Petropavlovski monastery

The Petropavlovski monastery, also known as Lyaskovets monastery, is one of the 14 monasteries built nearby the old capital of Bulgaria, Veliko Turnovo, during the Second Bulgarian State (12-14th century). The monastery, named after St Peter and St Pavel (St. Paul), is one of the best-preserved monasteries from that time, mainly because of its hard-to-reach location. It perches over the high and inaccessible rocks of the Arbanasi plateau, 6 km to the northeastern part of Veliko Tarnovo. It is believed that the Petropavlovski monastery was built during the rule of the Asenevtsi dynasty but there is no written evidence about that. When Bulgaria fell under Ottoman yoke, the monastery was several times set on fire and then rebuilt. The monastery took a very active role during the struggles against the Ottoman rule, which must be due to its inaccessibility and at the same time, proximity to the old capital. The Petropavlovski monastery gave shelter to prosecuted rebels, as the national hero, Vassil Levski, and also became a meeting place for him and other famous revolutionaries such as Matey Preobrazhenski Mitkaloto, Georgi Izmirliev, Ivan Panov Semerdzhiev and Bacho Kiro.