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@nikolayh - UnsplashПотопената църква „Св. Иван Рилски“ / Submerged Church St. John of Rila
📍 From Inside, Bulgaria
The ruined Church of St. John of Rila stands at the edge of Zhrebchevo Reservoir, near Orizari in central Bulgaria. It survives from Zapalnya, one of the villages flooded when the reservoir was created in the 1960s. Dedicated to the Bulgarian saint associated with Rila Monastery, the church retains its roofless masonry walls and arched door and window openings. These recognizable architectural forms, set against the reservoir’s open expanse, preserve a visible trace of the lost settlement. Despite its name, the “submerged church” is not permanently underwater: changing reservoir levels can surround the building with water or expose the ground around it. This shifting shoreline gives photographs distinctly different settings, from reflections around the walls to bare earth framing the ruin.
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