2. The Monastery of Saint Ivan 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 southwestern Rila Mountains, 117 km (73 mi) south of the
capital Sofia in the deep valley of the Rilska River at an
elevation of 1,147 m (3,763 ft) above sea level. The monastery is
named after the famous Bulgaria saint and hermit Ivan of Rila.
Founded in the 10th century, the Rila Monastery is regarded as one
of Bulgaria's most important cultural, historical and architectural
monuments and it is a key tourist attraction for both Bulgaria and
Southeastern Europe as a whole. The monastery is depicted on
thereverse of the Bulgarian 1 lev banknote, issued in 1999. 3. It
is traditionally thought that the monastery was founded by the
hermit St. Ivan of Rila, whose name it bears, during the rule of
Tsar Peter I (927-968). The hermit actually lived in a cave without
any material possessions not far from the monastery's location,
while the complex was built by his students, who came to the
mountains to receive their education. 4. Ever since its creation,
the Rila Monastery has been supported and respected by the
Bulgarian rulers. Large donations were made by almost every tsar of
the Second Bulgarian Empire up until the Ottoman Conquest, making
the monastery a cultural and spiritual centre of Bulgarian national
consciousness that reached its apogee from the 12th to the 14th
century. 5. Architecture 6. The whole complex occupies an area of
8,800 m and is rectangular in form, centred around the inner yard
(3,200 m), where the tower and the main church are situated. 7. The
main church of the monastery was erected in the middle of the 19th
century. Its architect is Pavel Ioanov, who worked on it from 1834
to 1837. The church has five domes, three altars and two side
chapels, while one of the most precious items inside is the
gold-plated iconostasis, famous for itswood-carving, the creation
of which took five years to four handicraftsmen. 8. The museum of
the Rila Monastery is particularly famous for housing Rafail's
Cross, a wooden cross made from a whole piece of wood (8143 cm). It
was whittled down by a monk named Rafail using fine burins and
magnifying lenses to recreate 104 religious scenes and 650
miniature figures. 9. Aleksandra abdzka Marta Gbur Kl.1F
