Milenko Stefanov Velev ( Bulgarian: Миленко Стефанов Велев), known as Master Milenko and Milenko Radomirets was a builder and

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

from the time of the Bulgarian

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

Biography

The master was born in the end of the 18th century in Blateshnitsa, Radomir district in

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Mac ...

. In 1859 he signed a letter, addressed to the Zograf Monastery as Milenko Blateshnitski. He is a renowned builder in

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the peni ...

and in Southwest Bulgaria as well. He builds mainly churches and residential buildings, but he has been also charged with state building projects. One of those was the bridge on Struma river near the city of Boboshevo. Among his works are the churches “St. Nikolas” in

Balanovo Balanovo ( bg, Баланово) is a village of 454 people in Dupnitsa Municipality, Kyustendil Province, south-western Bulgaria. The valley in which this town is located is influenced by the Mediterranean climate, where the summers are warm and w ...

(1844), “St. Nikolas” in

Dupnitsa Dupnitsa, or Dupnica ( bg, Дупница (previously ), ), is a town in Western Bulgaria. It is at the foot of the highest mountains in the Balkan Peninsula – the Rila Mountains, and about south of the capital Sofia. Dupnitsa is the second ...

(1844), “St. Petka” in

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(1853), “St. Mary” in Boboshevo (1853), “St. Elijah” in Granitsa (1857). In the last village he has built the famous “ Granitski House” - a residential fortified tower. The most notorious of his works is the south wing of the

Rila Monastery The Monastery of Saint John of Rila, also known as Rila Monastery "Sveti Ivan Rilski" ( bg, Рилски манастир „Свети Иван Рилски“), is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is situat ...

(1847–1848). It is a beautiful building with two-storey monastic cells, solved in an interesting manner. There are situated the refectory, the abbotry, the hospital, the book depository (skevofilakija) and the library. The churches, constructed by Master Milenko were built with a mixed stone and bricks work. They own rich facade plastic decoration, containing blind arcades and three-coloured arch-like pediments. All of them are in perfect geometrical proportions and details. They are among the most beautiful buildings in the Bulgarian Renaissance church architecture. There is no information of master Milenko's fate after 1859. Bulgarian architects Year of death missing 19th-century Bulgarian people Year of birth missing People from Pernik Province {{Bulgaria-architect-stub