Cave Churches in Ivanovo

Caves located in northern Bulgaria along the banks of the Rusensky Lom River began to be inhabited by monks from the 13th century. Choosing suitable caves of natural origin for life, the brothers also independently knocked out cells, chapels, churches and other premises of the monastery in the rocks. With heart work, more than 40 churches and over 300 cells for living were built.

All the caves were assembled into one complex in honor of St. Archangel Michael. The head of the cave monastery was the monk Joakim, who was later elected patriarch. In those days, these places became the center of the spiritual culture of the Bulgarian kingdom. Thanks to the active work of Joachim, cave churches in Ivanovo enjoyed the patronage of the authorities, who donated significant funds here.

Thanks to generous donations, the monastery had the opportunity to hire good masters to paint the walls and use high-quality materials. With the advent of Turkish power, the cave complex continued to exist for some time, but gradually became empty and by the 17th century became uninhabited and abandoned. To this day, several churches have been preserved, decorated with unique frescoes, some of them are open to visit, others require restoration work or are not safe to visit.

Attractions

Cave churches in Ivanovo are painted with many frescoes. The most cultural significance are frescoes of 13-14 centuries. From the moment of detection until today, the images were not restored, however, they retained the brightness of the colors. This stamina is explained by the composition of the candles that were used here, during the combustion process they covered the fresco with a kind of protective coating. The unique painting conveys the scenes of biblical life, the most outstanding of them are considered "Legging", "Refaction of Peter", "Kiss of Judah". Also on the frescoes were the donors and patrons of the monastery, its abbot and brethren.

Currently available for visiting are:

• Home Church — Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary
• Chapel of the Lord
• Hidden Church
• The church was founded by King Ivan Alexander
• Inner church

It was here that wall paintings were preserved in the best possible way. You can get to these monuments of art by the steps carved in the rocks. The whole complex is located at an altitude of more than 30 meters.

Around the cave church in Ivanovo, there is now a natural park « Rusenskiy Lom », in addition to the church, it is worth paying attention to the bird park. In Bulgaria, there are only five places where birds nest and this is one of them. The park has a beautiful nature, combining the beauty of rocks and canyons and a fast-runing river. And the church itself is included in the UNESCO Cultural Heritage List.