Monastery in Bulgaria. Transfer to all monastery in Bulgaria by: Taxi, cars, minibus, coaches.

RII.A MONASTERY was founded in the l0th century by the Bulgarian monk St. John of Rila and was rebuilt in the l3th -l4th century. From that time are the fortress tower (1334), the bishop's throne, richly carved doors and some manuscripts, icon-paintings and church plates. In the l5th century, when Bulgaria fell to the Ottoman Turks, the monastery was abandoned for a short time but in the second half of the same century it was restored to a new life. Later it was for several times plundered and ravaged. Its thorough renovation began in the early l9th century. It was then that the residential wings and the church of the Holy Virgin were raised (1834-1837). The Rila Monastery has been listed as a world monument of culture. In it there is a well-appointed museum.

2 - ROZHEN MONASTERY

The Rozhen monastery is the biggest sanctuary in the Pirin region and one of the few Bulgarian monasteries of the Middle Ages, which has survived relatively intact up to present days. According to annals kept in Atone, Greece, the monastery dates back at least to 890 AC – for comparison, the biggest monastery in Bulgaria, the Rila monastery, is believed to have started functioning in 917 AC. The church of the monastery, named St Birth of Virgin Mary, later gave its name to the nearby village of Rozhen (Rozhen coming from the root of the Bulgarian word for birth, ‘Rozhdenie’). During the rule of Despot Aleksii Slav, governor of the region at the time of Tzar Kaloyan (1197-1207) and Kaloyan’s nephew, the monastery’s complex was enriched with a number of buildings. The monastery was destroyed by fire in the early 17th century, but was rebuilt in the beginning of the 18th century with the financial support of wealthy Bulgarians from all over the country. The reconstruction started in 1715, with the church having been entirely renovated in 1732. The monastery saw its apogee in the 19th century when it served as a regional spiritual centre and had numerous real estate holdings in the surrounding area. The end of the monastery’s heyday was put by a famous local revolutionary, Yane Sandanski, who together with his relatives seized real estate properties of the monastery. Nowadays, the monastery is well maintained and open to visitors all around the year. The monastery’s holiday is on September 8, when people from all over the area gather to take part in the celebrations.

The monastery has an irregular 6-angle form, with residential buildings surrounding a beautiful yard with the church lying in the centre of it. All the monastery’s buildings were constructed in different periods, with the monks’ dining room, the bone-vault and several farm buildings being the oldest ones, dating back to the period before the fire in the 17th century. Besides well preserved wall paintings, the monastery is famous for its stained glass (the oldest of its type preserved till present days) and unique woodcarvings. As other monasteries, the Rozhen one also has its miraculous icon-protector, of Virgin Mary, which is kept in an ark in one of the chapels of the complex. According to the legend, the icon is one of the few copies of a sacred iron, owned by a widow of Nikea (Greece). During the times of the Byzantine’s emperor Theophilus, famous for his persecution of icon worship, the widow threw the icon in the waters in order to avoid its being destroyed by the emperor. The icon did not sink but sailed for years, until in 999 it reached the gates of the Iviron monastery in Greece.

"Rozhdestvo Bogorodichno" is to be found 6 km east of Melnik. It is built in 1220 in the place of ancient pagan consecrated ground by despot Aleksiy Slav. In 14 – 17 c. it is a spiritual cultural and literary centre; a calligraphic school works here. During the years of Ottoman rule the monastery is turned into a cloister of Iver Svetogorski monastery (till 1912). Present day buildings date back to 18 and the beginning of 19 c. The outline of the yard is irregular, enclosed by the monastery wings and to the east (at the main entrance) – by a high wall. The southern wing is the oldest. The ground floor houses wine cellars and warehouses, and the main floor – cells, cook-house, the living quarters of Father Superior and refectory. The northern wing is built on donations by the craft-guild of Melnik and in times of danger the population found refuge here. Three-nave monastery church "Rozhdestvo Bogorodichno" is renovated and extensively painted in 1732, and later an older painting layer was uncovered dating back to 1597. The oldest paintings can be found in the monastery bone-vault built and painted in 1662. The monastery is remarkable for its wood-carved iconostases. The small iconostasis in the dema is a masterpiece of Bulgarian fretwork art. Stained glass paintings on the windows dating back to 1715 are a unique find for Bulgarian from that period. Rozhen monastery is one of the most worthy monuments of Revival religious construction in Southwestern Bulgaria. Close by one can see the grave of Yane Sandanski who often found refuge In the monastery, and also "Sveti Sveti Cyril i Methodius" cathedral.

