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Rila Monastery
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How it came to be
Rila Monastery, in a valley of the Rila Mountains of south-western Bulgaria at 1,147 metres, is said to have been founded in the 10th century by the hermit St Ivan of Rila. He lived in a nearby cave, and the monastery was built by the disciples who came to learn from him. Nearly every tsar of the Second Bulgarian Empire gave it gifts.
In the first half of the 14th century the feudal lord Hrelja rebuilt the monastery on its present site, and the Tower of Hrelja of 1334-1335 is the oldest surviving building. Ottoman raids destroyed it in the mid-15th century, but it was rebuilt late in that century, and in 1469 Ivan's relics were brought from Tarnovo.
After a fire in 1833 it was rebuilt from 1834 to 1862 under the architect Alexi Rilets, with gifts from wealthy Bulgarians across the country. A leading work of the Bulgarian National Revival, it was inscribed in 1983.
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