Saint Nicholas (Russian Church in Sofia)

Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker (Russian: Церковь святилета Николая Худотворца), known as the Russian Church, is an Orthodox church in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, dedicated to Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker. It is among the emblematic buildings of the city.

Its construction began at the end of the 19th century (the exact date is unknown, as different architectural projects alternated), and lasted for many years, being consecrated in 1914 on the eve of the First World War. The building was built on a plot of the Russian Embassy according to a project by Mikhail Preobrazhensky specifically for the needs of Russian immigrants in the capital. The frescoes are the work of a team of artists headed by Vasiliy Perminov (one of the authors of the frescoes in “Alexander Nevsky”). The five small domes of the church are gilded. The central dome is 19 m high. The bells were a gift from the Russian Tsar Nicholas II.

At the corners of the future foundations of the building, four marble stones were established, on which the initials of the Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, his wife, his son, and Prince Boris, the future king of Bulgaria, were written in golden letters.