Sofia Small Holy Mountain presented in new tourist and cultural route

published on 10/4/12 12:28 PM

The church of Lozen Monastery

Photo: ВТА

The monasteries from the Sofia Mala Sveta Gora community or Small Holy Mountain may turn again into places for tourist pilgrimage. Those medieval spiritual centers, situated around the capital city gain more and more popularity due to the Small Holy Mountain – Hidden Spirit of Sofia project that is implemented by the Association of Bulgarian Media around the Globe. A guide book has been recently printed within the frameworks of the project, presenting in English the history and architecture of the Sofia Small Holy Mountain with an idea the information to reach more people around the world. 27 paths of the route have already been marked with the support of Sofia Municipality and those are ready to take all spiritual connoisseurs to the holy places. The initiative upholds Sofia’s application for European Capital of Culture 2019.

The frescoes of Bistritsa Monastery church

The monastery complex with the ancient name of Sredetz Holy Mountain was most likely built up during the era of the Second Bulgarian Empire in the period 1185 – 1417. It seized 14 monasteries and the most visited ones nowadays are the Boyana St. Panteleymon, the Gherman St. Ivan Rilski, the Dragalevski Virgin Mary of Vitosha and the Lozen St. Spas. The Bistritsa St. George Monastery used to head the community. However, there were many other monasteries around ancient Sredetz /Sofia/ and the parallel with Greek Mount Athos makes sense, since the spiritual centers in the region were more than 100 before the 1382 Ottoman invasion.

The interior of the Kremikovtsi Monastery church

Nowadays 57 out of a total of 161 acting monasteries in Bulgaria are situated on the territory of the Sofia spiritual district. The Kremikovtsi St. George the Victorious Monastery is the most distinguished among those, since it used to be a center of spirituality and enlightenment through the Medieval Ages. The murals preserved in the old monastery church do touch with their authenticity and the scenes depicted from the lives of the saints. The preserved manuscript of the Kremikovtsi gospel from 1497 can be seen there too.

Klisourski Monastery

Many of the monasteries were ruined during the Ottoman rule. Despite all this the holy places, blessed with wonderful and healing nature continue to remind of themselves today either. Even if parts of those are hidden beneath the surface of the earth they reveal one after another the legends of their creation. Most of them are related to wonders and hundreds of testimonies on miraculous healings. For instance the Obradovo St. Mina Monastery near the Benkovski neighborhood in Sofia attracts many people in pain and suffering ones from all over the country. The miraculous icon of the saint helps women to have a baby and single people to find their match. That is why long queues test the faith of pilgrims in festive days, when hundreds of people wait patiently to enter the monastery.

Gorna Banya Monastery

Unfortunately not all monasteries from the Sredetz Small Holy Mountain enjoy such popularity. Many of those are forgotten, along with the unique murals of the ancient masters. That is why Sofia Municipality took over the difficult task to restore at least some of those. A restoration of icons takes place currently under its leadership in the Gherman monastery, along with a repair of the roof of the Kremikovtsi Monastery. Funding has been provided for repairs at the Seslavski Monastery and excavations around the Urvich fortress kicked off on October 1, along with ones taking place around the antique church of the St. Nicholas Monastery that is also a part of the Sredetz Small Holy Mountain.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev

По публикацията работи: Darina Grigorova

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Sofia Small Holy Mountain presented in new tourist and cultural route

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