Description of the attraction
The Church of Dmitry Solunsky is located in Veliko Tarnovo and is a monument of the Tarnovo art school. It is located on the right bank of the Yantra, under the northeastern slope of Mount Trapezitsa. It is the oldest of the accurately dated medieval churches in Tarnovo.
The beginning of its construction in 1185 coincides with the news of an uprising against Byzantine rule. Later, at the end of the XVII - beginning. XVIII century a monastery was built nearby (its fragments were discovered during archaeological excavations in 1971). The church and monastery around it existed until the end of the 13th century, when they were destroyed, most likely by an earthquake.
Much later, in the 15th century, a new church was built on the foundations of one of the monastery buildings, but at the end of the 19th century it was significantly damaged, and an earthquake in 1913 destroyed it completely.
Restoration work, based on the results of archaeological research, began in 1977 and in 1985 the restored Church of St. Dmitry of Thessalonica was opened as a museum to commemorate the 800th anniversary of the uprising against the Byzantine oppressors and the declaration of Tarnovo as the capital.
The church has the official status of a national historical monument, an architectural monument of national importance and an artistic monument of national importance.
