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Bulgaria
Bulgaria
In earlier centuries Macedonia and Bulgaria belonged to the same culture sphere, which was strongly influenced by Byzantine culture. This is clearly visible in the churches and convents dating from the 9th to 19th centuries and the many icons and murals that can be admired in this region. The icons of West-Bulgaria are among the most famous in the world. The icon painters of Bulgaria were influenced most strongly by the Greek icon painters.
Pleven:
- Svetlin Rusev Collection, 75 Doyran Str., Pleven. In 1984 the famous artist prof. Svetlin Rusev (1933) - one of the greatest Bulgarian collectors - gave 322 artworks to his birth town Pleven. The endowment includes creations of the Revival (icons) and of contemporary Bulgarian art, west European sculpture, Indian and African sculpture, and Latin-American, Romanian, Serbian paintings.
Sophia:
- The Alexander Nevski Cathedral. The choir of this cathedral is very famous. In the old crypt you can see a great collection of icons.
- The church of the Holy Sophia, the oldest eastern orthodox church of Bulgaria. In this basilica a very important council took place in the 5th century.
- The Russian church of St Nicolas.
- The church of St. Petka Samardzhiiska with very well preserved murals.
Near Sophia:
- The church of St. Nedelja and St. Boyana.
The Bulgarian province Macedonia:
- The convent of Rila, which lies 1147 meters high. With its 500 cells for monks and 1000 rooms for pelgrims this is the largest convent of the Balkan peninsula. The convent was founded in the 9th century by Ivan Rilski. The walls of the church are covered with beautiful murals.
- Close to the border with Greece: the Rozjen convent with a mural with the famous staircase of Johannes Klimakos.
- Sandanski, a city worth a visit, where the church is consecrated to the healers Cosmas and Damianus.