If there’s one thing Bulgaria is known for, it’s stunning monasteries. With over 150 ‘working’ Orthodox Christian monasteries strewn across the country, you’ll have to pick and choose which ones to include in your itinerary. So, to assist you to choose, I’ve compiled a list of what I believe are the best in Bulgaria. Each one is well worth your time.
Rila Monastery
The towering façade of Rila Monastery provides the sense of a fortress; in the past, this security was necessary because the monastery’s wealth attracted criminals, however, the monastery’s secluded location in the mountains and altitude of 3773 feet (1,150m) helped to defend it.
The monastery, which has been in this position since 1335, was damaged and destroyed during the Ottoman conquest and occupancy. However, following each setback, renovations quickly resumed. After the great fire of 1833, the Ottoman sultan enabled the monastery to be rebuilt, and the people’s generous financial offerings, together with the gifts of time and skills of many outstanding artists and artisans, culminated in the magnificent structure we see today.
One of life’s unique moments is passing through the monastery’s massive gates for the first time: the sight transforms from dreary seriousness to a carnival of colour. Behind brilliantly adorned, arcaded balconies, tiers of monks’ cells surround the vast courtyard.
The church itself is the focus of attention in the centre, with brilliantly coloured paintings under the shelter of its porch, its lavishness emphasised by the simplicity of the 14th-century tower alongside it.
Monastery of Sokolski
The much-photographed Sokolski Monastery, which was founded in 1833 and is now a nunnery, is located near Etur. The external frescoes are protected by a dome with a frilly edge that looks like a small hat. It is called after its founder, Archimandrite Yosif Sokolski, or, according to another tradition, both he and the monastery are named after the numerous falcons that nest in surrounding rock crevices: in Bulgarian, Sokol means falcon.
Kolyo Ficheto created a beautiful fountain in the courtyard with spouts styled like falcon’s heads. The entire monastery, as well as its frescoes, has just been restored.
Rozhen Monastery
This is a modest and quaint space, more like a farmhouse than a monument, and a stark contrast to the Rila. It was most likely founded by the Melnik monarch, Alexei Slav, in the late 12th or early 13th century, and has been looted and burned numerous times since then, much like the Rila. The courtyard is straightforward, with layers of cells and wooden balconies, but the contrast of stone and antique woodwork softened by vines and fruit trees is charming.
Murals from the 17th century have been painstakingly restored in the Nativity of the Virgin Church. Many of the paintings depict fishermen, evoking the region’s ties to Greece and the Aegean Sea. The most valuable item in the church is a miraculous icon of the Virgin and Child, which many visitors come to see.
Some of the cells have been furnished to offer visitors an idea of monastic life across time. The quarters are modest but vividly coloured, and there are some small elements of luxury for the more senior monks.
Monastery of Kremikovtsi
This monastery was built during the Second Bulgarian Empire on a mountainside northeast of Sofia (12th-14th century). The church was then destroyed during the Ottoman Conquest but was rebuilt in 1493 by a local nobleman named Radivoy, who dedicated it to his two children. The paintings depict one of the benefactors and his family, as well as a model of the church, as is customary. These frescoes are among the most valuable surviving examples of Bulgarian art from the 15th century.
Monastery of Glozhenski
St George the Victor’s monastery was founded in the 12th century and renovated in the 13th century, and it is still operational. It is situated in a stunning hilltop position above the village and resembles a mediaeval stronghold.
The storey goes that during the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, a Russian Prince, Georgi Glozh, was granted land by Bulgarian King Ivan Assen II and laid the foundations for the village Chiren Pazar and the first monastery, dedicated to the Transfiguration, after being expelled by the Tatars in the 13th century.
Monastery of Bachkovo
After the Rila, Bachkovo is Bulgaria’s second-largest and most important monastery. Bachkovo has a more mellow and rounded character than the Rila, with its candy-striped pillars and sparkling red tiles. Despite the visitors, a quiet and serene ambience endures, but the sheep and poultry that originally added to the main quadrangle’s rustic charm have been removed in recent years.
Grigoriy and Abasius Bakuriyani, two Georgian brothers who served as military officers in the Byzantine Empire, built the monastery in 1083. The ossuary church still has amazing interior murals from that era, some of which date from the 11th century and one of which is supposed to show Grigoriy. On a hillside slope, this historic structure stands away from the current monastery.
Despite their varying ages, the buildings’ overall harmony and beauty are outstanding. There are galleried residential facilities with open wooden verandas, guest rooms, and a beautiful refectory with murals on the inside and outside.
Monastery of Preobrazhenski
Preobrazhenski Monastery is located to the north of Veliko Turnovo. It was founded in the 14th century but was ruined and abandoned by Ottoman conquerors.
The ensemble of buildings here dates from the early 19th century when it was refounded, and it was built and embellished by both Kolyo Ficheto and Zahari Zograf.
The frescoes are worth studying because they contain fantastic morality tales: those going to Hell include thieves, traitors, adulterers, smugglers, and witches, as well as millers notorious for selling short measures and innkeepers for the same sin and for diluting wine.
The monastery is perilously situated on an eroding cliff; subsidence has caused some buildings to collapse, but the main church has thankfully remained intact.
Monastery of Troyanski
The monastery is without a doubt one of Bulgaria’s most beautiful. It was founded in the 16th century and is located 6.2 miles (10 km) southeast of Troyan. It exhibits a superb ensemble of timbered galleries, roofed with traditional local massive stone slabs, and colourful external frescoes, set in a wooded cobblestone courtyard.
There’s a lovely 19th-century church with frescoes outside and inside by well-known artists including Zahari Zograf, who has a signed self-portrait inside a window arch.