Medieval Church of the Ascension of Jesus

Overview

The medieval church "Ascension of Jesus" is located on a hill above the center of Chiprivtsi, between the Chiprovtsi and Martinovska rivers.
There is information that on this hill there was once a fortified place and there were walls of a monastery. Also there, north of the church, was built in the period XIII-XV century and the Catholic Church "Santa Maria", destroyed after the pogrom of the Chiprovtsi uprising after 1688 and opened 20 years ago. According to information, the Orthodox Church of the Ascension of Jesus was also erected before the uprising.
As for what happened to the church during the destruction of Chiprovtsi in 1688, it should be borne in mind that the suppression of the uprising was carried out by the Turkish ally, the Hungarian general Emeric Tekeli, who was a sworn enemy of Catholicism. He probably destroyed the nearby Catholic Church of Santa Maria, and the Church of Ascension of Jesus "as an Eastern Orthodox has suffered less. It is not known when its destroyed part was rebuilt, but since after the uprising the inhabitants of the town scattered near and far and new settlers came to these places only at the beginning of the XVIII century, the temple was probably rebuilt at that time.
In a later period (19th century) an extensive narthex was added to the church.
The church "Ascension of Jesus is very special in its plan and is of greater interest than the churches in this area, built at that time. It is single-nave, single-apse with two asymmetrical conches. The church without the narthex is 14 m long and 5.80 m wide, the thickness of the walls is different. It is built of ordinary and cut stones welded with mortar.
The difference of some details that make it more impressive is: the arches of the inner niches are pointed, the apse inside is not spherically arched, etc .. All this suggests that in the architecture of this church there are many Gothic borrowings, mechanically transferred. from the nearby Catholic Church of Santa Maria. There are similar loans in other Orthodox churches in the region, such as the Holy Trinity Church in the village of Beli Mel (not far from Chiprovtsi).
The interior of the church is painted with frescoes from a later period, probably when the narthex was added. by Gergi Tiholov from Gabrovo, painted in 1847.
The existence of the church in 1834 is judged by the inscription on a stone candlestick.
The church "Ascension of Jesus ”is a beautiful example of the continuity of the Bulgarian spirit and culture in different eras. Overall, the monument is well restored and maintained.