ПРОГРАМИ
en de ru fr es sr gr al tr ro
Podcast in English
Share
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Temple built by French crusaders in the 15th century still survives in Bulgarian village of Vladimirovo

Photo: BTA

Two churches named after St. Nicholas stand in a courtyard in the village of Vladimirovo near the town of Montana, Northwestern Bulgaria. One is an Orthodox church and the other is a half-ruined Catholic church. 

The Catholic church was built in th period 1422-1423 by soldiers of the crusader army who stayed in the then village of Preslavitsa (present-day Vladimirovo). 

For the past 25 years, the two churches have been maintained by Valentin Valkov, a volunteer from the village who is a former military officer but has now dedicated his life to the Christian faith, BTA reported. He says that the Catholic church is a monument of culture, but it is crumbling and only the heavy stone crosses in the courtyard and inside it are a reminder of the old times and its builders - soldiers of the crusader army, who came to Bulgarian lands to drive away the Ottoman invaders, but suffered defeat, after which some of them settled in different places in the Bulgarian lands.

According to Valkov, in the village of Preslavitsa there was a colony of wounded soldiers of French origin, most of whom survived and recovered, settled in the village and built their own temple. Texts from the Bible in Latin were inscribed on its walls but these have now faded. About 70-80 years ago, during the Socialist period in Bulgaria, the Latin church was painted and a slight repair was made, but then it was abandoned.

The Latin church in the village of Vladimirovo is a great rarity for Bulgaria, but it needs repairs to preserve it.

Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.
Radio Bulgaria History and religion    Catholic church church crusaders Montana Preslavitsa village of Vladimirovo Vladimirovo

More from category

Bulgaria's largest church from the National Revival Period celebrates its feast on the Assumption of the Theotokos

The history of the largest Bulgarian church in Bulgaria from the National Revival period "The Assumption of the Virgin Mary" in the town of Pazardzhik is long and interesting. It is assumed that the first church there was built in the 17th century. It..

published on 8/15/25 7:25 AM

110 years since the test flight of the first Bulgarian aeroplane

On 10 August 1915, the first Bulgarian-built aeroplane took to the skies for a test flight in Bozhurishte. It was designed by inventor Assen Yordanov, whose name still features in the textbooks used to train pilots and engineers today. From an early..

published on 8/10/25 8:50 AM

Exhibition in Sozopol showcases monuments from ancient cities around the Black Sea

A trilingual exhibition titled “Egyptian Cults around the Black Sea” opens today at 6 PM at the Archaeological Museum in Sozopol , according to BNR – Burgas. Part of an international research project, the exhibition is organized by the Institute of..

published on 8/7/25 5:55 PM

WEATHER
Pick city: Sofía
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 16 | Max: 34
Clear
Min: 22 | Max: 27
Clear
Min: 22 | Max: 29
Partly Cloudy
Min: 14 | Max: 35
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 17 | Max: 34
Clear
Min: 17 | Max: 35
Clear
Min: 12 | Max: 32
Clear
Min: 13 | Max: 32
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 20 | Max: 32
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 17 | Max: 32
Clear
Min: 16 | Max: 34
Partly Cloudy
Min: 17 | Max: 35
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 16 | Max: 33
Clear
Min: 16 | Max: 31
Clear
Min: 18 | Max: 33
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 17 | Max: 33
Clear
Min: 19 | Max: 34
Clear
Min: 20 | Max: 35
Clear
Min: 18 | Max: 34
Partly Cloudy
Min: 18 | Max: 32
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 10 | Max: 29
Clear
Min: 16 | Max: 31
Partly Cloudy
Min: 18 | Max: 34
Clear
Min: 18 | Max: 34
Partly cloudy, chance of rain
Min: 19 | Max: 33
Clear
Min: 17 | Max: 33
Partly Cloudy
Min: 17 | Max: 34
BULGARIA IN PICTURES
Which world-famous Bulgarian artist designed QSL cards for Radio Bulgaria?
Yasen Gyuzelev
Theodore Ushev
Christo Javacheff - Christo
Ilia Peikov
Lika Yanko

BULGARIANS ABROAD

Български English Русский Deutsch Српски Français Ελληνικά Español Shqip Türkçe Română
MOST VIEWED

Bulgaria's largest church from the National Revival Period celebrates its feast on the Assumption of the Theotokos

The history of the largest Bulgarian church in Bulgaria from the National Revival period "The Assumption of the Virgin Mary" in the town of Pazardzhik is..

published on 8/15/25 7:25 AM

english@bnr.bg

+359 2 9336 661

Общи условия за използване на сайта | Политика за поверителност | Политика за "бисквитки"