The oldest cathedral in the city is named after Saint Athanasius the Great, Archbishop of Alexandria. Located in the south-east of the city, near the park “Garden City”.It was built in the late fifteenth century. Originally it was constructed in the ground without a bell tower and cupola. The church has one nave and ends with a semicircular apse to the east. On the east side is the chapel “Pokrov”. The present shape of the temple is the result of significant expansions and renovations made during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The church bell was a gift from the great benefactor of Gorna Oryahovitsa Ivan Bakardjiev the city 1850. The iconostasis and bishop’s throne are the work of masters from Tryavna. St. Athanasius Church was declared a cultural monument in 1970. Two  miraculous icons are kept today – St. Athanasius and St. Mary.