За реставрацията на старата митрополитска църква „Св. Първоапостоли Петър и Павел” във Велико Търново (1913 – 1981)
Unknown Facts About the Restoration of the Old Metropolitan Church of Ss. Peter and Paul in Veliko Tаrnovo (1913-1981)

Summary/Abstract: The church, often said to be the most attractive site in the capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, enjoys special research interest. Still this paper is the first ever publication dealing with the architectural reconstruction and conservation interventions on the wall paintings ensemble in the wake of the devastating earthquake that hit Veliko Tarnovo in 1913. Immediate rescue ac- tions led by Bogdan Filov were taken, aiming to preserve what had survived of the building. In the period 1920– 1965 nothing was done to rebuild the damaged structure. In the mid 1960s this indifference was put to an end, but the interventions made were so drastic that even today they are confusing the researchers. The article sheds light on a number of discrepancies with the original architectural plan of the church, as evidenced by archival documents kept at the archives of the Restavracia Ltd Company as well as of the National Institute for the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Architect Boian Kuzupov, who led the architectural reconstruc- tion works, admitted that these were sham and hypothetical. The cases of the wall painting ensemble restoration also alter to a great extent the existing ‘truths’ of it. The documentary archives show that some of the fragments of the painting layer have also been localized hypothetically under the leadership of Kostadinka Paskaleva. It was Lozinka Koinova- Arnaudova, who led the restoration activities.

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