Holy places of Bulgaria.

Church of the 40 Martyrs. The church was built on March 22, 1230. In the first years of Ottoman rule, the building remained a Christian church until about the beginning of the 18th century. Then the building was converted into a mosque. As a result, almost all frescos were destroyed. Several images were preserved only on the north-west wall of the church. Here were buried the kings of Kaloyan, Ivan Asen II, Mikhail Shishman, Queen Anna Maria and Irina and many members of the royal family and representatives of the Bulgarian aristocracy. There are sarcophagi from the earth from the burial places of Khan Kubrat, Khan Asparuh and King Ivaylo.