The church St. Stephan in Nessebar

The church St. Stephan, the so-called New Bishop’s Residence, is situated in Nessebar. It was built in the 11th century from ashlars and bricks. The church is a three-hall basilica with measurements 12 x 9,50 metres. The different halls are separated by two pairs of marble columns and rectangular pillars, connected with arches. The church is very rich wall-painted. The scenes on the walls are 258 and the images – more than 1000, as more of them are thematically connected with the Holy Mary. In the beginning the church was devoted to her and later was renamed after St. Stephan. The iconostasis was made in the 16th century, from wood and was decorated with shallow carving. The bishop’s throne and the pulpit from the 18th century are also interesting with their shallow wood-carvings, representing large plant motives and gilding.