Location:
The stauropegial Troyan monastery, “Assumption of Virgin Mary”, lies 10 km to the southeast of the old Balkan town of Troyan, in the skirts of the Balkan mountain range. Built at about 400 meters above sea level, the biggest monastery in the Balkan mountains is surrounded by beautiful forests and the Cherni Osam river, which gives a particular charm to the place. The monastery’s complex is quite developed as a tourist site with plenty of shopping outlets, restaurants and entertainment facilities in the neighbourhood.
About the monastery:
The first traces of religious life in the area date back to the end of the 16th century, or according to some – to an even earlier time around the end of the second Bulgarian state (turn of the 14th century), when the very town of Troyan was founded. According to the monastery’s chronicles, kept by an unknown monk, the monastery was founded by a hermit who came to the place and built himself a simple cottage some years after the fall of the second Bulgarian state. The monk quickly won the respect of the local people who started visiting him for prayer and advice. Later on, he built a church consecrated to the Holy Virgin.
