As a photographer, I aim to tell stories (I've said this more than once in this blog). When I started the religious theme, I noticed that whenever I take a picture, the story of the place plays a crucial role in the choice of location. To me, stories matter as much as images and in images taken for the sake of Culture Crossroads, I aim to add a story of the place, but not only the story of the image (how I created it).
When I started working on the religious theme this module, one of the first motivations I had was telling a story. Sofia has a long and turbulent history and most of the buildings in the city centre are bearers of its past. In a place that has been inhabited for no less than three thousand (yes, three thousand!) years, places are packed with history, ergo with stories to tell.
Once I chose the old vs. new topic, I noticed that the history of the place became even more important. During the seminars I noticed that I am talking about the story much more, than about the image itself.
The images below are a wonderful example of my tendency to not only try to tell stories with images but also put the story in words:
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| Saint Petka Samardzhiiska church in the centre of Sofia |
The image above shows a church which barely escaped demolition - Saint Petka Samardzhiiska church. It is a 12th century small church, build on even more ancient remains. In the 1950s when the big Stalinist-style center was built the church was destined to be demolished. The complex, known as the Triangle of Power led to the destruction of the Roman Serdica and the whole layer of the earliest history of the city. They destroyed a whole street that used to house the trade shops in town (the so-called Targovska street), famous for its Viennese-style architecture AND they demolished the forum of Roman Serdica AND the larger part of the palace of Constantine the Great. If that is not stupidity, I don't know what is.
So, having destroyed all that, the Comrades, destined the church for demolition too. Until a delegation of government officials and their wives came from Moscow to inspect the new government's work. While the men did their job, the wives entertained themselves. One of these was an art historian and wanted to tour the city in search for frescoes. She found that church and demanded to see it. Even though it was already destined for demolition and locked up, somehow the Bulgarians managed to find the key and open the place, The woman was in awe because the frescoes were unique in the whole of Europe. She asked what the church would be made of, hoping to hear the phrase 'a museum' and was appalled to hear that it was to be demolished.
She made an effort to preserve the church (talking her husband to press on the Bulgarian Comrades for that) and they somehow bent to the wishes of the wife of the high official. The whole architectural plan was changed and now the church sits in the middle of one of the busiest crossroads in Sofia. All that, thanks to one woman who just loved art...
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| Saint George rotunda |
This church - the Saint George rotunda - shared the fate of the previous one - it was also destined for demolition. The reason was simple - it was located in the middle of the Presidential complex. The Comrades wanted to destroy it so that the government officials can go to the hotel next door in style (by car, that is). Problem was that this church was just in the way. Moreover, they discovered the palace of Constantine the Great and decided to preserve at least the part that was inside the building. The church, however, was a different story since the new ideology regarded religion as something degrading.
Here the church was saved by society - it is an example of different styles of iconography and you can see four centuries of frescoes and their development during the centuries along its walls. It is still quoted in art historians' textbooks and history books as a unique example.
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| The archaeological museum in Sofia, a former mosque. |
This building is another example of the turbulent history of Sofia. In the 19th century, it used to be a mosque. It was built as a mosque by a high official and used to be a toponym of a whole neighbourhood. When the Liberation of Bulgaria became a fact (in 1878) most mosques in Sofia were either demolished or turned into churches - the same way Ottomans turned churches into mosques 500 years earler.
This mosque, however, was too big to be demolished. Another mosque in Sofia had already been turned into a dungeon and city jail so this one was destined to be a theater. At the time, Sofia had no theater so this seemed like a good idea, especially given the location of the place - in the ideal center.
What saved the place was the speech of the Bulgarian Patriarch who gave an angry speech in front of all National Assembly members, stating that 'I will not turn a temple of God into a den of sin'. So, once excavations around Bulgaria were carried out, the place became the storehouse of the findings. Naturally, it was turned into a museum at the end of the 19th century.
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| Saint Alexander Nevski church |
One of the most imposing buildings in Bulgaria and one of the symbols of Sofia, Saint Alexander Nevski church was built around the end of the 19th century. Paradoxically, one of the most famous place of worship in Bulgaria is dedicated to a Russian kniaz and warrior. The architecture is a cross breed between that of Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and that of traditional Russian churches. It is one of the biggest churches in Bulgaria and the place where the Patriarch announces the birth and resurrection of Christ. BUT it wasn't always as venerated.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the church was hated for the Russian saint that was its patron. The reason were the political problems and numerous wars Bulgaria took part in. It even had its name changed because of this. During World War II. it was bombed because of its golden domes. The gold was a gift from Russia (15 years ago, when the domes had to be restored, the Russian church again donated 10 kilograms of gold for the restoration) but also a target for Western pilots. They were told to bomb yellow domes and yellow pavements. Paradoxically, the church is in the middle of the city center, all paved in yellow tiles, famous for their durability and beauty.
Today, the church is one of the most famous places in Bulgaria and the mark of the ideal center of Sofia. The area around it, though, is quite secular - since it doubles as a concert space and public parking.
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