Patriarch Monastery

The monastery of the Holy Trinity, also known as the Patriarch monastery, is situated some 10 km away from the ancient fortress of Tsarevets and the former Bulgarian capital of Veliko Tarnovo. It is located in a picturesque site among the unapproachable rocks of the Yantra River’s defile. The monastery is also known under the names Asenov and Shishmanov (after the Bulgarian tsars Asen and Ivan Shishman). The first evidence of the existence of a cloister here date from 1070, which makes the monastery the oldest one in the region of Veliko Tarnovo. The legend tells that it was founded by Teodosii Tarnovski (of Tarnovo). But the monastery faced its biggest glory when Evtimii came here in 1375 and was conferred the highest clerical rank – Patriarch of Bulgaria. Like most of the Bulgarian monasteries, the Patriarch one was ruined down during the Ottoman invasion, as part of the monks were killed, and the other – scattered. About 1847 the monastery was re-built by the prominent Bulgarian master Kolyu Ficheto. He raised a new big church that was wall-painted by another prominent master – Zahari Zograf. In 1913 a devastating earthquake ruined the monastery down. Only a few icons survived – the church icon of the Holy Trinity, and the icons of St. Archangel Michail and the Blessed Virgin. The present church and the residential premises were built in 1927. The monastery was turned into nunnery in 1946 and is still going as such.