The Strupetzki Monastery "Saint Prophet Iliya" is situated at the gorge of the Iskar River, hugged in a forest. The monastery was most probably founded during the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. In the monastery's documents was mentioned that the buildings were destroyed with the arrival of the Turks. The preserved church dates back to XVI c. The legend tells that in 1824 Dimitraki Toshin from Vratza hired workers to cover the church with stone slates during the night so not to attract the attention of the Turks. The preserved housing buildings were built in 1851 and 1857. This is understood by a memorial inscription over a stone block and an inscription over the horizontal beams of the upper floor. These impressive three-floor buildings with spacious verandahs and magnificent wooden columns (60 in number) and fine parapet are undoubtedly among the best representatives of the Revival period monastery architecture. From that period are the royal gates of the iconostases of the church and the chapel. They are an interesting example of the work of the Vratza masters and show a taste for the plasticity and expressiveness in the plant and animal life. Undoubtedly, most precious in the monastery are the magnificent mural paintings of the small old church, built during XVI c. It is a small building with sizes of 8,20 x 5 meters. The murals have preserved the artistic principles of the art from the Second Bulgarian Kingdom: refinement, dynamics in the poses and gestures of the figures and expressiveness of the faces. The Strupetzki Monastery was a significant cultural centre during XIX c.
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Icon of Saint Saint Cyril and Methodius
