Faith and Piety

Immediately after the great Christian feast of Pentecost, we celebrate the Day of the Holy Spirit - the third person of the Holy Trinity. It is also the Church's last feast before the Feast of All Saints, which concludes the Easter cycle. The Divine..

published on 6/24/24 6:45 AM

WEATHER
Pick city: Sofía
Clear
Min: 17 | Max: 37
Clear
Min: 20 | Max: 33
Clear
Min: 21 | Max: 32
Clear
Min: 17 | Max: 37
Clear
Min: 20 | Max: 36
Clear
Min: 19 | Max: 37
Clear
Min: 17 | Max: 34
Clear
Min: 16 | Max: 35
Clear
Min: 19 | Max: 37
Clear
Min: 16 | Max: 37
Clear
Min: 19 | Max: 38
Clear
Min: 20 | Max: 37
Clear
Min: 17 | Max: 37
Clear
Min: 16 | Max: 34
Clear
Min: 19 | Max: 38
Clear
Min: 20 | Max: 37
Clear
Min: 22 | Max: 39
Clear
Min: 22 | Max: 39
Clear
Min: 22 | Max: 37
Clear
Min: 21 | Max: 36
Clear
Min: 15 | Max: 33
Clear
Min: 16 | Max: 34
Clear
Min: 18 | Max: 38
Clear
Min: 21 | Max: 35
Clear
Min: 18 | Max: 38
Clear
Min: 17 | Max: 36
Clear
Min: 16 | Max: 38
BULGARIA IN PICTURES
Which world-famous Bulgarian artist designed QSL cards for Radio Bulgaria?
Yasen Gyuzelev
Theodore Ushev
Christo Javacheff - Christo
Ilia Peikov
Lika Yanko

BULGARIANS ABROAD

Български English Русский Deutsch Српски Français Ελληνικά Español Shqip Türkçe Română
MOST VIEWED

Kolyo Ficheto's bridge in Byala has been restored

After years of decay, one of the iconic bridges built by the master craftsman Kolyo Ficheto is ready to welcome tourists again. Its official reopening..

published on 8/11/24 8:05 AM

english@bnr.bg

+359 2 9336 661

Общи условия за използване на сайта | Политика за поверителност | Политика за "бисквитки"