St. Petka Church, town of Breznik

Overview

St. Petka church is located in the southeastern part of the town of Breznik, at the foot of the hill Bardo.

It is unknown when exactly the church was built, but it is supposed to be in the Middle Ages. There is a belief among the locals, that it was once a monastery church. According to a legend, a large monastery known as "Birch Monastery" existed in these places,  together with 6 churches built on the hills, forming the famous "Sedmoprestolie" (Seventh Throne). In fact, the ancient appearance of the church and some artifacts around it gives serious grounds that the legend could tell the truth. Based on the architectural data, the construction of the church "St. Petka" can be attributed to the XV - XVI century.

Apart from legends, the existence of the monastery in Breznik was testified from an Ottoman tax register from the 15th century. "Mateyal Monastery, Breznik" was mentioned here as one of the taxpayers. It is highly likely that the monastery recorded in the document is actually St. Petka church. An important argument can be made in support of this assumption. The church was known by the same name - "St. Mati" until the Liberation (1878). It is clear that the name (Mateyal) of the monastery, recorded in the register from the XV century, is subordinated to the Turkish language norms and is equivalent to the Bulgarian "St. Mati" (St. Petka).

It's unclear how long the monastery functioned, but it is known that its church was destroyed in 1804 by the soldiers of Kara Feizi, who destroyed many churches and monasteries in the area. "St. Petka" was restored in 1818. A modest inscription on the iconostasis says that the founders of the restoration were priest Krastyu and archpriest Pavel.

Later, in 1847, the first secular school in Breznik was opened next to the church.

The interior of the old temple has been fully painted. Unfortunately, almost nothing of the old medieval frescoes has survived. They were probably destroyed. The preserved frescoes are from the 18th and 19th centuries.

Тhere used to be a well in the churchyard, whose water was believed to be healing. 

The iconostasis of the church has four rows of icons. Some of the icons were painted by masters from the famous Samokov Art School.
A unique feature of the church is its second iconostasis, separating the narthex (female compartment) from the nave (male compartment).
The churchyard is a real archeological museum. Among the numerous artifacts, you can see old stone crosses, some of them with interesting sculptures. The marble slabs, ornamented with rosettes and cypresses, which once served as a railing in the demolished mosque after the Liberation, also attract attention.
Location: Breznik, Chorni Square