The Cathedral of St Joseph (Bulgarian: катедрала „Св. Йосиф”) is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It is the co-cathedral of the Diocese of Sofia and Plovdiv, together with the Cathedral of St Louis in Plovdiv.

The cathedral, rebuilt at its previous location after it was destroyed by the Allied bombing raids during World War II, was inaugurated on 21 May 2006 in the presence of Angelo Cardinal Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals and Cardinal Secretary of State of the Roman Catholic Church. The foundation stone of the new cathedral was laid personally by Pope John Paul II during his visit to Bulgaria in 2002.

The Cathedral of St Joseph has 350 seats and is capable of sheltering a total of about 1,000 people. It is 23 m long, 15 m wide and 19 m high, with the belfry reaching 33 m and having four electronic bells.

The St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (Bulgarian: Храм-паметник „Свети Александър Невски”, Hram-pametnik „Sveti Aleksandar Nevski”) is a Bulgarian Orthodox cathedral in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. Built in Neo-Byzantine style, it serves as the cathedral church of the Patriarch of Bulgaria and is one of the largest Eastern Orthodox cathedrals in the world, as well as one of Sofia’s symbols and primary tourist attractions.

The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is a cross-domed basilica featuring an emphasized central dome. The cathedral’s gold-plated dome is 45 m high, with the bell tower reaching 50.52 m. The temple has 12 bells with total weight of 23 tons, the heaviest weighing 12 tons and the lightest 10 kg. The interior is decorated with Italian marble in various colours, Brazilian onyx, alabaster, and other luxurious materials. The central dome has the Lord’s Prayer inscribed around it with thin gold letters.

The construction of the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral started in 1882 (having been planned since 19th February, 1879), when the foundation stone was laid, but it was in fact built between 1904 and 1912 in honour to the Russian soldiers who died during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, as a result of which Bulgaria was liberated from Ottoman rule. The cathedral was designed by Alexander Pomerantsev, aided by Alexander Smirnov and Alexander Yakovlev, as the initial 1884-1885 project of Ivan Bogomolov was radically changed by Pomerantsev. The final design was finished in 1898 and the construction and decoration were done by a team of Bulgarian, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and other European artists, architects and workers, including the aforementioned architects, as well as Petko Momchilov, Yordan Milanov, Haralampi Tachev, Ivan Mrkvi?ka, Vasily D. Bolotnov, Nikolay A. Bruni, A.A. Kiselyov, Anton Mitov and many others. The marble parts and the lighting fixtures were created in Munich, the metal elements for the gates in Berlin, while the gates themselves were manufactured in Karl Bamberg’s factory in Vienna, and the mosaics were shipped from Venice.

The name of the cathedral was briefly changed to the Sts. Cyril and Methodius Cathedral between 1916 and 1920, but then the initial name was restored. The St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral was proclaimed a monument of culture on 12th September, 1924.

There is a museum of Bulgarian icons inside the cathedral crypt, part of the National Art Gallery. The church claims that the museum contains the largest collection of Orthodox icons in Europe. Around the cathedral one can buy handmade textile and antiques on a small flea market. The St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia occupies an area of 3170 m? and can take 5,000 people inside.

Association ‘Preserve the Bulgarian’ starts action for the realizing of ‘Sevtopolis’ project.

At first the organizators will collect subscription list throughout the whole country, the projects author and major architect Jeko Tilev announced.

Sevtopolis or the City of Tracian King Sevt III is capital of the Odyisian state in the end of IV – beginning of III century before Christ.

It was found and observed in 1948 – 1954 by the construction works of Koprinka dam like and afterwards, however, submerged in the lake waters.

This is the first and best preserved Thracian city in Bulgaria, located 7 km western from the Thracian capital of Bulgaria – Kazanlak and 2 kilometers from the ‘Goliyama Kosmatka’ tomb, where the biggest Thracian treasures were found.

The reconstruction of the ancient city, located on the lake bottom was hindered to the moment by undecided judicial matters.

Few foreign companies have already shown interest towards subsidizing the initiative.

According to architect Jeko Tilev the financing of the project won’t injure the state subsidizing of other archaeological objects, due to the fact it would depend mainly on public- private partnership and support by EU funds.

The reconstruction of Sevtopolis won’t use state budget recourses.

There won’t be any ecological harm over the local fauna. It is previewed the reservoir to be drawn out during the city walls’ reconstruction but this won’t be dangerous for the local environment.

The projects author pointed out the social – economical and scientific significance which the Sevtopolis reconstruction will have. It will attract many tourists and will develop the infrastructure in the region.

The project has the support of many world organizations from Netherlands, USA, Canada, Spain and also lots of state institutions, though haven’t still received official answer.

The Boyana Church (Bulgarian: Боянска църква, Boyanska tsarkva) is a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church situated on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, in the Boyana quarter. The east wing of the two-storey church was originally constructed in the late 10th or early 11th century, then the central wing was added in the 13th century under the Second Bulgarian Empire, the whole building being finished with a further expansion to the west in the middle of the 19th century. The church owes its world fame mainly to its frescoes from 1259. They form a second layer over the paintings from earlier centuries and represent one of the most complete and well-preserved monuments of Eastern European mediaeval art. A total of 89 scenes with 240 human images are depicted on the walls of the church. The painter is anonymous, but is possibly from the Tarnovo Art School.

