The Rila Monastery in Bulgaria

Situated in the stunningly beautiful Rila Mountain, at a sea level of 1147 m, the Rila Monastery had always been the spiritual, educational and cultural centre of the whole Bulgarian nationality and played a very important role in the forming of the nation of Bulgaria. It’s one of the symbols of Bulgaria and tourists travelling to Bulgaria, make sure they visit it. The Rila Monastery is about 120 km away from the capital of Bulgaria – Sofia and 93 km from another favourite, among tourists, destination – Bansko.

The Monastery has a unique architecture and takes about 8800 sq.m. When looked from outside, it resembles a fortress. Due to its 24-metre stone walls, the Monastery has the shape of an irregular pentagon. Once the visitor is in, though, they are impressed by its architecture: arches and colonnades, covered wooden stairs and carved verandas…

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. The hermit actually lived in a cave without any material possessions not far from the monastery’s location. The long history of the buildings in the Rila Monastery goes back to late 10th century when the monastic community that the Rila hermit had founded put up the first buildings not far from the cave which he occupied. St. Ivan Rilski’s death was the beginning of his legendary fame as a protector of the Bulgarian people.

In the XIV century, after changing its settlement several times, the monastic community eventually settled in the fortress of Hrelyo – a feudal lord under Serbian suzerainty. The oldest building in the complex date from this period — the Tower of Hrelyo (1334–1335). It was the monastery’s fortress and also the place where monks dwelled in times of trouble. There was also a small church built next to Hrelyo’s Tower. The influence of the Monastery grows bigger and its fame spreaded far away from the borders of Bulgaria. New buildings were built to meet the needs of the already big enough monastic community.

However, the arrival of the Ottomans in the end of the 14th century was followed by numerous raids and a destruction of the monastery in the middle of the 15th century. Thanks to donations, the Rila Monastery was rebuilt in the end of the 15th century by three brothers.

The complex – the Rila Monastery, acted as a depository of the Bulgarian language and culture during the ages of foreign rule. During the time of the Bulgarian National Revival (18th-19th century), it was destroyed almost completely by fire that broke out at night. That was a national tragedy and very soon donations started arriving from the whole country. Thousands of masons, carpenters and auxiliary workers worked for the restoration of the monastery for free, without getting paid. Three Bulgarian master builders were in charge of the construction works. They were Alexi from the village of Rila, called Alexi Rilets, Milenko from the village of Radomir and Pavel from the village of Krimin. The present Rila holy cloister, as we know it today, dates back to that time – the XIX century and only the new part of the eastern wing of the monastery was built in the XX century.

Reference : http://www.enmarbg.com/travelling-to-bulgaria-rila-monastery-culture-nature/