1578 - Data Points by Date/Period

The Assumption of the Holy Virgin Church is one of the oldest churches on the Three Hills. According to Niketas Choniates, Governor of the Plovdiv District in 1188-1189 during the time of the Bishop of Plovdiv Constantine Panthechnis, a new church was built in honour of the city's patron saint. The return to the Christian faith of the numerous heretics living in Plovdiv, resulting from the active work of Bishop Constantine, necessitated the construction of a large basilica with lavish interior decoration. It was probably erected on the site of an older temple. A monastery was built around the church, but later demolished after the 14th century Ottoman invasion of Plovdiv.When Stefan Gerlach visited Plovdiv in 1578 he saw a few churches on the Three Hills with murals still visible despite the damage to the buildings. The rising economic power of the Plovdiv Christian community during the 19th century made it possible for the citizens to take care of the old churches. In 1844 the old church standing here was replaced by a large three-nave pseudo basilica, made by builders from Bratsigovo. The church donors were Vulko Tchalukov and Stoyan Tchalukov, tax collectors from Koprivshtitsa, who settled in Plovdiv in the early 19th century. The iconostasis was made by two brothers from Debar, Andon and Dimitar Stanishev. Most icons were painted by the icon painter Nikola of Edirne. By 1859 the church services were still conducted in Greek. In 1860 Bishop Paisius was the first one to serve the holy liturgy in Bulgarian. Following the establishment of the Bulgarian Exarchate 1872, the first Bulgarian Bishop, Panareth, was welcomed here.After the Liberation of Bulgaria a belfry was designed and built by the architect Joseph Schnitter at the western door of the cathedral, in the Classicist style that was quite fashionable in Russia at the time. An inscription was placed at the facade as an acknowledgement to the Russian troops that liberated Bulgaria. To the east of the church there is an old graveyard where the Bishops of Plovdiv, Panareth, Nathaniel and Maxim, were buried. Eminent citizens and National Revival period figures, such as Yoakim Gruev, Stoyan Tchalukov, Hristo G. Danov, etc., were also buried here.

The complex of the Saints Constantine and Helena Church, which includes several church buildings with different purposes, is located south of Hisar Kapia. In the space surrounded by a high stone wall with a decorative brick cornice, besides the church, there is also a high bell tower, a sexotn's premise, a priest's premise, a marble fountain, and a school. The complex is accessible from the west through a large courtyard gate that takes you to a cobblestone street. At the eastern courtyard gate is the building of the Bozhi Grob Convent, in which monks from Jerusalem used to stay. From the east, the buildings overlap or border with the early Byzantine fortress wall of Philippopolis from the 5th-6th centuries, which is part of the architectural and historical Round Tower Complex - Hisar Kapia.In 304, at the place where the church is today, upon the persecution of Emperor Diocletian against the Christians, the martyrs Severian and Memnos were decapitated. Before them, 38 martyrs from Plovdiv were also persecuted because of their faith.The temple dedicated to the apostles Constantine and Helena, located at this place, is mentioned in the travel book of German theologian Stephan Gerlach who visited Plovdiv in 1578.At the beginning of the 19th century, when the economic power of the Bulgarian Christian community grew, the chief governor of the temple, Todor Moravenov, collected funds for its reconstruction, and another prominent Plovdiv revivalist Valko Kurtovich Chalakov obtained a sultan decree for the restoration of the two nearby churches Sveta Nedelya and Saints Constantine and Elena. The church was restored in 1832 by masters from the town of Bratsigovo. Soon after, the highw wood-carved iconostasis, done by John Pashkula of the village of Metsovo, was completed. The icons on the two rows were made by the Revival artist Zahari Zograf, who worked here in the period from 1834 to 1866. Later, Nikola Odrinchinin and Stanislav Dospevski also left their works here. In the period from 1864 to 1866 the walls of the church were painted by Stefan Andonov and Atanas Gyudxhenov of the town of Pazardzhik. They also decorated the iconostasis with gilding and rich polychromy.

The church of St. Mary Blaherna is one of the oldest churches built in the city of Berat. The church has a yard where it is thought to have been an early monastery of the V-VI centuries. It has a cross in square plan and has been built with the clausonage technique (stone surrounded with tiles), characteristic for the Byzantine churches of the XIII-XIV centuries. The church was reconstructed in the XVI century. Under the nartex floor is a water cistern which is thought to have been built earlier in time. Nicolas Onufri painted the church in 1578. The paintings present prophet portraits and Bible scenes. The floor is decorated with a mosaic.

General Kim Shi-min, who led his troops to victory in one of the fiercest battles during the 1592 Japanese invasion of Korea, was born in 1554 in Byeongcheon, Chungcheongnam-do province. He was of a clan originating in Andong and his father, Kim Chung-gap, was a government official. He passed the state military service examination in 1578 and after working in the Military Training Administration, was posted to Jinju as an aide to the magistrate in 1591. When the magistrate of Jinju died of an illness when Japan invaded Korea in the 4th lunar month of 1592. Kim undertook the magistrate's job, encouraging the townspeople to construct walls, moats and other fortifications and organizing the military command and supplying weapons. He won battles at Sacheon, Goseong, Jinhae and Geumsan and was promoted to senior magistrate. On the fifth day of the tenth month of the same year, a 20,000 strong Japanese army attacked Jinju. With only 3,800 soldiers under his command, Kim fought valiantly for six days and successfully defended Jinju town in what came to be known as the Great Battle of Jinju. The general was hit in the head by an enemy bullet during the battle and later died from the wound in Jinju Town, worrying to his last minute about the future of his country. He was 39 years old. Before his death, Kim was promoted to Military Commander of Gyeongsang-u-do province. If only he had not died prematurely, perhaps Jinju would not have fallen to the enemy the next year. General Kim was posthumously included in the roster of the meritorious officials of the war and honored with the post of prime minister. He was also given the posthumous title Lord Sangnak Puwon-gun and the name Chungmu (loyalty and valor). This statue was erected by thousands of his admirers to commemorate his devoted loyalty and patriotism.

1578 (4)

Other Dates/Periods

18-10-1999

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29-08-1526

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