Bachkovo Monastery

One of the most popular and often visited monasteries in Bulgaria is considered to be Bachkovo Monastery, only the Rielsky Holy Monastery can compete with it. Good location and good transport accessibility is a clear advantage that attracts tourists and pilgrims.

History

Bachkovo Monastery was called so for its close location to the small village of Bachkovo. At the same time, the main temple was built in honor of the Assumption of the Mother of God. The year of the start of construction 1083, Grigory Bakuriani is considered the founder, and he wrote a charter book. Bakuriani was a governor of the Byzantine emperor, of Georgian origin. Perhaps that is why all the monks of the farmstead for a long time were just of Georgian origin and all services were conducted in their language. This order was adhered to until the 14th century, then they began to take Greek and Bulgarian brothers into the monastery.

With the arrival of Turkish conquerors on these lands, the position of the monastery worsened, now his duties included the payment of impressive taxes, in addition, the devastating raids of the robbers became frequent. This continued until the beginning of the 17th century, then Bachkovo Monastery came under the control of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. In the next centuries, the Greeks came here more and more, which over time led to the struggle between the Greek and Bulgarian monastic fraternity. The result of this resistance was the transition of the monastery to the Bulgarian Diocese, which occurred at the end of the 19th century.

Major attractions

From the old monastery, the construction of which began in the 11th century, today there is only a stone crypt-fridge. Part of the frescoes in it has been preserved since its foundation. Larger buildings date back to the 17th century, so the Holy Trinity Cathedral was erected here in 1604. In the cathedral there is the icon of the Virgin - « Humility », it is considered miraculous and deeply revered by the Orthodox.

The temple of the holy archangels of Michael and Gabriel, was built already in the early 19th century, he is famous for his internal painting, which was performed by the famous icon painter Zacharias Zohraf. The third temple on the territory of the monastery was consecrated in honor of St. Nicholas, it was built in 1963. The construction is valid, is today a baptismal temple.

Bachkovo Monastery also owns 13 chapels, most of them are located on the road from Asenovgrad. All of them are built in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. On the territory of the monastery there is a museum with an extensive collection of ancient icons. There is a library with a collection of manuscripts and ancient books. Monastery of the Assumption of the Virgin belongs to the cultural and historical monuments of Bulgaria.