St. Petka Samardzhiyska Church

Overview

St. Petka Samardzhiyska Church is located in the center of Sofia, near the entrance of the metro station “Serdika ”.

It is one of the few functioning medieval churches in Sofia. It was first mentioned in the 16th century, but archaeologists discovered it only after the Second World War. An ancient Roman tomb (a crypt, probably from the 4th century) was discovered under the church, on which the temple was built in the 11th century.

Today, only a small part of the church remains - only a single-nave building, built of bricks and stones with walls up to one meter thick.

The temple is dedicated to St. Petka. The frescoes were painted in the late 15th and early 16th centuries.
During the Ottoman rule, St. Petka Samardzhiyska Church was maintained by samardzhii (saddler makers) from Sofia, whence its name.

There is a hypothesis according to which the revolutionary Vasil Levski (1837 - 1873) was reburied in the church. This hypothesis has not been confirmed, but many people believe that the remains of the great Bulgarian were laid there.

The church has been declared a cultural monument.