Description of the attraction
The Metropolitan Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker is located in the southeastern part of Melnik, not far from the city center.
The temple was built in several stages. In the Middle Ages (XIII-XIV centuries) a single-nave church stood on this site. In 1582 it was renovated and expanded. In 1657, under the leadership of the churchwarden and Metropolitan Theophanes, the dilapidated church was restored. Later, in 1689 and 1969, the architecture of the temple underwent further changes. Metropolitan Macarius II supervised the construction work directly. Almost a century later, in 1756, the church was reconstructed and finally acquired the form in which it has survived to this day. From the information indicated in the inscription in the upper part of the old iconostasis, it is known that the person who allocated funds for the restoration work was Metropolitan Macarius III. In 1895, the church and the building of the metropolis, located nearby, were badly damaged by fire. Therefore, at the beginning of the 20th century, the Orthodox church was rebuilt in the form in which it existed after 1756.
You can get to the Metropolitan Church through two entrances - from the west or north. The interior space is divided into three naves by two rows of wooden pillars, six in each. They support the massive arched roof over the central nave. A wide balcony stretches almost along the entire perimeter of the nave. In the altar part there are two semi-cylindrical apses. Instead of the old iconostasis that burned down in the fire, a new one was made and installed. From the previous one, only the royal gates with images (1864), the author of which is Lazar Zograf from Melnik, have survived. He also painted icons for the temple.
On the western side of the building, a tower with a bell tower rises above a small annex.
