Kilifarevo Monastery

About 12km to the southeast of the town of Kilifarevo (nearby the town of Veliko Turnovo) lies the today’s complex of the Kilifarevo monstery. Bearing the name of St. Birth of Virgin Mary, Kilifarevo Monastery is situated in the beautiful valley of the Belitsa River. The monastery is easy to reach following the road to the south of Veliko Turnovo, which crosses the Balkan mountain at the Haimboaz Pass. It is not possible for visitors to get lost since along the road from the town to the monastery there are numerous road signs which indicate the location of the Kilifarevo Monastery.

It is believed that the early Kilifarevo Monastery was built between 1348 and 1350. Its founder is the eminent Bulgarian clergyman, Teodosii of Turnovo, who with the help of the ruler of that time, Tsar Ivan Alexander, turned the cloister into one of the most important centres of the Bulgarian education and literature of the Middle Ages. Soon after the opening of the Kilifarevo Monastery, the Kilifarevo School of literature was to be built and in 1360 it was already teaching 460 students, among who was the future Bulgarian Patriarch, Evtimii of Turnovo. In addition to the Church, the today’s complex of the Kilifarevo Monastery includes two remarkable buildings in authentic Renaissance style, the older of which dates back to 1849.

The Kilifarevo monastery offers accommodation in good conditions. Visitors can have food in the mehana (also known as a pub) about 500 meters away from the monastery’s gates. Rooms are offered in the new residential building as well as in the old building with a bathroom and toilet rooms in the new residential building. The Kilifarevo Monastery is declared a national culture of Bulgaria.