Rila Monastery - the most famous and largest monastery in Bulgaria - was founded in the tenth century by the hermit Ivan of Rila. At the beginning of the 15th century the monastery was heavily authorised and robbed, but was soon rebuilt. In 1833 the monastery was badly damaged by a raging fire, so many of the buildings of the monastery belong to the XIX century.
The oldest building on the territory of the monastery is the Khrel Tower, built in 1335. In its upper floor was the Church of the Transfiguration of the Lord. The walls of the church are covered with the remains of frescoes.
The Church of the Nativity of the Virgin was rebuilt after a fire in 1834-1837. Its architecture combines elements of the Romanesque basilica, the Athonite cross-domed church and the Italian domed cathedral. The outside of the church is flanked by an arched gallery. Here is the largest iconostasis in Bulgaria, created in 1842 by the masters of the Samokovo school of wood carvers. The frescoes of the church were made in 1840-1872 by unknown masters with funds collected from all over Bulgaria.
The cell blocks, located around the perimeter of the inner courtyard of the monastery, were also built after the memorable fire. There are more than 300 cells, four chapels, rooms for guests of the monastery, and household rooms.
The museum of the Rila Monastery has collections of gold and silver utensils, ancient coins, precious jewellery, weapons, clothes, and embroideries. There is also an ethnographic collection, where works of art and crafts are exhibited, as well as numerous gifts to the monastery.
The monastery library houses more than 20,000 volumes of rare books and manuscripts.
