Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Ascension of God

About

The Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Ascension of the Lord (Bulgarian: Патриаршеска катедрала "Свето Възнесение Господне", Patriarsheska katedrala "Sveto Vaznesenie Gospodne") is a former Eastern Orthodox cathedral in the city of Veliko Tarnovo, in north central Bulgaria. Located on top of the fortified Tsarevets hill in the former capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, the cathedral was the seat of the Bulgarian patriarch from its construction in the 11th–12th century to its destruction in 1393. Standing on top of a late Roman church, the cathedral, reconstructed in the 1970s and 1980s, follows a cross-domed plan with a bell tower and a triple apse. Richly decorated on both the exterior and interior, its internal walls now feature modern frescoes, the presence of which has meant that it has not been reconsecrated. Though not active as a Christian place of worship, it has been open for visitors since 1985.

History: The Patriarchal Cathedral of the Holy Ascension of the Lord is not the first church building to occupy the position on the top of Tsarevets hill. It was constructed directly on top of a late Roman (early Byzantine) basilica which dates to the 5th–6th century AD. The...