Church of St. Mina Kyustendil

Overview

"Holy Martyr Mina Kotuanski" is a Bulgarian Revival Orthodox Church in Kyustendil. It is located in the western part of the city. it was built in 1859 as a monastery church. Initially, the church was a shabby building made of hedges, plastered with mud, whitewashed and covered with tiles. In 1890 the roof was rebuilt and all 4 sides were built of bricks, without foundations dug into the ground. It is a three-nave pseudo-basilica without a narthex. A portico from the south leads to a small underground chapel with a spring - a source of holy water. The church has two apses - five-walled on the middle and semicircular on the north nave. The facades are divided by pilasters. The eastern façade has a decorative rock curve above the two apses. The roofing is made of Turkish tiles. The iconostasis is carpentry. The icons in the church are the work of the artists Vasil Zograf (1860), Yanaki Zograf (1861), Danail Shtipliata (1862) and Ivan Dospevski (1874). Some of the frescoes and icons were made in 1886 and 1893 by Evstati Popdimitrov. On the icon of St. St. Constantine and Helena in the church has the inscription "From the hands of Daniel Ishchipliѧ 1862: August: 2nd day". The church was restored in 1986.