Ruin - my journey to a mysterious but very sad place

Since my limit of endurance and patience has again been reached with the latest political farce in the country where I live, today, instead of trying to think about it, I want to take you to a mystical place - to the ruins of a dysfunctional but actually functioning church.

And that above is my shadow - one of my traditional ways of taking selfies, as I'm probably one of the few, or even the only contemporary person who can't take selfies. 🤭

Now I wonder if this church would have been so mystical if nothing had happened to it and if it continued to live and function in the standard way.

Maybe yes.

Because in the first place it is built of stone. And the stones, in my opinion, carry a soul and always give mystique to the buildings they have built. Secondly, the year of construction - 1895 is already in the category of "old monuments", my personal category of landmarks worth visiting.

But there is something here that still gives a bitter taste to the atmosphere of the whole place. Because it is in this state due to conscious intention and conscious decision. Decision to be destroyed.

So let's start from the beginning.

With something else that spoils the whole atmosphere. Because it is not easy, and often not pleasant to visit a landmark in Bulgaria. Imagine that you are on your way to a church. The church, whatever it is, is always a holy place. Even half-destroyed, even declared non-functioning (which is not true in this case).

You reach this holy place and gypsy music strikes your ears. Moreover, not exactly gypsy, but this music, which is a symbol of the declining culture in Bulgaria, the lack of culture, listened to by the simpler population of the country.

This music is heard from the poor house next to the landmark and resounds in the surroundings in a very ugly way.

And only if you manage to disregard this, only then will you be able to indulge in what will be revealed to you in this place.

A sacred building that stands submerged in water for most of the year.

When not in water, it looks like this:

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Because I can imagine that when the waters begin to rise, someone comes to collect all these things - the icons, the candlestick, the cover at the altar...

At least this is done after the church was completely submerged in 1965, and the people of two villages were evicted and the villages flooded to build a dam, Zhrebchevo Dam.

I do not know which other country in the world suffers such destruction from its own inhabitants. Yes, here it is done under the pretext that something else is being built. But I know of at least two other places with sunken villages and churches under a similar pretext in Bulgaria.

The churches in all three places are very old, very valuable and very beautiful - but destroyed and devastated.

From what I see here, from the constant flow of people who come here to visit, to pray and light a candle, it is clear that people still revere and want to preserve this place or the remains of it. Regardless of what a monstrous decision the government made about it years ago - about 60 years ago.

But at the same time it makes me start making plans for my visit to one of the other two places, whose church is not maintained in any way and is about to disappear forever and without leaving a memory behind.

Thank you for your time! Copyright:	@soulsdetour
	Soul's Detour is a project started by me years ago when I had a blog about historical and not so popular tourist destinations in Eastern Belgium, West Germany and Luxembourg. Nowadays, this blog no longer exists, but I'm still here - passionate about architecture, art and mysteries and eager to share my discoveries and point of view with you.

Personally, I am a sensitive soul with a strong sense of justice.
Traveling and photography are my greatest passions.
Sounds trivial to you?
No, it's not trivial. Because I still love to travel to not so famous destinations.🗺️
Of course, the current situation does not allow me to do this, but I still find a way to satisfy my hunger for knowledge, new places, beauty and art.
Sometimes you can find the most amazing things even in the backyard of your house.😊🧐🧭|