Location:
The Cherepish monastery, named “The Assumption of Virgin Mary”, is to be found 29km to the southeast of the town of Vratza, in the Iskar defile of the Balkan mountain – the latter widely known for its unique richness of natural forms and sights.
About the monastery:
The origin of the Cherepish monastery dates to the Second Bulgarian State. It was built during the rule of Tsar Ivan Shishman (1371-1393), if judging from a document, preserved in the Sofia church, historical and archeological museum. During the time of the Ottoman domination, the cloister was ruined and set on fire more than once. At the end of the 16th century, it was reconstructed by St Pimen of Sofia. During the times of the Bulgarian Renaissance, the monastery grew into a cultural and educational centre. It hosted a monastery school, while books, saints’ biographies and gospels were written and rewritten there. Relics such as the Cherepish Gospel, enclosed in golden bindings in 1512 and decorated with scenes from the bible, as well as the Gospel of Monk Danail and the Book of the Apostles of Jacob, all date to that period. St Sofronii of Vratza seeks and finds shelter in the monastery in 1797. Between 1872 and 1876, the monastery is visited by the Vratza revolutionary committee, plotting against the Turks, and the central revolutionary committee. The Rashov Dol place, where the last battle of Botev’s detachment of rebels against the Turks, led by Georgi Apostolov, lies in the neighbourhood of the Cherepish monastery. In addition, the cloister was visited by the famous Bulgarian writer Ivan Vazov in 1889 and 1907, while in 1897 another renowned author, Aleko Konstantinov, dropped by here during his tour of the region. Following his visit to the monastery, Konstantinov publishes one of his popular travel notes, Bulgarian Switzerland.
