Shipchen Monastery is one of the most famous Bulgarian landmarks associated with the most important event in the country's history - the attainment of national independence. It is dedicated, on the one hand, to the liberation of the country from Ottoman slavery, which was the result of the end of the Russo-Turkish war, and on the other hand, to those soldiers (Russians and Bulgarians) who valiantly fought and died in this war.
The monastery is a temple-monument built on the outskirts of Shipka, not far from the Shipchensky Pass, located in the Stara Planina Mountains, a landmark of that war, where in 1877 the Russian army and Bulgarian militia won the battle. Almost a year after the end of the war, it was decided to erect this monumental building to commemorate the historic victory. The construction, which began in 1885, was carried out with Russian and Bulgarian donations and was completed in 1902. Inside the building, on thirty-four stone slabs are carved the names of the heroes who died during the battle of Shipka.
Architect A. I. Tomishko, according to whose project the construction was carried out, was a passionate follower of the Old Russian direction in architecture, which was reflected in the building of the Shipchensky Monastery. The interior of the monastery amazes with the richness of its decoration. There is a gilded carved iconostasis by Russian architect Yagna, and in the crypt of the temple in sarcophagi rest the remains of the heroes of that war. The bells of the Shipchensky monastery were cast from thirty thousand shell casings, and the heaviest of them weighs about 11 tonnes.
