Die Baugeschichte der Sophienkirche in Sofia

The unique architecture of the Hagia Sophia Church in Sofia, Bulgaria, gives it a prominent role not only in the history of the city, which assumed the name of the church, but also in the architectural history of the Balkan region and the Byzantine Empire. And yet, a critically urgent and thorough investigation of this monument has so far not taken place. With the full-scale study on the construction history of the Hagia Sophia Church, that gap is now closed in a convincing manner. <br/>Making use of a detailed architectural survey, the careful analysis of the findings, and the study of previous structures and the topography of the city, while also taking into account the cultural and geographical interrelationships and application of art historical and archaeological methods, a number of unanswered questions can now be clarified. First, the origin and the original appearance of the monument are determined, followed by a discussion on influences and donors. The result sheds new light on the architectural history of the location of the Hagia Sophia Church, and its importance in the context of Byzantine architecture. <br/>Previously unpublished plans, and carefully selected old and new photographs accompany the investigation.

English Summary: The unique architecture of the Hagia Sophia Church in Sofia, Bulgaria, gives it a prominent role not only in the history of the city, which assumed the name of the church, but also in the architectural history of the Balkan region and the Byzantine Empire. And yet, a critically urgent and thorough investigation of this monument has so far not taken place. With the full-scale study on the construction history of the Hagia Sophia Church, that gap is now closed in a convincing manner. Making use of a detailed architectural survey, the careful analysis of the findings, and the study of previous structures and the topography of the city, while also taking into account the cultural and geographical interrelationships and application of art historical and archaeological methods, a number of unanswered questions can now be clarified. First, the origin and the original appearance of the monument are determined, followed by a discussion on influences and donors. The result sheds new light on the architectural history of the location of the Hagia Sophia Church, and its importance in the context of Byzantine architecture. Previously unpublished plans, and carefully selected old and new photographs accompany the investigation. German Description: Die einzigartige Architektur gibt der Sophienkirche in Sofia eine herausragende Bedeutung nicht nur fur die Geschichte der Stadt, die den Namen der Kirche ubernommen hat, sondern auch fur die Architekturgeschichte des Balkanraumes und des byzantinischen Reiches. Trotzdem fehlte bisher eine sowohl den Forschungsstand kritisch durchdringende als auch grundliche Untersuchung dieses Monuments. Mit der umfassend angelegten Studie zur Baugeschichte der Sophienkirche wird diese Lucke auf uberzeugende Weise geschlossen. Auf Grund einer detaillierten Bauaufnahme, der sorgfaltigen Analyse der Befunde und der Untersuchungen der Vorgangerstrukturen und der Stadttopographie, unter Berucksichtigung des kulturgeographischen Beziehungsgeflechts und mit Anwendung kunsthistorischer und archaologischer Methoden wird eine Reihe bisher unbeantworteter Fragen geklart. An erster Stelle wird die Entstehungszeit und das ursprungliche Aussehen des Monuments bestimmt, dann der Einflussbereich und die Stifter besprochen. Das Ergebnis wirft ein neues Licht auf den baugeschichtlichen Standort der Sophienkirche und ihre Bedeutung im Rahmen der byzantinischen Architektur. Bisher unveroffentlichte Plane und sorgfaltig ausgewahlte alten wie neue Fotografien begleiten die Untersuchung.

