Saint Nikola Church in Sapareva Banya

Saint Nikola church is situated in the center of Sapareva Banya (Southwestern Bulgaria) and is of great scientific interest. When the local people wanted to build a new church nearby in 1838, they found old foundations and columns of a big church. This evidences that once there was another big church near the small one. The legend tells that Saint Nikola church was the tomb of a prominent local feudal lord named Nikola. The bigger church was destroyed by the Ottomans when conquering Bulgaria, and the smaller one was saved as a cultural monument. However the conquerors did not allow the Christians to repair and keep it. Some authors point that the church existed yet in 1160. According to the architecture features, many of the lines and plans follow the local traditions. The Saint Nikola church is some 540 to 660 cm in outer dimensions. It is constructed from red bricks and white mortar joints. The façade is decorated by two-level niches at the northern and southern parts, one at the holy gates and eight at the drum.