Monasteries of Bulgaria

Monasteries of Bulgaria

Monasteries of Bulgaria have been linked with the historical fate of the Bulgarian state and its people. Since their earliest days, the monasteries developed from religious and cult institutions, into secular centers for the support and dissemination of the Slav alphabet and writings.

Besarbovo Monastery "St. Dimitrii of Basarbovo" Monastery
Photo © Kaloyan Gugalov

The first monasteries on Bulgarian lands were set up even before the establishment of the Bulgarian state on the Balkans. In the second half of the 4th century, the monks’ life got organized and it was at that time that the first cloisters appeared. The oldest of them were cut in the rocks such as Aladja monastery near Varna, the Albutinski monastery near Vidin, the Razboiste monastery near Godech, the Ivanovo monastery under the protraction of UNESCO.

The monasteries of Bulgaria are impressive and rich in architectural decorations and wall paintings. They were centers of education and medieval culture. With the fall of Bulgaria under Ottoman rule, most of these masterpieces were ruined and burned down. In spite of these vicissitudes, the monasteries of Bulgaria become centers of the national self-awareness and mainstays of faith.

Bachkovo Monastery

During the Bulgarian Renaissance – at the end of 18th and especially in the 19th century, there was a revival in the reconstruction of the monasteries and in the construction of the new ones. Most of them are preserved until present in their original form remarkable monuments of architecture, construction, woodcarving and icon painting.

Rila Monastery

The monasteries of Bulgaria are located in some of the most beautiful places, far from the stress and the vanity of everyday life, where, though for while, one can look inside his own self and search for the unity with the Holy.

Dryanovo Monastery

Among the most outstanding Bulgarian monasteries are Arbanassi monastery “St. Nikola,” Basarbovo (cut-in-the rock) monastery “St. Dimitrii of Basarbovo”, Bachkovo monastery “The Assumption”, Gabrovo (Sokolski) monastery “The Assumption”, Glojene monastery “St. Georgi the Victorious”, Dragalevtsi monastery “The Assumption”, Dryanovo monastery “St. Archangel Michaill”, Kilifarevo monastery “Virgin Mary’s nativity”, Kapinovo monastery “St. Nikola”, Rila monastery “St. Ivan Rilski”, Rojen monastery “Virgin Mary’s nativity”, Troyan monastery “The Assumption”, Cherepish monastery “The Assumption”, Shipka monastery “Nativity”.