The Chiprovtzi Monastery "Saint Ivan Rilski" lies at a distance of 6 km northeast of Chiprovtzi in a heavily broken valley. Despite the inclination of the terraced terrain the monastery's yard has the shape of a regular rectangular. Two of its parts are occupied by buildings - the western and southern ones, while the eastern and northern are encompassed by a stone fence. In the middle of the yard stands the church which most probably was built in XVI c. when it had a slightly different design. The Chiprovtzi Monastery was established and populated by Bulgarian Catholics. After the Chiprovtzi Rebellion of 1688 the Bulgarian Catholics moved away and the monastery became derelict. At the beginning of XVII c. Bulgarian Orthodox monks settled in the monastery and reconstructed it to the requirements of their rituals. At the time of reconstruction the original mural paintings were covered with a limestone plaster and a wooden iconostasis was placed at the site. The three-floor charnel house of the monastery stands on a steep terrain. In the walls of the ground floor were dug numerous holes for the preservation of the bones of the deceased monks. In 1800 the Russian Emperor gave as a gift to the monastery a gospel in a magnificent silver facing.
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Performance of Bulgarian Orthodox Choir
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Icon of Saint John of Rila
