6+1 PLACES TO VISIT AROUND TRYAVNA DURING EASTER

Here we are with one of the most important Christian holidays approaching. Easter is the time of the year when we most often get on the road to return to our family, to meet friends or just to take a few days incentive trip. This year Easter (here you can see our Easter offer) is on the last Sunday of April- 28th, while the official holiday days start from Good Friday 26th till Monday 29th. These are 4 official days off that everyone plans carefully. This year we from the Kalina Palace Hotel have especially selected 6+1 places that we hope you would find interesting to visit, having in mind the theme of the holiday.

KILIFAREVSKI MONASTERY NATIVITY OF CHRIST

It is located approximately 13km away from Veliko Tarnovo and about 36km away from Tryavna. A distance that you would need about 40min to travel at an average speed. The Kilifarevo Monastery “The Nativity of Christ” has been declared a cultural monument of arts in 1973. Its establishment dates back to 1350 and is related to the prominent St. Theodosii Tarnovski, supported by Tsar Ivan Alexandar. For the period of its existence until it got destroyed by the Ottoman invaders in 1393,it had significant educational and enlightenment influence and achievements. Here numerous hagiologies of saints have been written and copied, as well as numerous sermons and other religious literature. On its present day location the monastery has been reconstructed again in 1718, but unfortunately it got destroyed again less than a century later in 1793-1798.

Килифаревски манастир Снимка: pochivka.bg

Its second reconstruction began in 1842, when the prominent Bulgarian building master Kolyo Ficheto started simultaneously the building of the St. Demetrius church along with some residential buildings. In the newest church some building materials have been used that originally belonged to the Old Nativity church, which had been turned into a chapel devoted to St. Theodosii Tarnovski. In the monastery there is one more chapel devoted to St. Ivan Rilski. The iconostasis of the main monastery church is a work of prominent Tryavna icon painters. The holiday of the monastery is celebrated on 8th September- the Nativity of the Holy Virgin.

PETROPAVLOVSKY MONASTERY (LYASKOVSKY MONASTERY ST. ST. APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL

The Lyaskovsky Monastery St. St. Apostles Peter and Paul, also known as Petropavlovsky Monastery, is located about 60km away from Tryavna town and approximately 6km north-east from Veliko Tarnovo. Situated only 3km away from the town of Lyaskovets, the monastery seems as if it has landed on the tall vertical cliffs of the Arbanasi plateau. According to the legend the land in the vicinity of the present day monastery used to be part of the territory of the two brothers Asen and Peter and during the proclamation of the uprising against the Byzantine Empire of 1185, they gave an oath that if the uprising succeeded and Bulgaria managed to achieve its liberty, they were to built a monastery there. And they fulfilled their promise. There is evidence that during the time of the Ottoman domination the monastery has been plundered and set on fire numerous times, but then always rebuilt. During that period the Petropavlovsky Monastery maintained close relationship with the Russian monasteries. An artifact from that time is the gift from the Russian Tsar Peter I from 1708- a goldsmith gospel. It is preserved till present day in Sofia.

Лясковски манастир Снимка: velikoturnovo.info

The Lyaskovsky Monastery is in fact a complex, consisting of a main church St. St. Apostles Peter and Paul, two chapels “Shroud of the Holy Virgin” and “The Holy Trinity”, a bell tower and some farm buildings. After a major earthquake in the region in 1913 many of the buildings were seriously damaged. From all those only the building of the Holy Seminary remains, that was actually built later by master Manyo. Nowadays the Petropavlovsky Monastery is an active nunnery.

KAPINOVSKY MONASTERY ST. NICHOLAS THE MIRACLE WORKER

The Kapinovsky Monastery St. Nicholas the Miracle Worker is located 14km away from Veliko Tarnovo and approximately 5km away from the village of Velchevo. In order to reach the Kapinovsky Monastery from the town of Tryavna you are going to have to travel 50-ish km. The Monastery has been declared a cultural monument of arts in 1973. According to an inscription on the spot of the contemporary main church, there used to be an older one, dated back to 1272- the time of the reign of Constantine -Asen the Quiet. According to other sources, however, the church was built in 1228 by Tsar Ivan Asen II.
During the fall of the Tarnovo Kingdom under Ottoman domination the monastery had been burnt down and abandoned. The Holy Monastery was reconstructed during the 17th C. thanks to the local people from the nearby villages. Since the authorities did not grant an official permit for the reconstruction, the locals worked only at night time and smoked the monastery walls and buildings, so that they would looked like the old burnt down ruins. After that the Kapinovsky Monastery had been burnt down several times, but never seized to function. In the beginning of the 19th c. another reconstruction began, while in 1835 master builders from Dryanovo, rebuilt the new main church that the worshippers use till present day.