3 - BACHKOVO MONASTERY

Bachkovo Monastery is located on the right bank of the Chepelare river (Chaya), above the Plovdiv-Smolyan road, 29 km away from Plovdiv, 89 km away from Sofia and 10 km away from Assenovgrad, it is not far from Pamporovo mountain resort. This is the second in size and importance monastery in Bulgaria - a real Holy Cloister. A prominent Byzantine statesman, of Georgian origin, founded it in 1083. It does not look the same as it was when established because it was destroyed by fire more than once and then restored. The only part that has survived from its original structure is the charnel house with an interesting architectural design. Another building, which has survived, is the church "Saint Archangels" dating back to the 121" century, the ground floor of which was painted by Zachari Zograf and his students in the year 1841. Unique frescoes were discovered in the dining room of the monastery featuring ancient philosophers and writers. The cathedral church of the Virgin Mary (dating from 1604) is the place where a most valuable icon of the Virgin Mary Eleusa, dated from 1310 is kept (brought from Georgia). The museum of the Monastery has a rich exhibition of church plate, icons, books, the sword of Friedrich Barbarosa, the Crusader, the Sultan's firman from 1452, the wood carved cross with miniatures.

4 - SHIPKA MONASTERY

Part and parcel of our history is the Shipka Monastery, a symbol of an epoch-making event for Bulgaria - her Liberation from Ottoman rule, the final outcome of the 1877/78 Russo-Turkish War.

The monastery, together with an impressive memorial church, was erected near the town of Shipka, near Kazanluk, below the famous Shipka Pass in the Balkan Range, where inthe summer of 1877 the Russian troops and Bulgarian volunteers achieved the break-through which brought about the victoious outcome of the war.

The means for its construction, which began in 1896 and was compleated six years later, were provided by the Russian and the Bulgarian people.

The Shipka Monastery is one of its exquisite, and at the same time monumental, "editions".Solemn elegance is also emanated by the carved and gilded iconostasis.

It stands by no means esranged in the overall panorama of Bulgarian monasteries. Just like them, it is more than just a place of worship.

5 - TROYAN MONASTERY "ST. HOLY VIRGIN" and Oreshak

The Troyan Monastery, is known above all for the creative work of Zahari Zograph who painted both the exterior and the interior (a rare practice for the time) of the main church built in 1835, 7 km from the town of Troyan. It is a fine example of the impact of the popular conception of the world and the influence of housing architecture on religious construction. Here, Zahari Zograph repeated the social and moral <> in religious painting (the compositions Doomsday and the Wheel of Life), left his second self-portrait signed with amazing self confidence in spite of the Ottoman bondage, and painted the figures of Bulgarian and Russian saints. Besides, he painted a completely secular group portrait of the monastic brotherhood in the refectory - something highly unusual for the time.

A chronicle dates back the foundation of the monastery in the year 1600; nothing but the throne stone of the church remains from the time. The Troyan Monastery belongs completely to the Bulgarian National Revival period. Eminent men of letters worked here during the mid-18th century, and a School was also founded. The patriotic mission turned into a tradition. In 1872, Vassil Levski set up here a secret revolutionary committee, which was joined by all the monks headed by the Father Superior Macarius. Four years later, the monastery became a citadel of the 1876 April Uprising.

Fortunately, mast of the great works of old and National Revival art have survived. The iconostasis of the main church made in 1839 is a masterpiece of woodcarving. Amazing in its originality, is the much earlier (1794) carving of the holy altar gates in the St. Nikola Chapel. The icons introduce us once again to the best known National Revival artists: the Samoltovians Dimiter Zograph and Nikola Obrazopissov. Tryavna's Simeon Tsonyuv, Dossyu Koyuv, Koyu Tsenyuv, Theodossius Koyuv Vitanov. Particularly valuable among the multitude of manuscripts and incunabula are the so-called Troyan Homilies of the 17th century. The monastery's <> in which fine graphic works, including many landscapes, were made, was widely known.

