Round Church, Preslav, Medieval Orthodox church ruin in Veliki Preslav, Bulgaria
The Round Church is a ruin with a circular main chamber and rectangular entry space, surrounded by a columned courtyard and remnants of decorative tiles. The layout follows Byzantine design patterns and shows traces of elaborate decoration in its remaining sections.
The church dates to the early 10th century, in the reign of Simeon I (893–927), and is often linked to the "new golden church" that Theodore Dox's colophon says Simeon built at the mouth of the Ticha in 907. That identification is probable rather than certain, so the building is dated to no more than a few years before 907. It was excavated in 1927–1928 by Krastyu Miyatev and Yurdan Gospodinov.
The name Golden Church comes from a medieval note by Tudor Doxov, who in 907 recorded a "new golden church" built by Prince Simeon at the mouth of the Ticha. Scholars still debate whether the Round Church is that building. Inside, medieval inscriptions survive: Greek names of saints and short texts in Glagolitic and Cyrillic.
The site lies within the Veliki Preslav archaeological zone and is part of an organized museum area. Visitors can reach it and view the structure, but should expect uneven ground and minimal facilities at the ruins.
An inscription inside the church names a high-ranking church official, a chartophylax called Paul, as donor of at least part of the construction; the main funding likely came from Simeon. The building's plan departs from contemporary Bulgarian and Byzantine models and has been compared to late Roman, Caucasian and Carolingian architecture.
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