Къпиновски манастир Снимка: pochivka.bg

In 1865 began also the most intensive building in the monastery. It was then when the Horozovi brothers from the town of Elena (who later on became monks there) donated money for the building of a new residential quarter, known for its rather fascinating architectural style. During the 19th C. the Kapinovsky Monastery turned into an important religious site, where also a cell school was established. The local monks took an active part in the battles for national liberation from the Ottoman domination. Here the detachments of Filip Totyo, captain Dyado Nikola, Hadzhi Stavri Koynev and others used to stop for an overnight. Also here refuges have found Vasil Levski and Angel Kanchev. The Kapinovsky Monastery is an active friary. The Monastery holiday is celebrated on 6th December.

PLAKOVSKY MONASTERY ST. PROPHET ELIJAH

The Plakovsky Monastery St. Prophet Elijah is located about 2km away from the Kapinovsky Monastery and for that reason they are often called the twin monasteries. It was declared a monument of culture in 1973. The monastery was established during the reign of Tsar Ivan Asen II. On its present day location the holy cloister dates back to 13th C, since it had been originally built to the south of the contemporary monastery. The monastery got destroyed during the Ottoman invasion in 1393. It was reconstructed in 1450, later on burnt down and rebuilt on numerous occasions.

Nowadays the monastery complex consists of a church, residential and farm buildings. It considered that the monastery church was constructed by Master Kolyo Ficheto in 1845. In 1856 he constructed a second residential wing along with the imposing 25,90m high belfry. The famous 19th C. icon painter Zahari Zograf painted the single mural painting in the church- St. Elijah on his chariot. Some of the icons of the iconostasis are also his craftsmanship. The official holiday of the Plakovsky Monastery is on 20th July.
SOKOLSKY MONASTERY THE ASSUMPTION OF THE HOLY VIRGIN
The Sokolsky Monastery “The Assumption of the Holy Virgin” is a place you must not miss out on. The monastery is situated in direction of the town Gabrovo and 12km further you are going to reach the gates of the Sokolsky Monastery. The Sokolsky Monastery “The Assumption of the Holy Virgin” is an active nunnery, although from its establishment in 1833 till mid 20th C. it used to be a friary. His founders are Abbot Yosif Sokolsky and hieromonk Agapi, who initially raised a small wooden church and added to it a house.

Соколски манастир

What we can see today has been built in the year after that with free-willing donations by the people from the nearby villages. Possibly the most impressive sight in the entire monastery is the famous stone fountain with eight pipes in the shape of hawks, which is a work of the famous Bulgarian building master Kolyu Fitcheto. We have already thoroughly told you about the symbols behind these hawks in order article devoted to the Sokolsky Monastery. We strongly recommend you to visit this place. The official holiday of the Sokolsky Monastery “The Assumption of the Holy Virgin” is on 15th August.

DRYANOVSKY MONASTERY ST. ARCHANGEL MICHAEL

This another monastery that we have already presented, however we take a chance to recommend it every time a guest of ours enquires on what to visit in the region of Tryavna. This is one of the most significant spiritual and cultural centres of Bulgaria. The Dryanovsky Monastery “St. Archangel Michael” is located in a picturesque area that charms everyone who visits it. By the monastery walls the Andaka River flows that adds to the charming look of the Holy Cloister.

Дряновски манастир

Around it you can see the peculiar rocks of the Strazhata (The Guardian) Balkan plateau. The Dryanovsky Monastery “St. Archangel Michael” was built in the 12th C. A.D. about 2km away from its present location. Later on it has been burnt down by Ottoman invaders, but in the 16th C. it got rebuilt by the locals on the other bank of the river. However, it got destroyed again. And because of that a century later the monastery was revived at its present day location and turned into one of the largest educational centres during the Bulgarian Revival period. Years later the monastery got burnt down again. That, however, did not break the moral of the Bulgarians and they rebuilt it again. The Dryanovsky Monastery flourished during the 19th C. The rich history of the monastery can be traced in the museum exposition “Archaeology and Revival”. The official holiday of the Dryanovsky Monastery “St. Archangel Michael” is on 8th November.

RELAX ZONE OF THE KALINA PALACE HOTEL, TRYAVNA

After the tour of all these monasteries we invite you to take your time to relax and enjoy the renovated Relax Zone of the hotel. Here every one of our guests has the opportunity to relax and enjoy the pleasant ambience and to recharge their senses and spirit. Amongst the most preferred procedures are the Finnish and infrared sauna, the steam bath, the different massages and relaxing body therapies. Extremely popular is also the salt therapy that has a healing effect on the entire body.

The swimming pool along with its stunning panoramic view over the town of Tryavna will contribute to the good exercise and relaxation of the body. The swimming pool maintains a regular temperature of minimum 30°С that makes it perfect both for the adults, who would like to relax, as well as for the children to bathe for as long as they like without getting cold!

With these 6+1 suggestions for the Easter holidays we hope that we have managed to offer you some great ideas as to what and where to visit. And we from the Kalina Palace Hotel, Tryavna are always ready to help you with further information and directions as to what would be the easiest way to reach all those places we have mentioned above. More interesting ideas for other places to visit you can find here.
Happy Holidays!