Nikolitsa Basilica in Rakitovo adminpelevi July 21, 2023

Nikolitsa Basilica in Rakitovo

Базиликата "Николица" в Ракитово
The Basilica "Nikolitsa" in Rakitovo

The basilica in the area of Nikolitsa, town of Rakitovo is an early Christian, three-nave, cross-domed basilica. It was built in the 4th-6th century by the Thracian Besi tribe, who at the end of the 4th century accepted Christianity from the missionary Bishop Nikita Remesianski. It existed until the middle of the 17th century, completely destroyed after the Mohammedanization of the Chepin region. It was forgotten for two centuries, but the necropolis around it was used until the 19th century. A chapel was built on its remains in 1923. 

The church was discovered by archaeologists in 1962. Its dimensions are 32 x 17 meters. To the east it ends with three different apses. The middle one is three-sided on the outside and semi-circular on the inside, and the side ones are round on the outside and inside. To the west, the church ends with a vestibule, which was on two floors. Additional rooms were built on both sides of the vestibule, ending with round apses. The northern room has been cleared and was a baptistery, and the southern one has not been cleared because it falls under the stadium. 

The main room (central nave) of the church was entered from the vestibule. The altar was entered through the Triumphal Arch. To the west, the narthex ended with three semicircular threads, which is a unique architectural element – such a design of a church facade has not been discovered until now. 

The walls of Nikolitsa are 1.30 meters thick. Its foundations are at a depth of 1.70 meters. On the square room, which is formed by the intersection of the main nave with the transept, rose a dome, which rested on four arches perpendicular to each other. The church was entered except from the west through the vestibule and directly from the north and south through the doors of the side rooms (naves). A small crypt containing the relics of an unknown saint was discovered in the floor of the central apse.

In terms of its architecture, this basilica is similar to the church "St. Sofia" in Sofia, on the basilica above Belovo, on the Deer Church near Pirdop, which were built during the same historical period.

Source: www.rakitovo-bg.com

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