World War One Sites - The NETWORLD Database

St. Trinity Ossuary Church /Church Monument with Mausoleum, Bulgaria, Kyustendil

The Church building was launched on the 2nd of August 1925 and lasted for 5 years. The building works were managed by architect Rudolf Fischer. The Ossuary Church consists of 2 parts, upper and lower. The upper one has two floors. There are frescoes of saints warriors pictured on the church’s walls – St. Demetrious of Thessaloniki, St George, St. Theodore Stratelates, St. Archangel Michael and others. Their painters are Dimiter Gyudzhenov, Dechko Mindov, Prof. Nikola Kozhuharov, Prof. Georgi Hristov. The iconostasis’ woodcarving is a work by Radomir Mandov, Vladimir Naumov and sculptor Stefan Stoyanov. The terrain’s relief allowed the architect to build a ground floor where the ossuary is situated. Inside the church there is a plague with an inscription “Built during the Reign of His Majesty Boris III – Tsar of Bulgarians”.
The Church-Monument was officially sanctified on August 3rd, 1930 by Sofia Bishop Stephan in Minister of War General Mayor Nikola Bakardzhiev, the Mayor of Kyustendil and representatives of the Holy Synod presence.   

 

Bulgaria, Gyueshevo

Type of WWI-heritage

  • Non-Military Site of World War One Relevance

Dimensions

160 m2

State of repair/preservation

Good condition, well preserved. The last repair works were done in 2017 financed by the Ministry of Defense of Bulgaria

Historical WWI Context

During the Second Balkan War and the First World War (1915-1918) lots of Bulgarian soldiers and officers perished in the battles nearby the village of Gyueshevo. The church monument was built to immortalize them and to keep their remains. An ossuary was inbuilt under the church altar. The remains of 18 officers and 1491 soldiers died for the Bulgarian unification are buried in it.

State of legal protection

Architectural monument of Local Significance category

Owner

Kind of cultural use of WWI

The St. Trinity Ossuary Church is a part of military cultural touristic route in the region of Kyustendil along with other sites situated in the town of Kyustendil: The 13th Rila Infantry Regiment Monument, the Military Club, the First World War General Staff’s Building (today the Kyustendil Municipality Hall), the First World War Bunker.

 

Opening

Upon request with the village of Gyueshevo mayor

Entrance Fee

No entrance fees.

Further information sources

Location

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