Bachkovo Monastery

One of the most visited monasteries in Bulgaria, the Bachkovo Monastery, or the Bachkovo cloister, is situated about 10km to the south of the town of Assenovgrad, above the Plovdiv-Smolyan road, in the valley of the Chepelare River. The Bachkovo Monastery is in fact the second largest Bulgarian monastery. It lies in a nook encircled on all sides by the hills of the Western Rhodopi Mountain. Situated near the village of Bachkovo and only 29 km away from Plovdiv and 89 km away from Sofia, the Bachkovo Monastery is easily accessible. Moreover, the advertisement signs and stalls make it even easier for tourists to orientate themselves and reach the monastery. In fact, the shops, pubs, and restaurants situated in close proximity of the Bachkovo Monastery make the complex even a more pleasant destination for visitors.

One can find here everything that grows or is being manufactured in the Rhodopi Mountain – rare herbs, yogurt, home-made jams of wild fruit, and white cheese made of sheep’s milk, woolen carpets, etc. In terms of accommodation the monastery is also very well prepared: it has long welcomed visitors and accommodated those wishing to stay there for the night. It has a large capacity of more than 200 beds but booking is recommended for the summer season.

In 1038 Grigorii Bakuriani, a Byzantine military commander of Georgian origin, together with his brother Abazii established the early Bachkovo Monastery. Very little of this two-storey bone-vault, which lies about 300m to the east of the today’s complex, is still kept from that time. The bone-vault must be seen by any visitor there, due to its unique wall-paintings, which rank among the most valuable works of Orthodox art of the 11th –12th c. A unique combination of Byzantine, Georgian and Bulgarian cultures united by the common Christian faith is what makes the Bachkovo cloister so renowned and valued by both Bulgarian and international tourists.