The Preobrazhenie Monastery, Veliko Tarnovo District, was founded at the time of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom in XIII - XIV c. Some evidence tells about a connection with the establishment of the monastery to the second wife of Ivan - Alexander - Sara. Due to this fact it is also called Sara's monastery. The monastery is one of the biggest and most beautiful monasteries in Bulgaria. It lies at a distance of 6.5 km north of Veliko Tarnovo in a beautiful site under a wreath of steep rocks in a canyon-shaped gorge of the Yantra River. The monastery played a significant role in the spiritual life of the Old Bulgarian capital in XIV c.
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During the Middle Ages the monastery was located at a distance of 400 - 500 m south of its present - day location. There are remains of walls, buildings, ceramics and fragments of mural paintings at the site. During the Ottoman domination the monastery was burned and destroyed many times. The present - day complex was built in XVIII - XIX c. The main buildings were erected at the beginning of XIX c. According to the architectural plan the monastery belongs to the type of the medieval fortress-monasteries. The buildings form an elongated rectangular yard. Its lower floors were made of stone and the upper ones are with beautifully jutting out bay-windows, harmoniously connected with the steep terrain. The interior and the external walls of the temple were decorated with murals from 1849, made by the great Bulgarian artist Zahari Zograf from the town of Samokov. The mural paintings in the temple have a typical Revival period scheme and colouring. There is a big collection of icons in the monastery belonging to the Veliko Tarnovo bishopric with very interesting icon-paintings.
Icon of Archangel Gabriel
Performance of Bulgarian Orthodox Choir
