Rila Monastery in Bulgaria

16 May 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

Main church 'Nativity of the Virgin Mother' © Daniel Petrov/cc-by-sa-4.0

Main church ‘Nativity of the Virgin Mother’ © Daniel Petrov/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Monastery of Saint John of Rila, also known as Rila Monastery “Sveti Ivan Rilski”, 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 (“Rila River”) at an elevation of 1,147 m (3,763 ft) above sea level, inside of Rila Monastery Nature Park. The monastery is named after its founder, the hermit Ivan of Rila (876 – 946 AD), and houses around 60 monks.   read more…

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