Editor Pick
Preobrazhenski Monastery
- August 21, 2000
- Rated 4 of 5 by
Amanda from London, United Kingdom
It's set on a steep hill, in splendid isolation. As a result, it isn't the easiest place to get to. We got a bus from town, that stops in the village nearest the monastery, Gorna Oryahovitsa. From there, get out your hiking boots. It isn't a long walk, only just over a mile, but it is pretty steep, and heavily wooded.
Once you make it to the monastery, you won't mind the climbing! You'll probably appreciate the place all the more because of the effort to get here!
If you are here in summer, it can be pretty hot, and it would therefore be a good idea to set off early and take a good sized water bottle with you.
The site had 2 sets of buildings. The first, at the south of the site, is the monastery which dates from the 1380s. This is now in ruins, having been demolished and set fire to by invading Turks. Its replacement, built in the early 19th century, is a grand affair. The icons are impressive - the obligatory mother and child encased in gilt is one of the best we saw in Bulgaria.
From journal Veliko Tarnovo - medieval Bulgaria