Rila Monastery
The yard of Rila Monastery
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| Monastery information | |
|---|---|
| Order | Eastern Orthodox |
| Established | 927 |
| People | |
| Founder(s) | Saint Ivan of Rila |
| Site | |
| Location | Rila Mountains, Bulgaria |
| Coordinates | 42°08′00″N 23°20′25″E / 42.13333°N 23.34028°ECoordinates: 42°08′00″N 23°20′25″E / 42.13333°N 23.34028°E |
| Official name | Rila Monastery |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | vi |
| Designated | 1983 (7th session) |
| Reference no. | 216 |
| State Party | Bulgaria |
| Region | Europe and North America |
The Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila, better known as the Rila Monastery (Bulgarian: Рилски манастир, Rilski manastir) 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 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 today houses around 60 monks.
Founded in the 10th century, the Rila Monastery is regarded as one of Bulgaria's most important cultural, historical and architectural monuments and is a key tourist attraction for both Bulgaria and Southern Europe. In 2008 alone, it attracted 900,000 visitors. The monastery is depicted on the reverse of the 1 lev banknote, issued in 1999.
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 (927-968). The hermit actually lived in a cave without any material possessions not far from the monastery's location, while the complex was built by his students, who came to the mountains to receive their education.
Ever since its creation, the Rila Monastery has been supported and respected by the Bulgarian rulers. Large donations were made by almost every tsar of the Second Bulgarian Empire up until the Ottoman Conquest, making the monastery a cultural and spiritual centre of Bulgarian national consciousness that reached its apogee from the 12th to the 14th century.
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