Rozhen Monastery

The monastery florets ( Bulgarian Роженски манастир ) is the largest monastery in the vicinity of the Pirin Mountains in southwestern Bulgaria and one of the most beautiful monasteries in the country. The actual name of the monastery church is the monastery " Holy Nativity of the Virgin Mary " ( Bulgarian Свето Рождество Богородично ). The monastery florets is listed among the 100 national tourist objects in Bulgaria, which was created by the Bulgarian Tourist Office.

The monastery is located in the Bulgarian part of the landscape Macedonia and is one of the few medieval Bulgarian monasteries, which are well preserved today. Previously, the monastery was directly subordinated to the Patriarch ( Stauropegia ). Today, it is under the eparchy ( diocese ) Newrokop based in Blagoevgrad (see: Bulgarian Orthodox Church ). The monastery is still used by monks.

Location

The monastery is secluded on 585 m altitude, in a picturesque mountainous area, 6 km north-east of Melnik. The trail from the florets Monastery ( 1.5 hours walk ) leads directly through the distinctive sandstone pillars of the pyramids of Melnik. The hill to the monastery is above and 1 km west of the village florets and 3 km south of the village Karlanowo ( Bulg Кърланово ). The best known of the pyramids of Melnik is a pyramid group near the village Karlanowo. The sandstone pyramids are especially large and in the immediate vicinity, there is a rest house and other tourist accommodations.

Floor plan and interior

The monastery buildings are reminiscent of a medieval fortress. It has the floor plan of an irregular hexagon. A portion of the courtyard is shaded by vines. The courtyard is surrounded by residential buildings with two - and three-story dealing galleries. Here are also the monks' cells.

Abbey

The Catholicon, the abbey church " Holy Nativity of the Virgin Mary " ( Nativity of Mary; Bulg Свето Рождество Богородично ) dominates with its dimensions ( 10 mx 22 m ) the cloister. It is a three-nave basilica and dreikupplige. Here you can see some valuable icons: " The Saints Cosma and Damian " ( Cosmas and Damian ), " The Entry into Jerusalem " ( Entry into Jerusalem ) and " The Assembly of the Archangel " ( Assembly of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel ).

On the south side of the altar a small chapel is separated, the wood-carved iconostasis has its own school which is allocated by Debar. On it different animal figures and vegetable ornaments are intertwined illustrated with scenes from the Old Testament. The unique wood carvings are from an artistic point of view one of the main attractions of the monastery. You dedicated a Bulgarian stamp of 1984. Besides the monastery for its well-preserved wall ( fresco ) and stained glass is famous. Most of the wall paintings dating back to the year 1732., There are also older by 1597, 1611 and 1715. Also preserved is the founder image of the nun Melania.

The miraculous icon of the Virgin, which is owned by the monastery and the monastery " protects ", to be kept in a coffin in the chapel " St. Kosma and Demyan ". According to legend, it is one of the few icons of consecrated iron. The icon is a copy from 1790 of Our Lady of the gate in Iviron Monastery on Mount Athos.

History

The name of the monastery church "Saint Mary's birth " was transmitted over time to the nearby village of florets ( Bulg Рожен ).

The earlier history of the monastery is not known exactly. According to the chronicles, which are kept in Athos, the monastery was founded in 890. A large fire has damaged the end of the 17th century, the monastery buildings and probably destroyed the archive of the monastery.

The earliest archaeological evidence of life in this place during the Middle Ages provides a grave that was discovered during excavations in the courtyard. Jewelry and some coins from the time of the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos Doukas Komnenos ( emperor 1259-1282 ) were found in him. The marble frieze above the main entrance of the monastery church dates from the 13th or 14th century.

Some of the monastic buildings ( † after 1229 ) were built in the time of Despot Alexius slaw.

Indirect evidence for the existence of the monastery in the 13th century resulting from a copy of a Greek manuscript. To date, such an ornate, decorated with miniatures manuscript is preserved from the 14th century in the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Even in the 14th century there was a calligraphic school here.

However, the first written source for the existence of the monastery florets is a note in a hymnal in 1551, which today is located in the library of the Athos monastery Great Lavra. This is the transcript of a manuscript which indicates that it was made in 1551 by Hieromonachos Kosma, the abbot ( Hegumen ) of the monastery " Wsesweschtenata Bogorodiza Rosinotisa " ( Bulg Всесвещената Богородица Розинотиса ).

The monastery church was built before the 15th century and before 1597 with frescoes - some of the frescoes ( wall paintings) have been preserved from this period. The frescoes of the south facade date from 1611. In the period 1662-1674, the monastery was severely damaged by a fire which destroyed the library and also most of the buildings drew heavily affected.

In the 16th century, the monastery florets experienced an upswing. Middle of the 16th century, the present-day southern wing of the monastery and the main church ( Catholicon ) built. End of the 16th century, the church and the dining room ( refectory ) was fitted with wall paintings. Beginning of the 17th century, the south facade of the main church was painted in 1662 ( ossuary ) of the monastery was painted with frescoes from the newly built ossuary. After another fire in the second half of the 17th century, the situation worsened for the monastery. Beginning of the 18th century the monastery with financial support from wealthy Bulgarians from the whole country has been repaired. The reconstruction began in 1715, the work on the church was completed in 1732, only since the church its present appearance. In the second half of the 18th century the monastery lost its independence because of economic difficulties and was in a branch ( metohi ) of the Georgian monastery Iviron on Mount Athos.

Beginning of the 19th century the building was continued at the monastery. At this time the monastery was a regional intellectual center and owned many estates in the area. The late 19th and early 20th century, the monastery fell into disrepair again.

200 meters east of the monastery the grave of the Bulgarian revolutionary Yane Sandanski is ( 1872-1915 ). He is in the church "Saint Cyril and Methodius " ( Cyril and Methodius ) buried, which was built from 1912 to 1914 on his initiative here.

Every year on September 8, the monastery festival (see the Nativity of Mary ) takes place when the people from the surrounding area gather.

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