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The Round Church is a large partially preserved early medieval Eastern Orthodox church in Preslav, the former capital of the First Bulgarian Empire, today a town in northeastern Bulgaria. Unearthed and first examined in 1927–28, the church dates to the early 10th century, the time of Tsar Simeon I's rule. Considered to be one of the most impressive examples of medieval Bulgarian architecture, the church takes its name from the distinctive shape of one of its three sections, the cella (naos), which is a rotunda that serves as a place of liturgy. The church's design also includes a wide atrium and a rectangular entrance area, or narthex, marked by two circular turrets. The church has been likened to examples of religious architecture from the late Roman Empire, the Caucasus, and even the Carolingian Pre-Romanesque of Charlemagne because of its characteristic plan, which is significantly different from contemporaneous Bulgarian or Byzantine buildings. The church's alternative name, the Golden Church, stems from its possible and popular identification with a "new golden church" in Preslav. The Round Church's rich interior decoration, which makes ample use of mosaics, ceramics and marble details, distinguishes it from other churches in Preslav. (more...)

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March 3: Liberation Day in Bulgaria (1878); Hinamatsuri in Japan

• 1284 – The Statute of Rhuddlan incorporated the Principality of Wales into England.
• 1875 – The first indoor game of ice hockey game was played at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal, Canada, by James Creighton and McGill University students.
• 1924 – The Free State of Fiume (flag pictured), a short-lived independent free state located in the modern city of Rijeka, Croatia, was annexed by the Kingdom of Italy.
• 1943 – World War II: During a German aerial attack on London, England, 173 people were killed in a stampede while trying to enter Bethnal Green tube station, which was being used as an air raid shelter.
• 1951 – Jackie Brenston, with Ike Turner and his band, recorded "Rocket 88", often cited as "the first rock and roll record", at Sam Phillips' recording studios in Memphis, Tennessee, US.

More anniversaries: March 2 – March 3 – March 4