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FRESCOES

The First Layer

The first layer of frescoes that stretched along the eastern part of the church dates from the 11th – 12th century. Fragments can be seen on the lower parts of the apse and on the northern walls, the upper parts of the western wall and the western and southern vault.

The Second Layer

The donor's inscription reads that in 1259 an anonymous painter painted over a new layer of frescoes and painted the two levels of the second part of the church.

The Boyana Church owes its world fame mostly to the frescoes from 1259 that reflect the amazing achievements of Bulgarian medieval culture. The paintings adhere to the standard rules for Christian Church decoration that the 7th Ecumenical Church council approved in Nicaeca in 787 and that reigned supreme from the 11th century onwards. Each of the 240 depictions is distinguished for sharp individualization, subtle psychological portrayal and vitality.