Belyova Church Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary

This Church Nativity of the Virgin is located south of the town of Samokov, left of the road to ski resort of Borovets. The church is known also as Beliova church, because according to someone it was a small private temple of a local feudal named Belyo.

The Church of Nativity of the Virgin is the oldest Christian building in the region. There were found female gold and glass ornaments from XII-XIII centuries. Around the church, in the necropolis surrounding it, were discovered traces of monastic burials dated to the late XI - early XII century, and several artifacts typical to the era of the Second Bulgarian kingdom.

It is believed that during the Ottoman rule the church was dug into the ground so to be protected from the Turks. In 1869 the painter Nicola Obrazopisov started its restoration and made a mural painting with the icon of St. Simeon of Samokov (Bulgarian bishop, leader of the Christians against the Turkish Sultan, arrested, tortured and hanged by the Turks in 1737). The saint`s relics were found during archaeological excavations in Belyova Church in 1995.