18 scenes in the narthex depict the life of Saint Nicholas. The painter here drew certain aspects of contemporary lifestyle. In The Miracle at Sea, the ship and the sailors’ hats recall the Venetian fleet. The portraits of the patrons of the church – Sebastocrator Kaloyan and his wife Desislava, as well as those of Bulgarian tsar Constantine Tikh and Tsaritsa Irina, are thought to be among the most impressive and lifelike frescoes in the church, and are located on the north wall of the church.

Besides the first layer of 11th-12th century frescoes, of which only fragments are preserved, and the famous second layer of murals from 1259, the church also has a smaller number of later frescoes from the 14th and 16th-17th century, as well as from 1882.

The monument was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1979. The frescoes were restored and cleaned in 1912-1915 by an Austrian and a Bulgarian specialist, as well in 1934 and 1944. The church was closed for the public in 1977 in order to be conservated and restored and once again opened in 2000.

Architecture
The Boyana Church was built in three stages: in the late 10th and early 11th, the mid-13th, and the mid-19th centuries. The oldest section (the eastern church) is a small one-apse cross-vaulted church with inbuilt cruciform supports. It was built in the late 10th and early 11th century. The second section, which adjoins the eastern church, was commissioned by Sebastocrator Kaloyan and his wife Dessislava and in the mid-13th century. This building belongs to the two-floor tomb-church type. It consists of a ground-floor family sepulchre with a semi-cylindrical vault and two arcosolia on the north and south walls, and an upper-floor family chapel identical in design to the eastern church. The exterior is decorated with ceramic ornaments. The last section was built on donations from the local community in the mid-19th century.

Frescoes
First Layer
The first layer of frescoes, which originally covered the entire eastern church, dates from the 11th-12th-century. Fragments of those frescoes have been preserved in the lower parts of the apse and the north wall, and in the upper part of the west wall and the south vault.

Second Layer
According to the donor’s inscription on the north wall of the second section, the second layer of frescoes dates from 1259. Those frescoes were painted over the earlier layer by a team of unknown artists, who also decorated the two floors of the building commissioned by Sebastocrator Kaloyan.

The Boyana Church owes its world fame above all to the frescoes from 1259, which demonstrate the exceptional achievements of mediaeval Bulgarian culture. The majority of the more than 240 figures depicted here display individuality, remarkable psychological insight and vitality. The frescoes follow the canon of icon-painting established by the Seventh Ecumenical Council held in Nicaea in 787.

The frescoes in the oldest section of the church include a magnificent representation of Christ Pantocrator in the dome. The drum below shows a host of angels, with the Four Evangelists – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – portrayed in the pendentives. Four images of Christ adorn the face of the arches: Christ Emmanuel; Christ, The Ancient of Days; and the acheiropoietic (“made without hands”) Holy Mandylion and Holy Tile. Next come scenes from the Major Feast Days and the Passions of Christ. Among the full-length portrayals of saints in the first tier, there are ten warrior saints. The Virgin Enthroned, surrounded by archangels, is represented in the altar conch. Below are four church fathers: St. Gregory the Theologian, Basil the Great, John Chrysostom and Patriarch Germanus. The frescoes flanking the altar show the deacons Laurentius, Euplius and Stephen, as well as St. Nicholas, the patron of the ground floor of the church – one of the most popular saints and the patron saint of sailors, merchants and bankers.

The life of St. Nicholas is depicted in 18 scenes in the narthex (the second section of the church). The unknown artist included elements of contemporary life in those scenes, and many of the figures are quite realistic – especially their countenances. The lunette above the entrance of the narthex displays the Virgin and Child, St. Anna and St. Joachim, and Christ Blessing. St. Catherine, St. Marina, St. Theodore the Studite and St. Pachomius are portrayed in the lower tiers on the walls. The south arcosolium features the scene of Christ Disputing with the Doctors, and the north one, the Presentation of the Virgin. Two highly revered Bulgarian saints are also represented in the narthex – St. John of Rila (the oldest surviving representation of the saint) and St. Paraskeva (Petka). The hermit St. Ephraim Syrus appears among the monks portrayed here. The expressive realistic portraits of the donors Sebastocrator Kaloyan and his wife Dessislava, and of the Bulgarian Tsar Constantine Asen Tikh and Tsaritsa Irina – painted with precision, extraordinary skill and feeling – are among the oldest portraits of figures from Bulgarian history.

Today the name “Boyana Master” stands for the team of unknown artists who decorated the church and mastered their art in the studios of the Turnovo School of Painting. The frescoes are genuine masterpieces with a flawless technique, psychological depth, complexity and realism. Boyana is the only and the most impressive wholly preserved monument of the Turnovo School of Painting from the 13th century.

According to many leading experts, the world famous frescoes in the Boyana Church played an important role in the development of mediaeval Bulgarian and European painting.

Late Frescoes
Some parts of the church were overpainted, and the majority of those frescoes have survived to the present day. The later frescoes include a scene of the Presentation of the Virgin from the 14th century, a portrait of St. Nicholas from the 16th-17th century, and representations of the two patron saints of the Boyana Church – St. Nicholas and St. Panteleimon – from 1882.