Church of the Holy Mother of God, Asen's Fortress

The Church of the Holy Mother of God lies on an elevation near the road from Plovdiv to Smolyan, 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of the town of Asenovgrad (medieval Stenimachos).

In the early 20th century, the part of the inscription that was still visible was deciphered as "ή παναγία τῆς Πετριζηώτης", equivalent to "or the Mother of God of Petrich".

[4] At the turn of the 20th century, the Church of the Holy Mother of God was the terminus of two rival religious processions organised by the ethnic Greek and Bulgarian communities of Asenovgrad.

These processions began after a man claimed to have seen lights and heard chants while passing near the then-abandoned church.

The latter is considered more likely because no human remains have been discovered inside, even though the lower stories of similar churches were commonly used as tombs.

It features four wide vaulted windows in its upper part and a rectangular dome covered with roof tiles.

Blind arches, a design element very typical for medieval Bulgarian architecture,[2] feature prominently on the south facade and the dome.

[4] The church's upper story features fragments of frescoes, mostly on the interior, though there are traces of mural painting on one of the blind arches as well.

[2] The interior includes images of the Baptism of Christ, Pilate's Court, the Dormition of the Mother of God and the Crucifixion of Jesus.

Among the portraits of saints that can be recognised are John the Baptist, the apostles Peter and Paul, Constantine and Helena and the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste.