Chiprovtsi Monastery

Chiprovtsi, Bulgaria

Chiprovtsi Monastery is a Bulgarian Orthodox monastery 5 kilometres northeast of the town of Chiprovtsi in Montana Province in northwestern Bulgaria. It belongs to the diocese of Vidin and lies in the valley of the Ogosta river.

According to Petar Bogdan, the monastery was built in the 10th century and remained a religious and cultural centre despite Tatar and Magyar raids in the 13th century, the Ottoman invasion in the 14th century and Michael the Brave's raids in the 16th century. The monastery has been razed six times, in 1412, 1688, 1806, 1828, 1837 and 1876, with the one of 1688 after the Chiprovtsi Uprising being particularly devastating. The current monastery church was built in 1829.

The Chiprovtsi Monastery consists of a church dedicated to Saint John of Rila, residential buildings, a small graveyard and a three-storey tower featuring an ossuary, a chapel and a belfry.

References:

Wikipedia

Address

Chiprovtsi, Bulgaria

See all sites in Chiprovtsi

Details

Founded: 10th century AD
Category: Religious sites in Bulgaria

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.6/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Lopushna Monastery (7,6 km)

Belogradchik Fortress (31,9 km)
Klisurski Monastery (32,9 km)
Ratiaria (46 km)
Castra Martis (63,4 km)
Magura Cave (45,7 km)
Castra ad Montanesium (23,1 km)

User Reviews

Sylvia Hristova (2 years ago)
Amazing place with so much history and so important form our Orthodox faith

Miroslav Sevlievski (2 years ago)
Very quiet and spectacular area. Old tradition for pilgrims. The church is very interesting. Flowers rich yard. Must see.

Antonia P (3 years ago)
First of all, this is an active monastery, not a shopping mall, so if you want to buy magnets, food or drinks, this is not a place for you. This is a place to touch history, to sit in peace and observe the beautiful nature around it. This is a place to light a candle and to say a prayer. I have visited it many times and will visit it again.

J& W (6 years ago)
Peacefull and really nice place.

Christo Nickolov (7 years ago)
The Chiprovski monastery "St Ivan Rilski" is in the Northwestern part of Bulgaria. You need to drive about 7 km to northeast of the town of Chirprovtsi to view its buildings. Actually the cloister is at 29 km on the west of the regional center, the town of Montana. It was founded in the beginning of the X-th century and it is one of the thirty monasteries from the First Bulgarian Kingdom and approved in the country the mission of Kiril and Metodi brothers who are the fathers of the Slavic Alphabet.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Photo from Flickr, copyright Zvonimir Hrvoj

Historic Site of the week

Church of St Donatus

The Church of St Donatus name refers to Donatus of Zadar, who began construction on this church in the 9th century and ended it on the northeastern part of the Roman forum. It is the largest Pre-Romanesque building in Croatia.

The beginning of the building of the church was placed to the second half of the 8th century, and it is supposed to have been completed in the 9th century. The Zadar bishop and diplomat Donat (8th and 9th centuries) is credited with the building of the church. He led the representations of the Dalmatian cities to Constantinople and Charles the Great, which is why this church bears slight resemblance to Charlemagne's court chapels, especially the one in Aachen, and also to the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. It belongs to the Pre-Romanesque architectural period.

The circular church, formerly domed, is 27 m high and is characterised by simplicity and technical primitivism.