I visited this WHS in 2023 just before entering Sofia. Parking is free at the park nearby and it can get quite busy in the summer months, so calling in advance and booking a spot is recommended if you want to be on the safe side. Every last Monday of the month after 15:00 there's free admission too. Small groups of around 10-15 people are allowed inside and "locked" in for around 20 minutes to view the frescoes inside.

While waiting for your time slot, there isn't much to do. The church exterior's best view is towards its nave and southern facade. The rest is either covered by the tall trees surrounding it or by the ugly metal staircase leading to the tiny cupola. Next to the entrance on the western facade is the UNESCO WHS inscription plaque. On the opposite side are a few simple gravestones (one of them of Eleonara Queen of Bulgaria) and a remarkable tall redwood tree. Make sure to visit during opening hours as you won't see much of the exterior otherwise either.

Located on the outskirts of Sofia in the southern foothills of the Vitosha mountain, the Boyana Church actually consists of three buildings. The eastern church was built in the 10th century, then it was enlarged at the beginning of the 13th century by Sebastocrator Kaloyan, who ordered a second two storey building to be erected just next to it. The frescoes in this second church, painted in 1259, make it one of the most important collections of medieval paintings. The ensemble is completed by a third church built at the beginning of the 19th century. As such, the small Christian church's true highlight are its three layers of frescoes, painted in the 11th, 13th and 16th centuries respectively. The first fresco layers used to cover the entire eastern section of the church. Fragments of this layer can be seen in the lower parts of the apse and the northern wall, the upper sides of the western wall, and the western and southern vaults. According to the inscription of 1259, this first layer of frescoes has been covered with a new coat of plaster and another layer of frescoes has been painted over it. In the western facade there's also a charcoal graffito which dates back to 1259.

Notwithstanding its very small size overall, the church houses over 240 frescoes in total. The apse of the first section of the church is dominated by the grand image of Christ Pantocrator. Underneath, the drum exhibits paintings of angels and the four evangelists, while the vault contains four images of Christ, followed by scenes of the major feast days and the passion of Christ. On the northern wall of the nave there is a fresco of the Last Supper as well as St. Elena and unknown soldier saints. Above the altar, there is a fresco of the Holy Virgin and Child Enthroned. Apart from images of Christ, perhaps the second most recurring images are those of St. Nicholas, one of the patron saints of the temple. Probably the most vivid of them all is the fresco of the Miracle at Sea, with the ship and sailor hats as reminders of the Venetian fleet. My favourite frescoes are those of the full-length portraits of the ktitors Sebastokrator Kaloyan and his wife Desislava, as well as the Bulgarian tsar Constantine Asen Tikh and the tsaritsca Irina. Kaloyan holds a model of the Boyana Church in his hands, which he donates to St. Nicholas. These four portraits, painted with precise details, are the oldest surviving portrayals of historical figures.

For once, joining a restless group including children helped to "distract" the church caretaker who was solely concerned that nobody touches the frescoes, so in the meantime I took a couple of photos and videos to be able to remember the great interior in the future. All in all, the Boyana Church was the highlight of Sofia, and visiting on a separate day before visiting the Rila Monastery helped to differentiate between both painted interiors.