Medieval Church "St. George" in Svezhen Architectural-Historical Reserve
- Stefan Ivanov
- Aug 5, 2022
- 9 min read
Updated: Jan 21
I am a distinguished and dear guest of Svezhen and of the Seraphim House - the native house-museum of Colonel Vladimir Serafimov, the Liberator of the Rhodopes.
From Serafimovi's house, I take one of the built paths in the direction of the newly built building of the Information Center, erected in 2020.
Above the building is a large panoramic terrace, from which a wonderful view is revealed.
A panoramic platform offers a comprehensive and impressive view of the Seraphim's house, the valley of the Svezhenska river, the opposite beautiful green slopes of Sarnena Sredna gora and allows one to get an excellent idea of the location of the old Adjarian church "St. George" - my next chapter of the Svezhenska an epic I'm preparing for you all.
This old wooden cross stands here, just from the time of the total destruction of the church, to commemorate the site on which stood the medieval church of St. George.
It can be seen jutting over the large and sturdy stone wall from the alley, approaching the main wooden gate, entrance to the site.
During excavations at the site of the medieval church of St. George, its foundations were revealed. Subsequently, restoration was carried out, but it only went so far, because there are no reliable sources about what the overall structure of the building looked like.
Ivan Baltov, son of priest Filip Ivanov Baltov, donated one of his sketches to Ivo Tavityan, a local archaeologist, historian and grocer. The sketch is a reconstruction of what the old Adjarian church building looked like.
In 2021, when the new AIR Svezhen Information Center started its activities, Ivo donated his sketch, which everyone can see today.
I filmed it especially for all of you.
From the panoramic terrace, I walk along the path paved with flat stone slabs towards the ruins. I want to look at everything very carefully and take pictures.
Today, only the stone foundations have been preserved, as well as the original stone flooring of the church.
As can be seen from the sketch, the foundations of the church are stone and are preserved today up to the level of the windows.
In its upper part, the church building is wooden, which explains why only the foundations have survived today.
The two original stone steps at one of the church entrances can still be seen today.
I go inside. I find myself in the church narthex.
The church is a three-nave basilica.
The places of the wooden columns on the roof of the narthex – this covered open part – are marked by laid stones.
Here are the stone steps that held the roof – each stone has a hole in which the stabilizing hand-forged iron was placed between the oak column and the stone.
And those with the broken holes were left by the restorers so that it would be known exactly where the place was.
On the north side of the central and wide nave, most of such steps have been preserved, and on the south side they have been left marked.
Inside the church, the original stone flooring can still be seen.
The stains I see on the slabs – in yellow and brown, as well as in gray-black – are the result of its complete burning.
Today, the authentic slabs from the church altar can also be seen.
The burning of the old Adjarian church "St. George" took place in the summer of 1877 during the Terrible - also known as the "Great Massacre" and as the "Slaughterhouse", in which over 700 Adjarians were slaughtered.
From the foundations it is clear that the old Adjarian church was 20 meters long and 10 meters wide.
From the sketch of the church, displayed in the information center, it can be assumed that its height was about 6 meters.
In the southern part of the church, the cobblestones that I am walking on are original - from that time. When the excavations started, this cobblestone was discovered and was left in its authentic form.
During heavy rain, all the water collects from the natural slope left by the builders at one time and not even a small puddle forms.
Here is a curious and interesting fact that I must not miss sharing with you!
The Singing Metal
During the restoration work, the original church lintel was also discovered, which is even visible on the sketch displayed in the information center. The old lintel of the Adjarian church of St. George is completely authentic and nothing has been touched on it.
Today, the old lintel is exhibited and hung on a specially made metal frame, in the place where it is believed to have once stood.
After the official adoption of Christianity in the lands of the Roman Empire, which occurred around the end of the 3rd century, bells – wooden boards or curved metal strips that were struck with a hammer – were now widely used in temples and monasteries.
Bells in the form in which we know them today had not yet been created.
Until the 5th century, bells were rarely used in church services. The first models were cast, forged, and riveted, had small sizes, the most diverse shapes, and sounded very unpretentiously and had no special voice.
The impetus for their spread was an accidental invention from the beginning of the 5th century by the bishop of the city of Nola, Campana province in Italy – Saint Paul (353 – 431). He invented the tulip-shaped (today's) shape of bronze bells and organized their mass production.
There is an interesting legend connected with the creation of today's tulip-like shape of the bells, which I will now tell you.
Returning home after a service, Saint Paul felt the need to lie down for a minute in a field by the road. In a dream, angels appeared to him, carrying field flowers in their hands - bells, from which extremely pleasant sounds emanated. Amazed by what had happened, Saint Paul ordered the craftsmen to cast several bronze bells in the shape of a tulip. The result exceeded all expectations and soon the new model of bells, called campani after the name of the province in which Bishop Paul of Nolan was a saint, spread throughout Europe. The term campana is often found in Church Slavonic books.
The first documentary mention of the use of bells in church worship dates back to the 6th century.
The official introduction of bells and their ringing into Christian worship was carried out by the Roman Pope Sabinian in 604 - 606.
Through bell ringing, the joy, sorrow or celebration of the people is expressed, which gives rise to the appearance of a different type of bell ringing, and each type has its own name and meaning.
