Hotels in Plovdiv
St. St. Constantine and Helena Orhodox church - old town Plovdiv
St. Constantine and Helena Church is one of the major landmarks in Plovdiv city, Bulgaria’s second biggest city famous for being the host of International Fair Plovdiv. The holy temple is located at 24 Saborna Street in the Old town architectural complex. It was built in the 4th century on the ruins of the antique fortress in the old town of Plovdiv.
St. Constantine and Helena Church is considered the oldest Christian temple in Plovdiv due to its ancient history.
The construction of the sacred temple is closely related to the recognition of Christian Doctrine as a world religion. The Rome Emperor Constantine the Great announced Christianity as an official religion in 313. Citizens of Philipopolis /this is the former name of Plovdiv/ decided to erect a temple in honour of the Emperor and as a sign of appreciation. The place where the holy church is situated was not chosen by accident, but it has symbolic meaning. Originally the church was devoted to St. Severian and Memnos, notable Plovdiv’s citizens. In the pagan period, they were beheaded together with 36 Plovdiv Apostles for their Christian faith.
After the church had been destroyed many times, in 1830 the walls of the temple were in ruins and they had to be torn down and completely rebuilt by the donation of 200 grosha by Todor Moravenov, the chief trustee of the city of Plovdiv. Hence, the church has restored its present appearance in 1830-1832 on the foundations of the oldest Early Christian Church.
The newly built church was one of the biggest for its time – 26m long, 18m wide and 8m high and therefore it was one of the most impressive edifices of its era. The courtyard of the temple is strongly fortified with a stone wall, reaching a height of 8 meters and ending with a heavy brick cornice.
The temple is a great deed of the famous Bratsigovski master, Petko Petkov. The church St.Constantine and Helena is richly decorated with icons of Zahari Zograf, Dimitur Zograph, Nikola Odrinchanin and the prominent Stanislav Dospevski. The renowned icon-painter Zahari Zograf made the entire first row of the altar icons.
One may deem the icon of St.Constantine and Helena the most impressive one in the temple, because it is believed to possess miraculous and healing properties. The worshipper should know, however, that the miraculous icon may help only the true believers.
It is interesting to know that in the 50s of the 20th century, during archaeological excavations, a rectangular tower related to the Hissar Kapia defence as well as an ossuary, holding the remains of generations of notable Plovdiv citizens, were found under the apse of the church.
St. St. Constantine and Helena Church on the map of Plovdiv
Other churches in Plovdiv
Hotels in Plovdiv
- Hebros Hotel
- Residence City Garden
- The Emporium Plovdiv - MGALLERY Hotel
- Alliance hotel
- Best Western Premier
- Grand Hotel Plovdiv
- Landmark Creek Hotel
- Leipzig Hotel
- Park and SPA hotel Markovo
- Park Hotel Imperial
- Park Hotel Sankt Peterburg
- Ramada Plovdiv Trimontium
- Avion Hotel
- Belle Ville Hotel
- BLVD 7
- Bright House
- Business hotel Plovdiv
- Dafi Hotel
- Ego hotel
- Famous House hotel
- Gabi
- Kendros Hotel
- Nord Hotel
- Noris Hotel
- Noviz Hotel
- Odeon Hotel-Restaurant
- Park Hotel Plovdiv
- Philippopolis
- Plaza hotel
- Real Hotel
- Rodopi Hotel
- Seven Hills hotel
- Star Hotel (ex. BW Bulgaria Hotel)
- Trakiets hotel and sports complex
- Urban Hotel and Events
Upcoming events in Plovdiv
- International Fair Plovdiv 2011- new events
- Ishtar
- TARJA TURUNEN gigs in Plovdiv city
- International technical fair
- AL BANO in Bulgaria
Places to go in Plovdiv
- Ancient Roman amphitheatre
- Assumption of the Holy Virgin churh
- Ethnographic Museum - Kuyumdzhioglu house
- St Marina Church
- Hissar Kapia
- Bulgarian Revival Museum - Georgiadi house
- Forum-odeon complex
- Ancient Roman stadium
- Round tower
- The church of St. Petka
- The city garden (garden of Tsar Simeon)
- St. St. Constantine and Helena Church
- St Nedelya Church
- Plovdiv old town
- Balabanov house
- St Demetrius Church
- Sahat hill (Sahat tepe)
- Plovdiv synagogue Zion
- The house of Stepan Hindliyan
- Yellow school
- Plovdiv Zoo
- International Plovdiv fair
- Lamartine museum - Mavridi house
- Danov house
- Culture and Relax park near Maritsa
- Centre for modern art Banya Starinna
- Bunardzhika hill (Bunardzhika tepe)
- Armenian church St. Kevork
- Dzhendem hill (Dzhendem tepe)
- Dzhumaya mosque (djumaya mosque)
- Icon gallery
- Catholic Cathedral St. Ludwig
- Nedkovich house
- Nebet Tepe hill Roman fortress
- Natural Science Museum
- Museum of Aviation
- Maritsa river
- Late antiquity Eirene roman mosaics
- Imare mosque
- Archaelogical Museum
Restaurants & bars in Plovdiv
Deals & discounts in Plovdiv
News from Plovdiv
- Travel stories from Plovdiv city - Antique Theatre
- Winery 2013 takes place in Plovdiv city
- Plovdiv further to develop tourism fairs
- Plovdiv Airport is prepared for the ski season
- Young wine festival in old Plovdiv city
- Holidays of the Old Plovdiv city
- The night of Museums in Plovdiv city
- Week of Crafts will be held in Plovdiv city
- International movie festival is held in Plovdiv city
- Festival of the young wine in Plovdiv city
- Six Bulgarian towns nominated for European Capital of Culture
- Week of crafts in Plovdiv city
- Tourism season in Plovdiv opens with festive procession
- Cheap Easter Holidays in Bulgaria: the choice is yours
- Ryanair launches regular flights from Plovdiv airport to Italy
- Ishtar gigs in Bulgaria
- Euronews Makes Movie about Plovdiv
- Thracian Antiques to Be Exhibited in the Louvre
- Ryanair services flights from Bulgaria's Plovdiv to Barcelona
- Christmas and New Year Holidays 2011 cheap last minute packages
- Plovdiv city participates in International Tourism Fair in London
- E-guides will show tourists round Plovdiv city
- Bulgaria should actively promote tourism opportunities to attract Japanese
- Ethno Eco Festival is held in Plovdiv city
- Balkan Off-road Marathon takes place near Plovdiv city