Bolyarski fortress - a monument of Bulgarian medieval housing architecture of national importance. It is also the oldest building of the Byzantine period preserved in the Balkans. Located in the east of the fortress of Melnik, just 10 minutes from the city center.

The building was built in the first half of the XIII century, when Alexis Glory rules principality with its capital in Melnik. Originally a fortress was built as the residence of the governor. Bolyarski house - part of the Slavova fortress, which allowed him to occupy no less important strategic position on the first defensive level. The house also served as the central zone and the outer core of the settlement.

The building has repeatedly been subjected to restructuring in the next few centuries. Late Middle Ages and the Renaissance - vremyarastsveta Bolyarski home. During these periods, it was the richest well equipped home around Melnik and surroundings. Marble slabs in courtyards, fountains with statues of marble, mosaic floors in the inner rooms, rich in painted walls and colored glass in the windows - just a few of the luxurious decor.

People in Bolyarski house lived up to the beginning of XX century. Unfortunately, from the former luxury and grandeur of the ruins remain. It has survived internal and front transverse wall, which are associated with the south-east and north-west walls. And the wall of the facade of the tower room and an impressive cellar. Medieval Bulgarian painting style in architecture is represented in the remaining decorative figures from bricks on the walls of the tower rooms and the main body of the house. Archaeological excavations have helped locate near the tower master's building, the reservoir and the little church of the first half of the XIII century.