Bachkovo Monastery is located 29 kilometres from Plovdiv and is comparable in scale, architectural, artistic and cultural significance is comparable to the famous Rila Monastery. Rila Monastery. The holy monastery was founded in 1083 by the Byzantine commander of Georgian origin, Grigori Bakuriani and his brother Abazius. Initially, the the monastery was inhabited only by Georgian monks. But from 1344, when Tsar Ivan-Alexander came to power. Ivan-Alexander, there were also Bulgarian monks. The Bachkovo monastery owned a lot of land and was very rich. The Turks destroyed the monastery, but by the end of the 16th century it was rebuilt.
The oldest building on the territory of the monastery is the church-vault ("ossuary"), built around 1083. It is a rare example of Georgian architecture. The building is decorated with decorative arcature on the outside. The church is famous for its frescoes of XI and XIV centuries. XIV centuries. The name of the author of the older frescoes is known - an inscription in Greek has been preserved. Greek "This temple was painted from top to bottom by the hand of John Zograf Iveropulets". В Later paintings one can feel the influence of the Tŭrnovo school of painting.
The ensemble of the monastery includes the Assumption Cathedral, the refectory, and the churches of St Archangel and Trinity; all these buildings date from the early 17th century. The church of St Nicholas was built much later - in 1841. It was painted by the painter Zacharias Zograf.
Of particular interest are the frescoes in the refectory of the monastery. They depict Greek philosophers Socrates, Diogenes, Aristotle, Sophocles and others. In Orthodox Orthodox philosophy, these philosophers are considered pagans and depictions of them are very rare. rarely.
The museum at the monastery contains numerous gifts donated to the monastery at different times. various times.