6 - DRYANOVO MONASTERY

Dryanovo monastery - the complex Dryanovo monastery - the church

The historical Dryanovo monastery, St Archangel Michael, is situated about 4km away from Dryanovo in the picturesque gorge of the Dryanovo river where limestone rocks rise high on all sides of the gorge as inapproachable forest walls. In existence as early as in the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, it was subsequently destryed and re-built on two occasions. It was restored in its present location - in the Dryanovo River gorge, 4 km away from the town of Dryanovo - in 1845. During the 1876 April Uprising an armed detachment of 200 men who, purued by the enemy, found shelter behind the walls of Dryanovo Monastery. Throughout nine days, they engaged in fierce battle before being crushed: the insurgents and monks were killed, the monastery burned to the ground. Relics of the April epopee are preserved in the monastery museum today, along with some valuable icons.

7 - ARBANASSI MONASTERY

There are two monasteries in the village of Arbanassi, 3 km from Veliko Turnovo - St. Nikola and Holy Vigin. Between the 16th century and its tragic devastation two centuries later the village - one of the wealthiest in preliberation Bulgaria, boasted a rich and unusual house architecture, the work of skilled masters from different parts of the country. St. Nikola Monastery was part of the widespread religious construction under the Assen dynasty, the founders of the Second Bulgarian State.

Its artistic and historical value lies above all in the surviving murals in the St. Elija Chapel, probably dating from 1716: a monumental figure of Christ the Great Archangel, 12 scenes from the Holy Akathistos, and 6 scenes from the life of Christ. The effective colouring and rich palette, the confidence in the portrayal of the human figures, the unusually varied architectural decoration reveal the hand of a master from a superior and more erudite school.

The filigree wooden iconostasis in the chapel, with its delicate and exquisite decorations, is valuable treasure. Though situated inthe same village, the Holy Virgin Monastery suffered a different, though no less tragic fate. It is not known how it survived the attacks in 1393. What has remained of them warrants the assumption that they, too were painted by travelling artists - highly paid at the time, but quite affordable by the wealthy inhabitants of the village of Arbanassi.

8 - SOKOLOVO MONASTERY

Sokolski Monastery - the complex

Sokolovo Monastery was founded in 1832-1833 by archbishop Yosiph of Sokolovo and hieromonk Agapi. In 1834 the main church was built with the financial aid of donors from the villages of Etura and Nova Mahala. The residential Nsrings were consecutively erected between 1836 and the late l9th century. Of greatest interest is the guest-room with the gateway dating from 1836. The ossuary and the adjacent plastic fence were raised in 1860. The monastery fountain with falcons chiselled out in the corners goes back to 1868. A fire burnt the western wing of the monastery but it was restored in 1981-1982.

9 - Aladzha Monastery

General Info for Aladzha Monastery

Location: The Aladzha rock monastery is situated only a few kilometers south of the Riviera Holiday Club and Zlatni Pyasatsi (Golden Sands) resorts and is also a part of the Zlatni Pyasatsi natural park. The distance to Varna is 16 km.

History and General Info: The name of Aladzha monastery comes from the Turkish word for colourful ("aladzha") due most probably to the bright colours of its wall paintings, dating back to the early Middle Ages. The monk's cells, common rooms and sanctuaries, dug directly into the limestone rock and situated on two levels high above the ground, were connected via an external staircase. The lower floor hosted the monks' private cells, common rooms (i.e. kitchen, dining room) and a small church, while the upper level was dedicated entirely to a chapel. According to some historians, primitive monks' cells were built and inhabited already in the 4th century AC. The entire monastery is considered to date back to the 12th century AC. Unfortunately, nowadays only few of the frescoes are preserved (most of these to be found in the chapel) but the experience of visiting a monastery dug high above the ground into a steep rock is unforgettable. The monastery is declared a cultural sight and houses a small museum. Less than a kilometer away from the Aladzha Monastery, one can find a similar monastery complex, called Katakombite (The Catacombs). Katakombite has an origin and history similar to those of the Aladzha Monastery, though its remains are far less preserved.

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