The Rozhen Monastery "Virgin Mary's Birth" is one of the most interesting and important religious centres of Bulgaria. The monastery lies at a distance of 6 km east of the town of Melnik. To the southeast of the monastery is Slavyanka Mountain and to the northeast the famous Melnik Pyramids and behind them the snow-caped massifs of Pirin Mountain. There is no exact data for the establishment of the monastery. It is considered that it has existed since XIII c. when the whole Melnik region was governed by Aleksii Slav, nephew of the Bulgarian king Kaloyan (1197-1207). Probably the original monastery complex sustained serious destructions and in XVI c. it was restored again. The main church in the Rozhen monastery is a three-nave one. It has a characteristic unity and harmony of the internal decoration. It is among the few preserved original ensembles in which every part is well-combined with the others. The big iconostasis in the Rozhen church was made together with the murals at the time of the great reconstruction in 1732. It is one of the most representative ones in Bulgaria. The equipment of the church with carved furniture from XVIII c. is supplemented by the pulpit, the ark above the holy throne, the bishop' throne and two rows of chairs for the worshipers. Next of importance is the building of the Refectory. It was built in the eastern wing of the monastery. The present-day refectory was built over thick medieval stone walls. Murals and fragments from XVI and XVII c. were found during the restoration of the refectory. The refined and spiritual beauty of the images, the bright compositional structure of the scenes and the bright colours speak of the artistic qualities of the murals. The charnel house also belongs to the monastery complex. It was built in 1597 and is a double-floor church-charnel house. At the lower floor are the bones of the deceased monks and the upper floor is for worships. There are 12 scenes illustrating the life of "Saint Joan the Baptist" on this floor. They are the earliest and most fulfilled illustrations in the monumental painting on the Balkans. The Rozhen Monastery continues to be the most significant spiritual centre in the region. The ethnographic section possesses a unique collection of embroidery and costumes in Southwestern Bulgaria.
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Icon of The Virgin with child
