At the foot of Vitosha Mountain, surrounded by centuries-old trees, the Boyana Church is one of the most visited tourist sites in Bulgaria. The church is far from the center of Sofia. It is small, and in order to be preserved, only a few people are allowed to enter it, that’s why tourists are waiting. They have heard somewhere about the frescoes of the church.
The Boyan master is a nameless painter. It is only known that he painted the church in 1259. It is also known that it was when the Bulgarian King Constantine Tih Asen reigned. The church contributor was the governor of the Sofia district Sevastokrator Kaloyan.
Both of them painted on the walls of the church together with Tsaritsa Irina and Sevastokratica Desislava. Their human emanation is amazing.
The Boyan master circumvented church canons. There are few examples in the church. You can also see some of the earliest three-dimensional images in European art. “Pretty avantgarde for this time, drawing perspective, fifty years before being used by the Italian artist Giotto and his school” says the director of the Boyana Church Museum.
The Boyana Church is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
