Rila Monastery: a shrine, a centre of learning and a refuge for revolutionaries

The monastery in earlier times

The Monastery of St Ivan Rilski was built in the Rila Mountains in the 10th century. At the beginning of the 14th century a defensive tower was erected on its grounds — today it is the oldest surviving building in the complex. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries the monastery suffered several raids and fires, after which it was rebuilt. So the elegant striped buildings with their graceful arches are, in historical terms, quite new — many of them are not yet 200 years old.

The monastery has five floors in all, one of which is hidden underground, since the Ottoman authorities strictly ensured that Christian churches and monasteries were not too tall.

The lower floor houses the museum today.

From the moment of its founding the monastery was a centre of culture and learning. During the years of Ottoman rule Bulgarian culture was carefully preserved here. In the period of the Bulgarian Revival, Neofit Rilski founded a cell school here. The monastery also gave shelter to many great Bulgarian freedom fighters, and congresses of revolutionary organisations were held here.

Useful information

• Today the monastery is recognised as a cultural monument. It is open to visitors daily from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• The monastery museum’s collection holds about 35 thousand exhibits — icons, religious objects and items of monastic daily life. The pride of the museum is the cross of Father Rafail, covered with the most intricate carving. Its creator worked on it for 12 years, until he lost his sight.
• Photography is prohibited in the monastery museum and in the church. Tourists can take souvenir photos in the monastery courtyard.
• Admission to the Church History Museum costs 8 leva for adults and 1 lev for children; a family ticket is 6 leva for two adults + one lev for each child.
• A visit to the Ethnographic Museum, the tower and the monastery farm costs adults 5 leva and students 1 lev; a family ticket is 6 leva for two adults + one lev for each child.
• There are car and bus parking areas in front of the monastery gates.
• Tourists are offered overnight accommodation at the monastery.
• About 4 km from the monastery there is a church, and behind it a cave that was once the refuge of St Ivan Rilski. You can reach it through a narrow passage between the rock and the church building.

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