Monasteries in Bulgaria - page 3

The Eleshnitsa monastery is among those in the Sofia region that had an active spiritual and cultural life in the past. It is believed that is was founded in the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th c. It is situated on the southern slopes of the Balkan Mountains, along the River Yakovshtitsa, which springs from Peak Mourgash.The church still preserved today dates back to the period when the Turkish authorities put restrictions on the construction of religious buildings. It has a modest structure. In the beginning the church was a rectangular naos and in the middle of the 17th c an al ... more

The Kremikovtsi monastery is situated on the southern slopes of the Balkan Mountains and can be seen from the Sofia plain. It is believed that it was founded in the 14th c on the order of King Ivan Alexander, together with 14 monasteries in the region of Sofia.There are data about its existence from the 15th c (according to the inscriptions on the mural paintings) when was built and renovated the church ,,St. George", preserved to this day. In 1493 the local dignitary Radivoy ordered the paintings in the church in connection with the death of his children. Particularly interesting is the famil ... more

The monastery is near the city of Sofia in the slopes of Lozen Mountain, under peak Polovrak and at about 3 km off the village of Dolni Lozen.According to the legend, it originated in the 13th c and was destroyed in 1382 when the Turks conquered the Urvich fortress and Sofia. It remained deserted for a long time and was restored in the 17th c for which there are written data (from 1671 and 1694). It turned into a spiritual centre of the region but was destroyed again.For the last time the monastery was restored in 1821 when the present church was built - one-nave, one-apse church with an elong ... more

The Dragalevtsi monastery is situated in the foot of the northern slope of the Vitosha Mountain, close to the former Dragalevtsi village. It was founded round 1345 by King Ivan Alexander. To consolidate the status of the monastery, Ivan Shishman issued the so called Vitosha Charter in 1378 donating land and giving privileges to the monastery. The church built during that period has survived. It is a modest building with a prolonged naos, an apse and a narthex and is a typical example of the small boyar churches built at that time in Sofia and the region. Soon the monastery became rich and famo ... more

The monastery is situated next to the town of Zemen, at about 40 km south of Sofia.During the Second Bulgarian State (1186-1396) it was part of the mediaeval fortress Zemenrad. It is first mentioned in 1189. Researchers date the main church to the end of the 11th c and the beginning of the 12th c. In 1970-1974 were discovered remains of mural paintings which confirmed that the monastery had existed at that time.At the time when the Velbuzd Principality was ruled by the boyar Deyan (second half of 14th c) the church was renovated and painted again. This is proved by the donor's inscription and ... more

The Boboshevo monastery is situated in the foot of Ruen Mountain, a few kilometers above the village of Boboshevo. It is believed that it has existed since the 9th c when Ivan Rilski became a monk in it and received his initial schooling. Passing through the turns of time, the monastery is preserved and is among the oldest in the country.Naturally the patron of the monastery is St. Dimiter - a saint-warrior, one of the most respected Orthodox saints connected with Bulgaria's struggle for freedom as early as the uprising against the Byzantines in 1186. Probably the monastery was destroyed durin ... more

The monastery is situated in the south-most part of Bulgaria in a region of exotic beauty and centuries of history. Their backgrounds are the bluish silhouettes of the peaks of Pirin Mountain and the mysterious sandy pyramids of Melnik. It stands at 1 km off the village of Rozhen and 6 km off the town of Melnik.It is believed that it was founded in the 13th c when the region was ruled by the mighty boyar Alexiy Slav but there are no historical data about that. The monastery is mentioned in an addition to a manuscript from the 13th and 14th c. We don't know what happened after the invasion of t ... more

The rock monastery ,,Holy Trinity", called by the population ,,Aladzha" (which means multicoloured in Turkish), is situated at 14 km off the city of Varna and 2 km off the ,,Golden sands" resort. It consists of numerous natural dwellings or such cut in by man in the vertical rock. They were used for living and as temples by hermit monks. The dwellings are connected by narrow passages, paths or stairs cut into the rock. This kind of rock dwellings is extremely unusual for the contemporary people and provokes real amazement among the visitors.The spot was populated in prehistoric times and in an ... more