ABOUT “ST. NIKOLA” CHURCH
Near to the
Daskalolivnitsata is located the “St. Nikola” church – the oldest church in the town. There to it is located and
"Assumption" church. The “St. Nikola” church dates from 16 th century. There is a legend according to which the church possessed a lot of old manuscript books, written on parchment. There was and special priest who kept the books and gave them for use. The church was reducing to ashes in 1800 when the karjalii attacked the town of Elena. The books were burned. In 1804 the church was renewed in its nowadays look, thanks to wealthy local people. The church was built secretly from the Turkish rule and according to the legend it was erected only for 40 days. The church was dug in the ground.
The then famous local icon painters David and Yakov, painted the whole church. They have finished their work in 1817 – 1818. The murals оf the church are very precious and they were pronounced for cultural monuments with national meaning. Here can be seen the images of the saints Methodii Moravski, Geogri Sofiiski Novi and the image of St. Kliment Ohridski which is one of the rarest in Bulgaria and in Macedonia. There is a nice inscription in the right side of the altar, and there can be seen the date of the erection and the names of the founders. With big art value are the wood iconostasis and the throne of the church. In 1966 the church was constructively fortified.
It was finally restored and opened for visitors.
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