Description of the attraction
Bolyarska Fortress is a monument of Bulgarian residential architecture of the Middle Ages of national importance. It is also the oldest building of the Byzantine era, preserved in the Balkans. The fortress is located in the east of Melnik, literally 10 minutes from the central part of the city.
The building was built in the first half of the 13th century, when Alexia Slava ruled the principality with the capital in Melnik. Initially, the fortress was built as the residence of the ruler. The Bolyarsky House is part of the Glory Fortress, which allowed it to occupy an equally important strategic position at the first defensive level. The house also acted as the central zone and the nucleus of the outer part of the settlement.
The building was rebuilt more than once in the next few centuries. The late Middle Ages and the Renaissance were the heyday of the Bolyar House. During these periods, it was the most richly furnished house in the whole of Melnik and the surrounding area. Marble slabs in the courtyards, fountains with marble statues, mosaic floors in the interior rooms, rich wall paintings and colored glass in the windows are just a small part of the luxurious decor.
People lived in the Bolyarsky house until the beginning of the 20th century. Unfortunately, today ruins remain of the former luxury and grandeur. The inner and front transverse walls, which are connected with the south-east and north-west walls, have survived to this day. As well as the walls of the facade of the tower room and an impressive cellar. The medieval Bulgarian pictorial style in architecture is represented in the surviving decorative brick figures on the walls of the tower room and the main building of the house. Archaeological excavations have helped to find the master's building, a reservoir and a church from the first half of the 13th century near the tower.
