THE CHRIST PANTOKRATOR CHURCH

THE CHRIST PANTOCRATOR CHURCH (All Powerfull) is dated back 13th - 14th century. It’s one of the most remarquable and well preserved medieval churches in Nessebar, typical for the picturesque style in the religeous architecture. The church is rectangular with dimensions 16 m in length and 6,90 m in width. It possesses two entrances - to the south and to the west. On the eastern side there are three small richly profiled apses.

The monument has alonged proportions. In the middle of the naos there were four columns (now distroied) supporting the dome. Above the narthex a rectangular bell-tower is setting up. A stone stairway built in the wall between the naos and the narthex leads to the tower.

All over the facade there are highly walled concave arches. Above them three rows of decorative saucers and four leafed flowers. Frieze of swastikas - the solar cult symbol, made of bricks, passes above the apses on the eastern side. The richly decorated drum of the dome has eight windows in form of arches. The nartex is small and under the floor there is a medieval tomb. Only traces of the original mural paintings are saved on the inner walls.

At present, the church hosts a photographic exhibition titled “Nessebar and the bay on old maps”. Eighteen maps dating from the 4th to the 19th centuries are displayed, illustrating a lasting interest in Southeastern Europe and particularly in the Black Sea coast and Nessebar. The maps belong to different branches of cartography, so visitors could see various types of maps: continental, historical, road and trade maps, charts, etc.

The church operates as a museum.
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