Church & monasteryRhodopes & Southern Bulgaria

Bachkovo Monastery, a Georgian Foundation in the Rhodope Foothills

Bachkovo Monastery of the Dormition of the Mother of God stands on the right bank of the Chepelare River, about 10 km south of Asenovgrad, in the foothills of the Rhodopes. Founded in 1083, it is the second-largest monastery in Bulgaria, and it blends Georgian, Byzantine and Bulgarian heritage in its churches, murals and a medieval ossuary. It is an easy and rewarding detour from Plovdiv.

A Georgian prince in Byzantine service founded Bachkovo in 1083 and wrote into its rule that the monks must know Georgian, and that Greek monks must stay out.

WhereRight bank of the Chepelare River, about 10 km south of Asenovgrad and roughly 30 km south of Plovdiv

TypeEastern Orthodox monastery, founded in 1083

Best forLovers of medieval frescoes, church history and Bulgarian National Revival art, and day trips from Plovdiv

Getting thereBy road from Asenovgrad (about 10 km), or about 189 km from Sofia

The history of Bachkovo Monastery

Bachkovo was founded in 1083 by Gregory Pakourianos, a prominent Georgian statesman and military commander in Byzantine service, together with his brother Abasios. From the start it was a Georgian monastic centre abroad, comparable to Iviron on Mount Athos. The rule he wrote for the community, the typikon of 1083, survives in Greek and Georgian copies. It required the monks to know Georgian and barred Greek monks from joining, and it shielded the monastery from interference by local church authorities. A school for young people taught religion, mathematics, history and music, and a scriptorium grew up that sources call the Petritsoni school. One of its scholars was the Georgian Neoplatonist philosopher Ioane Petritsi, who lived from about 1050 to 1130.

In the thirteenth century the Georgian monks lost their dominance, although their traditions lasted into the fourteenth. In 1344 the surrounding region passed to the Bulgarian tsar Ivan Alexander, who patronised the monastery for about twenty years. His portrait survives in the narthex of the ossuary. The Ottomans took Plovdiv and nearby Stanimaka in 1364. After the fall of Tarnovo in 1393 the last medieval Bulgarian patriarch, Euthymius, was exiled, and he is believed to have worked at the monastery school and died around 1404.

The monastery survived the first Ottoman waves but was looted and destroyed, and was restored towards the end of the fifteenth century. A fire in 1595 spared only the Archangels Church. Near the end of the sixteenth century the brotherhood asked the authorities for permission to renew the ruined church, and the present main church of the Dormition was finished in 1604 on the foundations of the older one, modelled on the three-apsed churches of Mount Athos. The refectory dates from the early seventeenth century, and the frescoes in the church narthex were painted in 1643.

In 1745 the monastery came under the Patriarchate of Constantinople and became an important place of Greek-Bulgarian cultural contact. In the 1830s and 1840s local Bulgarians and patrons of the national movement, among them the brothers Stoyan and Valko Chalykov, paid for a major expansion. The chapel of St Nicholas was built in 1836, and the young painter Zahari Zograf decorated it in 1840. In 1846 Alexi Atanasov of Negush painted the great Panorama mural on the refectory wall. In 1894 the Patriarch of Constantinople gave up authority over the monastery and handed it to the Bulgarian Exarchate.

The twentieth century brought further damage and rebuilding. Fires hit the residential wings in 1912 and 1947, and the seminary library, evacuated here from Plovdiv between 1941 and 1947, was lost in the 1947 blaze. The wings were rebuilt in stages and the southern courtyard was restored in the early 1980s. Today Bachkovo is an active monastery directly subordinate to the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, and its feast day is on 15 August.

Curious facts about Bachkovo Monastery

The ossuary, about 300 m from the main complex, is the only part of the original monastery to survive. It has two identical floors, and its ground floor has 14 burial niches. Sources describe this layout as unknown anywhere else in the world.
A jujube tree brought from Georgia shades the courtyard, and the monastery distils a well-known jujube brandy, djindjifilova rakia.
The Panorama mural outside the refectory is described as the biggest scenic mural on the Balkan Peninsula. The painter copied a copper engraving made in Vienna in 1807 and added details of his own, including the festive dress of Rhodope women.
A silver-gilded cross on the dome of the main church carries the Georgian inscription “Always win!”.
The monastery museum keeps a sultan's firman of 1452 and a sword that legend says Emperor Frederick Barbarossa left behind.
Bachkovo appears among the locations in Elizabeth Kostova's 2005 bestseller novel The Historian.

Tours near Bachkovo Monastery

Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:

Small group tour to Plovdiv, Asen's Fortress and Bachkovo Monastery

★ 4.8 (182 reviews) · 9 h

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Wonderful Bridges-Bachkovo Monastery-Assen's Fortress - day tour from Plovdiv

★ 5 (41 reviews) · 7 h

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Bachkovo Monastery & Asen's Fortress - day tour from Plovdiv

★ 5 (32 reviews) · 3 h

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Plovdiv, Asen's Fortress and Bachkovo Monastery small group tour with pickup

★ 5 (27 reviews) · 9 h

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Visiting Bachkovo Monastery: what to see

The monastery buildings form two courtyards, the original northern one and a southern one added in the 1830s. The main church holds the wonder-working icon of the Virgin Eleusa, brought from Georgia, which draws many pilgrims.
Look for the frescoes in the church narthex of 1643, the Archangels Church with Zahari Zograf's paintings of 1841, and the St Nicholas chapel.
The refectory has frescoes of its own, and the Panorama mural runs along its outer wall.
The ossuary lies about 300 m from the main complex; its upper floor is a church with medieval frescoes, among them the Vision of the Prophet Ezekiel.
This is a working monastery, so check the current opening hours and visiting conditions before you go. Asen's Fortress is only about 5 km away.

Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.

Map: where Bachkovo Monastery is

Photos of Bachkovo Monastery

Questions

What is Bachkovo Monastery?

Bachkovo Monastery is a major Eastern Orthodox monastery in southern Bulgaria, founded in 1083. It is the second-largest monastery in the country after Rila.

Where is Bachkovo Monastery and how far is it from Plovdiv?

It stands on the right bank of the Chepelare River, about 10 km south of Asenovgrad and roughly 30 km south of Plovdiv, in the foothills of the Rhodopes.

Who founded Bachkovo Monastery?

Gregory Pakourianos, a Georgian statesman and military commander in Byzantine service, founded it in 1083 with his brother Abasios. For some time it was a Georgian monastic centre.

What is the most famous icon at Bachkovo?

The wonder-working icon of the Virgin Eleusa, brought from Georgia, is kept in the main church and attracts many pilgrims.

What are the Panorama mural and the ossuary?

The Panorama is a large mural of 1846 on the outer wall of the refectory that shows the monastery and its surroundings. The ossuary is the oldest surviving part of the complex, about 300 m away, with medieval frescoes.

What else is worth seeing near Bachkovo Monastery?

Asen's Fortress is about 5 km away, and Arapovo Monastery and Belintash lie about 14 km away.