Holy Trinity Church

Holy Trinity Church (Sveta Troitsa) is the centrepiece of Varosha and the largest church in the region. The freestanding bell tower, added in 1850, was for decades the tallest building in Bansko and is still the landmark you navigate by. Inside, the interior is generously decorated with frescoes and iconostasis work by masters of the Bansko Icon Painting School.

The church and the cobbled square in front of it are free to enter and open during daylight hours. Stop in for ten minutes for the icons and the unusual sunken floor. The square hosts the main Jazz Festival stage in August.

things to do sight
A story
Built between 1833 and 1835, the church was for a time the largest Orthodox church in Bulgarian territory. The Ottoman authorities only granted permission to build on condition the church be no taller than a man on horseback could see over its outer wall — so the floor was dug deep into the ground to gain interior height while keeping the exterior squat. Walk in and you go down a flight of steps.