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| Written by Milen Mihaylov | |
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Rila Monastery
Rila Monastery is regarded as one of Bulgaria's most important cultural, historical and architectural monuments. It is on account of this also a key tourist attraction in Bulgaria and Southeastern Europe as a whole. The monastery was declared a national historical monument in 1976, while in 1983 it was inscribed in UNESCO’s list of world heritage.
The Monastery of Saint John of Rila, better known as the Rila Monastery (Bulgarian: Rilski manastir) is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is situated in the northwestern Rila Mountains, 117 km south of the capital Sofia in the deep valley of the Rilska River at an elevation of 1,147 m above sea level.
The monastery is believed to have been founded by a hermit, John of Rila, in the 10th century, during the reign of the Bulgarian Tzar Peter (927-968). St John of Rila, whose relics are exhibited for pilgrims in the main church, in fact lived in a cave about half-an-hour walk away from the present-day monastery complex. The monastery itself is considered to have been built by his scholars.
The monastery has enjoyed great respect and privileges ever since it was established. All the Bulgarian tzars(kings) made generous donations to the monastery. By the end of 14th century, the Rila Monastery had turned into a powerful feudal entity with many villages, lands and properties. Tsar Shishman alone, the last Bulgarian ruler, donated it over twenty villages in different districts. The official support helped the monastery grow into a cultural and religious centre of that time. In the 12-14th centuries the monastery was in its prime. Its upsurge was broken only by the arrival of the Ottomans in the end of the 14th century, which was followed by destruction of the complex in the mid-15th century.
During the second half of 15th century the Rila Monastery was revived with the assistance of the Russian Orthodox Church, which gave donations in the form of books, money, and church accessories. The national Renaissance period of the 18th and 19th centuries gave a further impetus to the recovery of the monastery. At that time, the complex was reconstructed and renovated with donations of wealthy Bulgarians from all over the country (Koprivshtitsa, Teteven, Chirpan, Stara Zagora, Samokov, Sofia).
The donations received from all parts of the country represent a very rich ethnographic collection - a national collection of works of arts and crafts. Retaining the names of the donors and the exact date of donation, they represent an original chronicle of the national consciousness, of those pure patriotic feelings and hopes which were inspired throughout centuries in every Bulgarian by the Rila Monastery - the country's largest spiritual and cultural temple.
The present-day look of the monastery dates back to the 19th century. The residential buildings, which form a closed irregular quadrangle, started in 1816. In the middle of the inner courtyard rises the oldest building of the complex - an impressive stone tower, built by the local feudal Sebastocrator Hrelyu in 1334-1335. A small church, which is just a few years younger (1343) stands next to the tower. In more recent times, a belfry was added to the tower (1844). Around that time, the monastery’s main church, “the Nativity of the Virgin”, was built as well. It was built by “protomaster” Pavel Ivanovich (May 1, 1834 – October 26, 1837), which is testified by a marble plaque, inserted into the cornice of the open gallery above the entrance of the church. The church is a 5-domed one with three altar niches and two side chapels. One of the biggest valuables of the church is its wooden iconostasis with azure fretwork. The wall paintings, finished in 1846, were made by many artists, but it was only the famous Zahari Zograf (whose work can be still seen in quite a few monasteries nowadays) who signed below his works. Besides, the monastery treasures a number of valuable icons painted in the 14th -19th centuries.
The entire complex is quite impressive for its size. The 4-floor residential part consists of no less than 300 monks’ cells, 4 chapels, an abbot’s room, a kitchen, a library and guestrooms for donors. The kitchen is particularly interesting for its really huge cooking vessels. The exterior of the monastery is no less intriguing for its high and severe stone walls (reaching 4 floors and even more at some places) cut through by small windows.
Once in the complex, it is worth visiting the monastery’s museum, which hosts a unique work of art, namely The Raphael’s Cross. The cross is made of a whole piece of wood (81cm x 43cm) and is named after its creator. The monk used fine chisels, small knives and magnifying lens to carve 104 religious scenes and 650 small figures into the cross. The cross was finished in 1802 after the monk worked on it for no less than 12 years, losing his sight upon completion.
Transfiguration Monastery
Preobrazhenski Monastery (the Monastery of the Transfiguration — Preobrazhenie) is the biggest of the monasteries around Veliko Tarnovo and the fourth largest in the country. It lies at a distance of 7 km from Veliko Tarnovo city, on the left side of the Yantra River in the wooded gorge of Derventa, below the caves in the cliffs which surround the Belyakovo Plateau. It was founded in the 14th century with the financial support of Tsar Ivan Alexander. When Bulgaria fell under Turkish yoke, the monastery was burnt to ashes. Centuries had to pass before life was reinstated here, on the top of the ruins. The monastery started its second existence only in 1825. A part of the building and the Holy Virgin Church were erected - a revival of the late 14th century Athos type of architecture, an absolute exception from the ideas and construction principles of the National Revival period. The principal Church of the Transfiguration of Our Lord was begun in 1834 by Master Builder Dimiter Sofialiyata, who took part in Velcho's Conspiracy (1835), and after he was hung it was completed by Master Kolyu Ficheto who continued the work of building the monastery. He created one of the supreme examples of Bulgarian Baroque - a cruciform, three – apsidal and domeshaped building. The mural paintings in the Church of the Transfiguration of Our Lord were painted by Zahari Zograph, the Samokov icon painter, in 1849 — 1851. He also painted the large icons of the iconostasis. He left his signature in the lower right-hand corner of the church icons of The Transfiguration, and painted his self-portrait in the north-western angle of the women's section, next to those of SS. Cyril and Methodius. "The wheel of life" is one of the most popular murals and it is painted on the outside of the church. The open-work carving of the royal altar gates is particularly beautiful. During the Russo-Turkish War of Liberation (1877— 1878) the monastery was used to shelter an army hospital. In gratitude for its hospitality after the Liberation the Russian troops presented bells, chandeliers and liturgical books for the church to the Monastery. The Monastery possesses valuable icons, painted by the Tryavna Icon painter Papa Vitan the Younger, and Stanislav Dospevski, the Samokov icon painter, who had studied abroad at academies and was Zahari Zograph's nephew. In 1991, a gigantic boulder fell from the cliff above and broke into smaller pieces before crushing a few monastic cells. One large chunk split in two and the pieces miraculously ended up on either side of the central church. Fortunately, no one was hurt. |
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