St. Sofia in Ohrid, space, structure, forms: Sources

Abstract

This work comments in particular on studies dealing with the church of St. Sofia in Ohrid. Among them are the monographs of two authors, Barbara Maria Schellewald (Die Arhitektur der Sophien Kirchen in Ohrid, Bon 1986) and Boris Čipan (Sveta Sofija, katedralen hram na ohridskata arhiepiskopija, Skopje 1995). Special attention is devoted to the typological interpretation of St. Sofia, to its initial design as a triple-nave basilica with a dome at the centre. Insightful descriptions are given about the older monuments in the Byzantine capital, Constantinople. Special attention is paid to the external architectonic workmanship. The western façade of St. Sofia demonstrates the features of Late Byzantine architecture, while the eastern façade directly reveals the triple-nave spatial design. That is why this article on St. Sofia contains sketches of the western and the eastern façades, illustrating the features of its architectonic specificities. On the whole, the author presents St. Sofia in Ohrid as a unique work of architecture of the Byzantine region. .