Fodor's Expert Review Church of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel

The 17th-century church is hidden inside a handsome, tree-shaded stone building with terracotta roof—it looks more like a wealthy merchant's house than one of worship. The reason is because when Bulgaria was under Turkish rule, it was decreed that churches could not be taller or more ornate than mosques. Its interior walls and domed ceilings are covered entirely in striking frescoes. The wood-carved iconostases were meticulously carved by artists trained at art school in Tryavna.