The singing metal has accompanied the lives of people from their birth to the end of their earthly journey.
In the territories occupied by Muslims, the use of bell ringing is prohibited, which is why during the slavery in our lands, the song of the bells was almost impossible to hear.
But how to continue to mention the various church holidays?
And here the metal or wooden clapper returned to service again.
I carefully move the tesla hanging on the lid and grab it with my hand. The following authentic inscription can be read on the lid today:
1862
Initials are also visible:
Г. С.
It is known for certain that Daskal Geno - Georgi Serafimov, the father of Colonel Vladimir Serafimov, sang in the church, but whether these are his initials or the initials of the master who made the shutter, this will forever remain a secret.
The authentic clapper of the medieval church of "St. George" was found together with its original hanger - the authentic iron, to which the clapper itself was hung.
During the restoration, the clapper was tried to be hung on something else and a new hanger, but - no, no! The resonance, its specific way of sounding, its echo, its sonorous voice, its song were completely lost! That is why the restorers left the originally discovered hanger.
By striking the clapper in different places, it emits sounds of different tones.
And I struck the old authentic clapper of the Adjarian church of "St. George"!
Three times - as if for a holiday!
I share with you that the experience is unique! The sound itself is incomparable!
The song of the grebe echoes in the valley of the Svezhenska River, its song is taken up by the slopes of Sarnena Sredna Gora and amplified, just like 200 years ago!
Along a narrow stone path from the ruins of the old Adjarian church of St. George, I head to the next chapter of the Svezhen epic.
This path leads to the ossuary, built on the site of the old ossuary, where the skulls of the brutally murdered Adjarians during the great massacre of 1877 are still kept today.
To the left of the path is the old church cemetery of the village. It is where the priests and some of the noble and prominent residents of Svezhen – the elite of Adjara – found eternal rest.
On the right, laid on the ground and leaning against the high stone wall, dozens of salvaged stone tombstones can be seen, collected from all over Svezhen.
During the excavations, foundations were discovered at this very place – remains of cells, plastered with mud plaster on the walls, which are assumed to have been inhabited at the time by the copyists-calligraphers of the Adjarian literary school.
The activity of the Adjarian scribes, illustrators and ornamentators is one of the most sublime achievements in the Bulgarian art of book decoration. It stands out among the copyists-calligraphers and masters of manuscript decoration working in the period 15th – 18th centuries, with significant artistic achievements, enormous diligence and skill, original authorial handwriting and creative specificity.
In the period from the 16th century to the 17th century, Adjarian was an established literary center of the Middle Ages.
An entire school for copying, illustrating, and binding manuscripts operated here - the Adjarian Literary School, also known as the Karlovo-Adjarian Literary School and was the predecessor of the Tarnovo Literary School.
Its representatives were priest Yovko, teacher Nedyalko and his son teacher Filip.
The Adjarian literary center gradually became one of the most influential damascene and artistic centers in the 17th century.
It is important to note that the entire site is publicly accessible to people in wheelchairs.
There are currently no entrance fees!
There is a sign at the point where you should turn off the main road.
I would like to express my immense gratitude to the curator of the place – Mrs. Elka Genova, tourist activities specialist at AIR Svezhen!
A huge and heartfelt thank you for the story, for the emotion, for the history, for the experience!
How to get to the Svezhen Architectural and Historical Reserve?
The beautiful Bulgarian Sredna Gora jewel, Svezhen, is a village in Southern Bulgaria, in the Brezovo municipality, Plovdiv district. It is located in the Sarnena Sredna Gora and lies 752 meters above sea level.
By Order of the Council of Ministers No. 55 of November 26, 1987 (Official Gazette, issue 96, 11.12.1987), the old part of the village of Svezhen was declared an architectural and historical reserve, representing the cultural heritage of the Bulgarian National Revival.
The reserve includes 110 separate architectural sites (mainly houses), as well as parts of the general infrastructure.
Five of the sites are registered as cultural values of national importance, the rest are of local importance.
AIR Svezhen is located about 22 kilometers north of Brezovo (about 29 minutes by car).
AIR Svezhen is located:
197 kilometers (about 2 hours and 28 minutes by car) from the capital
65 kilometers (about 1 hour and 20 minutes by car) from the city of Plovdiv
355 kilometers (about 4 hours and 38 minutes by car) from the city of Varna
248 kilometers (about 2 hours and 36 minutes by car) from the city of Burgas
In the nearby surroundings are the huts "Svezhen", "Bratan" and "Kavakliika", Bratan peak, the dams "Svezhen" and "Domlyan" and other beautiful places.
The Svezhenska River flows through the village, and not far from the Svezhen resort there is a mineral spring with a built fountain - "Nevenkina Cheshma".
How do you get to the medieval church of St. George?
The medieval church of St. George is located next to the house-museum of Colonel Vladimir Serafimov (Seraphim's House) in the Svezhen Architectural and Historical Reserve, right next to the road, moving from the village of Babek in the direction of the Svezhen Air Base.
And finally, my dear friends,
you shouldn't miss checking out
the special photo album with moments –
discovered, experienced, filmed and shared with you!
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