Photo: Travel: Bulgaria: Sofia: Churches: St George

St George, Sofia, Bulgaria

Also known as "Rotonda Sveti Georgi", this early Christian rotunda is thought to be the oldest building in Sofia. It was built by the Romans in the 4th century AD, and has famous 12th century frescoes. It is unclear what the original purpose was: some say it was some sort of religious complex, others claim it was a bath before it became a Christian church. The building was used as a mosque during the Ottoman period. Construction work during the 1950s destroyed part of the building but the characteristic rotunda (circular dome over a square base) remains. There are five layers of frescoes but they are in pitiful shape. There are ruins of a Roman street behind the apse, and the beautiful building is located in the area where Emperor Constantine's palace used to be.

The church was restored during the 1980s to return it to its late-antiquity and medieval state. It nests rather incongruously amid the Stalinist buildings of the Presidency and Hotel Sheraton. Interior photography is not permitted, and there are no decent guidebooks.