Church of St Nicholas, Eastern Orthodox church building in Melnik, Bulgaria

The Church of St Nicholas is a partly ruined three-naved basilica on Sveti Nikola Hill south of Melnik, built of alternating rows of stone and brick. Only the eastern part survives, with three semicircular apses; the central apse has a three-part window and a four-stepped synthronon. Two rows of marble columns divided the naves, and three entrances opened from the west.

This structure was built around 1200 on the site of an ancient Thracian sanctuary. During the 13th century, it was renovated and gained the status of a bishopric seat.

The interior walls display frescoes from the 12th and 13th centuries that show religious scenes and sacred figures. These paintings reveal how people of that time expressed their faith through art.

The church stands on Sveti Nikola Hill just south of Melnik, but only the eastern part with the three apses survives; the rest is in ruins. The three entrances were all on the west side, so the surviving apses are at the opposite, eastern end. The site is an open ruin with no facilities, so visit in dry weather and watch your footing among the fallen masonry.

A bronze bell found in Melnik in the 2000s carries a Medieval Greek inscription naming a donor: "Copper-smelted church bell, a gift by Alexius, who is the pious Slav, to Saint Nicholas of Myra". Researchers link the text to despot Alexius Slav, ruler of Melnik around 1208–1228, and to the separate bell tower built in the 1210s. A second, similar bell from Melnik mentions Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos and the year 1270.