Troyan Monastery
Encyclopedia
The Monastery of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God or, as it is more commonly called, the Troyan Monastery is the third largest monastery in Bulgaria
. It is located in the northern part of the country in the Balkan mountains
and was founded no later than the end of the 16th century.
The monastery is situated on the banks of the Cherni Osam near Oreshak
, a village 10 km from Troyan
in Lovech Province
, and is a popular tourist destination.
The main church of the monastery was reconstructed near the end of Ottoman rule during the Bulgarian National Revival
period by a master-builder called Konstantin in 1835. The ornate interior and exterior of the church were painted between 1847 and 1849 by Zahari Zograph, a popular Bulgarian painter of the time, who also painted the central church of the Rila Monastery
, the largest monastery in Bulgaria. Many of the "moral and social experiments" of art at the time such as Doomsday and Wheel of Life were reproduced at Troyan. One highly controversial move by Zograph was to paint his image around one of the windows in the back of the church.
The iconostasis
in the central church is a wood carving dating to 1839.
The Troyan Monastery is also, since the 17th century, the home of one of the holiest icons in Bulgarian Orthodoxy
, the Three-Handed Virgin.
Many people make a pilgrimage to this monastery on St. George's Day because of an icon of St. George in the main church.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. It is located in the northern part of the country in the Balkan mountains
Balkan Mountains
The Balkan mountain range is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. The Balkan range runs 560 km from the Vrashka Chuka Peak on the border between Bulgaria and eastern Serbia eastward through central Bulgaria to Cape Emine on the Black Sea...
and was founded no later than the end of the 16th century.
The monastery is situated on the banks of the Cherni Osam near Oreshak
Oreshak
Oreshak is a village, situated in the middle part of the Balkan Mountains in Troyan Municipality, Lovech Province, Bulgaria. There is a famous ethnographic complex very close to the Troyan Monastery — one of the biggest monasteries in Bulgaria. In 2005, the village had a population of 2,306...
, a village 10 km from Troyan
Troyan
Troyan is a town in Lovech Province in central Bulgaria with population of 21,997 inhabitants, as of December 2009,. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Troyan Municipality. The town is about 160 km away from the country capital Sofia. The nearest civilian airport is Gorna...
in Lovech Province
Lovech Province
Lovech Province is one of the 28 provinces of Bulgaria, lying at the northern centre of the country. It is named after its main city - Lovech. As of December 2009, the population of the area is 151,153.-Municipalities:...
, and is a popular tourist destination.
The main church of the monastery was reconstructed near the end of Ottoman rule during the Bulgarian National Revival
Bulgarian National Revival
The Bulgarian National Revival , sometimes called the Bulgarian Renaissance, was a period of socio-economic development and national integration among Bulgarian people under Ottoman rule...
period by a master-builder called Konstantin in 1835. The ornate interior and exterior of the church were painted between 1847 and 1849 by Zahari Zograph, a popular Bulgarian painter of the time, who also painted the central church of the Rila Monastery
Rila Monastery
The Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila, better known as the Rila Monastery is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is situated in the southwestern Rila Mountains, south of the capital Sofia in the deep valley of the Rilska River at an elevation of above sea level...
, the largest monastery in Bulgaria. Many of the "moral and social experiments" of art at the time such as Doomsday and Wheel of Life were reproduced at Troyan. One highly controversial move by Zograph was to paint his image around one of the windows in the back of the church.
The iconostasis
Iconostasis
In Eastern Christianity an iconostasis is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a church. Iconostasis also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere within a church...
in the central church is a wood carving dating to 1839.
The Troyan Monastery is also, since the 17th century, the home of one of the holiest icons in Bulgarian Orthodoxy
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6.5 million members in the Republic of Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2.0 million members in a number of European countries, the Americas and Australia...
, the Three-Handed Virgin.
Many people make a pilgrimage to this monastery on St. George's Day because of an icon of St. George in the main church.