Wet Feet

I has been a while since I went to this quaint little church near Nova Zagora in Bulgaria. On the surface this church, once dedicated to St. Ivan Rilski, the patron saint of the Bulgarians, is not that different from any other ruined church, except that this one, when you go there at the right time, is standing in the middle of a huge lake.

The church itself is not even that old, it was build a little over a 100 years ago, but the site it stands on has been inhabited since at least the 4th century BC. There was actually a complete village here not to long ago.

The Communist government at the time decided they needed a reservoir of fresh water, and build a dam, the Jrebchevo dam. When the dam was finished, in 1965, it flooded the entire area and actually submerged three complete villages as a result. Only this church has stood the test of time. Even though the other buildings all collapsed, they still live on as their stones and bricks were used by the people in the area for other structures.

In spring, when the snow on the surrounding mountains melts, the lake fills up and becomes many times bigger than during the rest of the year. If there was enough snow during the winter, the lake grows large enough to submerge most of the church. You can tell by the rings on the church walls how high the water can get.

I first came here back in the autumn of 2017, thinking this church was in the middle of a natural lake, and was always surrounded by water. What I found instead was a church located over a 1000 meters away from the edge of the lake. In subsiquential years there either was not enough snow to melt and fill up the lake, or the lake was drained to quickly for me to plan a visit. This year they waited draining the lake, giving the severely diminished fish population in the lake time to breed, and as a result, photographers the time to visit.

I hope you enjoy my photos as much as I do. If you do, why not follow me on Instagram: @jackoleenders. It will help me out greatly! 😉