Boyana Church, Bulgaria
Fresco from 1259
Boyana Church is a Bulgarian Orthodox Church located on the outskirts of Sofia, Bulgaria. The church was built within a medieval fortress and dates from the 10th century. Sebastocrator Kaloyan commissioned two-story building next to the original church at the beginning of 13th century, while the frescoes (89 scenes with 240 human images) which represent one of the most important collections of Eastern European medieval art date from 1259. A third church was added at the beginning of the 19th century and thus the present structure consists of three buildings: from the 11th, 13th and 19th centuries.
Besides frescoes from 1259 there are also frescoes from the 14th, 16th-17th and from 19th centuries, while only fragments of the 11th-12th century frescoes remained preserved.
Boyana Church was inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage sites in 1979.