• By (author) Galina Fingarova

„Fingarova gelingt es, die baugeschichtliche Bedeutung der Kirche mit einer äusserst detaillierten architektonischen Untersuchung zu betonen. Zuerst wird die Geschichte der Stadt vorgestellt (S. 5-11), da das Schicksal der Sophienkirche eng mit dieser zusammenhängt. So bekommt die Stadt gegen Enden des 14. Jhs. ihren Namen von der Kirche Sveta Sophia, die zu jener Zeit die Kathedrale der Stadt war. (S.10) (...) Ein grosser Gewinn ist die über eine reine Architekturuntersuchung gehende Darstellung des bisherigen Kenntnisstandes, dieses Kapitel wird in „Quellenlage“ (S. 12-17) und wissenschaftliche Literatur unterteilt. Der archäologische Teil der Arbeit beginnt mit der detaillierten Besprechung des topografischen Kontextes bzw. der Vorgängerstrukturen (S. 30-49), wobei es gelingt, die Sophienkirche durch die Klärung der Vorgängerstrukturen kuturhistorisch-topographisch einzuordnen. Damit wird offensichtlich, dass der Bau nicht isoliert von seiner Umgebung diskutiert werden darf, wie es bisher in der Forschung geschehen ist. (...) Positiv zu nennen ist außerdem, dass Fingarova mit großer Kenntnis die Ergebnisse am Bau selbst abliest. (...) Ein Überblick über die späteren Bauphasen der Geschichte schließt diese außerordentlich informative Studie ab. (S. 159-168) (...) Diese eingehende Untersucht hat zu Ergebnissen geführt,die von denjenigen der bisherigen Forschung beträchtlich abweichen. Es ist wünschenswert, dass sich die zukünftigen Bauforschung dieses Buch als Vorbild nimmt.“<br/><br/>Dr. Manuela Studer-Karlen<br/><br/>In: Byzantina Eymmeikta (2013), Heft 22 S. 391-396.<br/>----------------------<br/>“The cathedral of Saint Sophia in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia is one of the largest churches to survive from the Byzantine period. It features in most handbooks on Byzantine Architecture, but until recently detailed studies concerning it were published only in Bulgarian, thus remaining inaccessible for most scholars abroad. (...) The book under review here, deriving<br/>from Galina Fingarova's doctoral thesis at the University of Vienna, provides the first monograph on Saint Sophia in a west European language. It includes a full overview of earlier work plus a gazetteer of all the known textual sources concerning the building, quoted in full. It will therefore serve as the standard reference work for anyone wishing to study Saint Sophia, while, at the same time, parts of the book can also be used for reference by those wishing to get introduced to the history of the city of Sofia (ancient Serdica and medieval Sredets or Triaditsa) and its bibliography. (...)<br/><br/>The structure of the book is very straightforward, starting with an overview of written sources, earlier scholarship and of the monument’s topographical context. There follows a careful summary of the finds of the 19th- and 20th-century excavations under and around the building, where the phases of the Roman and late Roman necropolis of the site and the remains of the two churches preceding the current one are discussed in detail. In the past, considerable disagreements were expressed considering the structure or structures preceding the current building. Fingarova prefers a simple solution accepting that the remains belong to two rather than four churches. I find her reconstruction more convincing than the complex hypotheses proposed by Boiadzhiev. (...)<br/><br/>Conclusions<br/>With the data and arguments the author sets forth, we can make significant corrections to earlier theories and get as close as possible to a convincing reconstruction of the history of this great building. We can fully accept Fingarova’s suggestions concerning the two predecessor churches of Saint phases of building rather than one. For the original construction a dating can be suggested to the late 6th century, possibly under Tiberius II Constantine (574-582). Fingarova’s 8th-century chronology can be securely ascribed only to the upper parts and vaults of the church. It seems likely that the monument was extensively rebuilt between AD 730 and 811, perhaps after earthquake damages and temporary abandonment. This grand rebuilding can be compared to a number of similar projects in the same period, notably the rebuilding of Saint Eirene in Constantinople. Whether we choose to associate it with the significant changes in the ecclesiastical regime of Serdica under the Isaurian dynasty or with the general recovery of the empire under Constantine V, the 8th-century rebuilding of Saint Sophia is a major event in a Dark Age provincial context. In a period when Constantinople appears to have lost control of its inland European provinces, Serdica remains a bastion of imperial sovereignty at the heart of the Balkans and it continues to maintain its most hallowed shrine.<br/>Despite my disagreements with some of the author’s views, my criticism would have been impossible without her informative, richly illustrated and well-written book at hand. Galina Fingarova has opened this great building in its fullness to international scholarly debate and she must be warmly congratulated for her contribution to the study of Byzantine Architecture.”<br/><br/>Efthymios Rizos<br/><br/>In: Göttinger Forum für Altertumswissenschaft. 16 (2013). S. 1011-1019.<br/><a target="_blank" href="http://gfa.gbv.de/dr,gfa,016,2013,r,04.pdf">http://gfa.gbv.de/dr,gfa,016,2013,r,04.pdf</a> (07. März 2013)
—