Description of the attraction
The Church of the Holy Trinity is located in the very center of the resort town of Bansko. Before the construction of the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in the city of Sofia, it was the largest church in the country. It is a temple complex that includes a bell tower, a stone fence and the church itself, and is an architectural monument. The construction of the church was initiated by the merchant Lazar Herman by local craftsmen.
From the outside, the building of the temple seems small, but inside it is very spacious. This was done because during the construction period, the Ottoman authorities strictly monitored the size of the churches - they should not have been larger and taller than the city mosque. The walls of the church are more than a meter thick, window openings, entrances and vaults are made of stone. The temple has three entrances, above the main one of which there is a Christian cross and an Islamic crescent. The placement of the symbol of Islam is a forced step, this was one of the conditions that made it possible to save the temple from destruction by the Turks, but many tourists believe that the sign simply symbolizes inter-religious tolerance.
Among the builders, it is worth mentioning separately the name of Lazar Glushkov. The decoration of the church is distinguished by a high level of skill: the carved iconostasis, the original painting on the dome of the building, walls and columns by the artist Velyan Ognev, the icons, the throne and the cross on the crucifix were created by the master Dimitar Molerov, and some icons for the iconostasis by the painter Simeon Molerov.
Later (in 1850) a bell tower with a height of about 30 meters was added to the building, which many deservedly consider one of the symbols of the city. In 1866, a clock was placed on the tower, designed by the Bansk self-taught master Todor Hadzhiradonov.
The temple complex is considered one of the most outstanding achievements of the Bansko culture of the Renaissance period in Bulgaria. The magnificent interior and exterior, skillfully executed carving, beautiful temple paintings and icons - all this will not leave indifferent the guests of the city of Bansko.
