Seven Altars Monastery
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Seven Altars is an Orthodox Monastery of the Sofia Eparchy, situated in the Balkan Mountains, on the border between Sofia and Vratsa Province. It is located in the beautiful valley of the comparatively small Gabrovnitsa River, on the way from Eliseyna – through the Iskar Gorges – to the village of Osenovlag, Sofia Province, at the foot of Izdremets Peak (1492 m). The official name of the monastery is "Holy Mother". It is one of the 100 Tourist Sites of Bulgaria, seal available throughout the year.
[edit] History
A legend says that Peter Delyan (Peter II) died in the monastery, which was a temporary capital of Bulgaria. The brother of the Bulgarian monarch became the first abbot of the holy cloister.
The monastery is more popular with its unofficial name “The Seven Altars” because of its unique church. The legend says that seven boyars established seven settlements in the close proximity of the monastery – Osenovlag, Ogoya, Ogradishte, Bukovets, Leskovdol, Zhelen and Lakatnik. There are seven chapels (altars) in the church and experts claim that there is no other Bulgarian church of this kind. There is evidence that the monastery existed in the 16th century.
On the North side of the monastery there are ruins of a fortress, which local people call the Latin Stronghold. Parts of its stone wall can be seen if you go up the steep pathway starting from the monastery. The monastery’s gate was taken from these remains.
Another legend says that during the Ottoman Age the monastery was demolished and set on fire. Valchan gathered the voivodes. They decided to build the monastery. The voivodes were seven: Valchan voivode, priest Martin, Spiros Dimitar, Malenko the Serbian, Emin bey, Ali bey and Peter. The church was built with seven altars in their honour. Valchan’s idea was actually to hide the entrance to the fortress. Down there in its vault a Roman treasure was hidden.
St. Sofroniy Vrachanski – bishop of Vratsa’s eparchy – lived and officiated in the monastery, which was in his diocese at the time.
[edit] Useful Information
The monastery is situated only 86km away from Sofia, which makes it a popular weekend destination. It offers sleeping accommodation and a large dining-room for gatherings.
The Seven Altars Monastery can be reached by car from Eliseyna in the Iskar Gorges. Eliseyna is 42km away from Sofia - on the Sofia ring-road through Novi Iskar, and 46km away from Mezdra. Only passenger trains stop at this station. The distance to the monastery is about 10-12km. There is a bus to the monastery that waits for the train every evening. For those who travel by car: the way to the Seven Altars is in the middle of Eliseyna, across the railway.
The road is quite narrow, but asphalt-paved.
Have a thorough look at the monastery. The grave of the famous Bulgarian children's writer Zmey Goryanin (1905 -1958) – author of 50 books and brochures – is in its yard, behind the church.
There are sequoias planted in the monastery yard, the mighty roots of which have started cracking the walls. Someone’s thoughtless deed has turned into a really big problem – the sequoias are already quite large and cutting them down would lead to damage.
