HISTORY and ARCHITECTURE The church is quite significant from architectural, historical, art and documentary point of view. It is included in the list of the world cultural heritage and is protected by UNESCO.

It is believed the temple is a family one, part of the suburban residence of the city ruler, Kaloyan, and his wife, Dessislava. This is witnessed by the inscription in Bulgarian language that shows the year (1259) of painting, the names of the orderers and their kinship with the Bulgarian royal family and the Serbian king.

It was built in couple of periods. Firstly, in the X century, then from the ХIII century and the middle of the ХIХ century.

The temple has two floors – the lower one is designed as a family tomb, and the upper one – as ca chapel. It could be accessed through a door to which there is no standing ladder, just a mobile one, whose removal turned it into a fortification.

When it comes to its exterior, the church resembles the older Bulgarian temples like the ones in the old capital city of Tarnovo and Ochrid. Mixed masonry of white stone and red bricks, decorated with glazed ceramics.

Nevertheless, the Boyana church is famous around the globe mostly for its frescoes. They date back to different periods and are unique in view of their design and performance. The oldest ones date back to 1259. Tsar Kaloyan and his wife Dessislava are pictured on them, since they are guarantors of the temple, as well as the fresco of tsar Konstantin Tich Assen (who used to rule in the period from 1257 to 1277) and his wife Irina – donators of the temple. The frescos of both Bulgarian saints were preserved, namely of Saint Ivan Rilski (his first well-known image) and St. Petka. Scenes of Saint Nikola’s life are depicted, since he is a patron of the lower church, a very popular saint, patron of sailors and merchants. Saints’ images are depicted according to the canon of Tarnovo drawing school, and the ones of the historical personalities are depicted with the individual features of rulers turning them into the oldest known portraits of Bulgarian drawing. The painter is a novator, part of the tendency that at the time broke with the canonical inscription and referred to the Renaissance realism that is unique to these lands and could be seen for the first time on drawings of this church. The portraits are in full height, solemn clothing, with noble and handsome features. Kaloyan serves a model of the church of Saint Nikola. The royal couple Konstantin Tich Assen and Irina are drawn with the power attributes – golden clothes, crowns and sceptre.

Among the most interesting drawings is the “Last supper” where the author drew typical and ordinary Bulgarian foods placed on the table – garlic, turnips, bread, as well as some Bulgarian domestic elements. This, as well as the wall-paintings in ancient Bulgarian language witness the painter was a Bulgarian. In 2016, a team of archaeologists deciphered an inscription on church’s oak door saying “I Vassilius, wrote”. According to the scientists, it was left by the painter in 1259, which makes the door of Boyana church the oldest preserved door in Bulgaria, aged around 760.

Among the most famous drawings is the one of Saint Efrem Sirin, whose eyes have been depicted with technique as if they are on the visitor all the time. Just like a figure of semi-naked woman, a drawing not typical to temples, the one that is seen for the first time in Bulgaria.

79 scenes, 240 images of saints, angels, churchwarden and royal couple are depicted.

The wall-paintings in the chapel “Saint Pantaleimon” on the second floor date back to the same time, yet they are in different style. They depict scenes of the Christian holidays and the life of Saint Pantaleimon. 

​The church is located in neighborhood “Boyana”, in the foot of Vitosha Mountain, and is preserved until today thanks to the wife of king Ferdinand Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, queen Eleonora, who stood by the temple to be destroyed. Today her tomb is located in the yard, close to the South wall. By the church, her husband king Ferdinand created a small park where they could see the millennial sequoia personally planted by him, a tree species not typical to the region, ordered directly from North America. 

In order to enter the church, there is a special regime of 5 people with 10-minute break in-between the groups, so that the continuous environment being maintained for storing the wall-paintings could be restored. Even shooting happens in particular circumstances.

The temple is not operational. The last time it was restored was in 2006 and it is in excellent condition.