The Teteven Monastery St. Elias

The Teteven Monastery St. Elias is situated in a secret gorge at the foot of Ostrech Peak. It was built before the fall of Bulgaria under Ottoman slavery. According to the legend, the Bulgarian Tzar Ivan Shishman gave the monastery a wooden cross, plated with silver and depicted with evangelic scenes. The books from the 16th century, consisting of prayers, wisdom, lessons and chronicles, are still kept in the monastery. In 1799, Sofroniy Vrachanski (famous Bulgarian bishop) hid twice there during the kurdjali (bandit groups) invasions. The monastery church has interesting architecture. The walls of the altar are semicircular, forming a trefoil. The church was built at two stages, because in 1869 it was almost destroyed, after that it was completed. The icons are built up in the iconostasis. The decorations are with plant subject, and their makers were from the famous wood-carving school in Tryavna. The oldest survived icon in the church is of St. Archangel Michael. The Teteven Monastery St. Elias is a monument of the culture.

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