"Golyamata Basilica" (Great Basilica) is located inside the medieval city of Pliska, at the moment is historical and archaeological museum in the open air.

The basilica was built after the adoption of Christianity in 875 year. It was a religious palace complex, which included the bishop's palace, the cathedral and monastery. From all sides, it shields the four-meter high stone wall. The length of the temple complex was 99 meters and the width - 30 meters, the total building area of ​​2920 square meters occupied. meters. This made the Basilica one of the largest temples in south-eastern Europe during the Middle Ages.

For more than 250 years, the temple served various functions as the Cathedral, the Episcopal Palace and the Collegiate Church; He was the center of spiritual and religious life of the city Pliska and all medieval Bulgaria. Since IX century, it is the center of the archbishopric of the Bulgarian state, and in 886, after the official meeting with the students of Cyril and Methodius, settled in the temple of the first Bulgarian School of Slavonic knigopisi.

According to some preserved to this day the fragments we can tell that once presented himself this magnificent building. As architecture is close to the cathedral of the same buildings from the Byzantine period. Before entering the temple is the atrium (open paved courtyard) surrounded by columns and walls. Curiously, the columns in the building unequal, if collected from different places. Probably, during the construction of the temple, they were taken from other buildings early ancient period.

Partially preserved as the foundation and walls of the basilica. The building was built of large hewn stone blocks with decorative seams between them. Found during excavations details indicate that the complex interiors decorated stone carvings and mosaics.

According to Save the part of this unique building several attempts to create a project for its reconstruction. The most famous of them the project of architect A. Rashenova.

Great Basilica is an important monument of the Bulgarian culture of the early Christian period, the IX century. It now makes a great impression of their monumentality, impressive size, rich ornaments.