Description of the attraction
The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin in the city of Gabrovo is a masterpiece of the Bulgarian temple architecture of the Renaissance period. It was erected in 1804 near the first Gabrovo church of St. Paraskeva Pyatnitsa. The construction was carried out without an official agreement with the Turkish authorities (Bulgaria in those years was under the Ottoman yoke), so the temple was originally small, nondescript, dug into the ground. When the fact was revealed that there were no documents authorizing the construction of the church, local residents did everything possible to prevent its closure.
By the 19th century, Gabrovo had grown significantly, becoming an important educational, commercial and industrial center. It was decided to build a new temple - bigger and more beautiful. In May 1865, the old church was demolished and the construction of a new one began in its place. The work was supervised by the outstanding architect of the Renaissance Gencho Kynev. Construction was completed a year later, and a consecration ceremony was held in October.
The Church of the Assumption is located in the central part of the city, from where there is a beautiful view of one of the most beautiful stone bridges of the Yantra River - Baev Bridge. The building is a two-story basilica with a domed roof tower. The facades are decorated with stone reliefs depicting plants and animals. The linden iconostasis, made in three years (1882-1885), is an example of a woodcarving workshop.
There is an interesting story about the bells for this church. During the years of Ottoman rule, it was forbidden to install bells, and even more so - to ring them. Instead, until the middle of the 19th century, clergymen used a wooden beater - a percussion musical instrument in the form of plates, which were knocked on with a hammer. The bells for the new Church of the Assumption of the Virgin were specially made and brought from abroad, but they could not be hung. The residents of Gabrovo took the bell to the Sokolsky Monastery and forgot about it for some time. However, on the third day of the celebration in honor of the accession to the throne of Sultan Azis, bells rang from the Sokolsky monastery. This pleasantly surprised the residents of Gabrovo and amazed the Turkish authorities. However, the locals managed to convince the Turks that there was no more solemn way to express their loyal feelings for the new ruler than to ring the bells, and the monastery bell tower remained intact.
