Bachkovo Monastery
Bachkovo Monastery is one of Bulgaria’s revered Orthodox shrines, located in the Rhodope Mountains region. The monastery is famous for its harmonious combination of Bulgarian, Georgian and Byzantine cultures and is listed as one of the most famous cultural and historical monuments in Bulgaria. The Bachkovo Monastery is popular not only with pilgrims, but also with tourists. Thousands of travelers come here all year round.
Video: Bachkovo Monastery
General Information
The abode, dedicated to the Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, appeared in 1083 and for centuries played the role of an important cultural and religious center of the country. The stone crypt, located 300 meters away from the later buildings, has survived from those distant times. The oldest surviving building is the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, erected in 1604. Here there is an icon of Our Lady “Pacification” revered by believers, to which many pilgrims come.
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In the Baczkowski Monastery there is also the Church of the Holy Archangel. In it you can see beautiful frescoes created by the famous master of icon painting Zacharias Christoph Zograf (1810-1853). It is known that the talented Bulgarian artist together with his pupils painted two temples in the monastery – Archangel and St. Nicholas.
.The monastery has a museum with ancient books, manuscripts and a large collection of icons. It also keeps a sword, which was owned by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. The doors of the museum are open to the public from 9.00 to 17.00.
.Those who wish to come with an overnight stay can stay at the monastery hotel. During the year there are always free places in it, but in summer, when the flow of tourists increases, rooms are recommended to book in advance. Several restaurants and souvenir shops are open in the vicinity of the Baczkowski Monastery.
.History of Baczkowski Monastery
The founders of the Bachkovo Monastery are considered to be the Byzantine commander Grigori Bakuriani and his brother Abasius. Bakuriani wrote the monastery’s Typikos by his own hand, and he did it in three languages at once – Georgian, Armenian and Greek. According to the statute, the Bachkovo monastery was inhabited exclusively by Iberian, i.e. Georgian, monks, and church services were conducted in Georgian.
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Later the monastery began to receive Bulgarian and Greek monks. After the seizure of the country, the Turks imprisoned here the patriarch of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom Euthymius of Tarnovo. Within the walls of the monastery the patriarch and his disciples wrote books.
In the 15th century, the Turks looted and almost completely destroyed the Christian shrine. The restoration of the monastery took a long time. Only at the beginning of the XVII century it got a new temple, the ancient frescoes were restored..
How to get there
Bachkovo Monastery is 189 km from Sofia, 30 km from Plovdiv and 10 km from Asenovgrad. It is located near the road that leads from Plovdiv to Smolyan (highway No. 86). The monastery territory starts 1 km south of the village of Bachkovo.
.Most tourists come here by tour buses. Those who want to get here on their own, from Sofia by bus come to Dupnitsy. From here, shuttle buses run twice a day to the Bachkovo Monastery.
