Boyana Church, dedicated to Sts Nikola and Panteleymon, is located at the foot of Mount Vitosha, near the suburb of Boyana – 8 km away from downtown Sofia, amidst a charming small park.

Acknowledged as a masterpiece of medieval art and an emblem of Bulgarian culture, in 1979 the church was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The original church from the 10th–11th centuries was dedicated to St Nikola, and in the 13th century a two-storey building with a small church of St Panteleymon was annexed to it.

This renewal was carried out by the feudal lord of Sredets (Sofia), Sebastocrator Kaloyan, donor of the painting in 1259. It is these frescoes that glorify the Boyana Church – years before the birth of the Renaissance in Europe. They present a gallery of Christian images created with incredible realism.

Fresco layers were painted also in the 14th and 15th–17th centuries, and in the mid-19th century a new narthex was built.

During the Ottoman period the compound also functioned as a monastery which gives us grounds to include it in the list of monasteries of Sofia Holy Mount.

Precious medieval manuscripts have been found here (the Boyana Gospel of the 12th–13th c, etc.).