Transfiguration Monastery near Veliko Tarnovo and Its Famous Frescoes
The Transfiguration Monastery sits in the Dervent gorge of the Yantra River, about seven kilometres north of Veliko Tarnovo. A medieval foundation destroyed under Ottoman rule, it was reborn in the 1820s and rebuilt by the master builder Kolyu Ficheto, with frescoes by Zahari Zograf. It is one of the largest monasteries in the Veliko Tarnovo area and an active monastic community.
On the outer wall of this monastery church a mural called the Wheel of Life shows the course of a human life. Inside, the Last Judgment paints sinners in everyday clothes.
The history of the Transfiguration Monastery
The monastery lies in the Dervent gorge of the Yantra River, near the village of Samovodene, seven kilometres north of Veliko Tarnovo. Its origins are dated differently: one account places the foundation in the eleventh century, as a dependency of the Vatopedi monastery on Mount Athos, while Bulgarian sources speak of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, under the Second Bulgarian State. In 1360, when Tarnovo was the capital and hesychast traditions were popular in Bulgaria, it became autonomous by order of Tsar Ivan Alexander.
Tradition links the monastery with the generosity of the tsar's second wife, Sarah-Theodora, and their son Ivan Shishman, so it is also known as Sarah's or Shishman's monastery. It played an important part in the spiritual life of the capital in the fourteenth century. In the Middle Ages it stood about 1.7 kilometres south of its present site, where excavations in 1952 and 1992 uncovered walls, part of a church apse with frescoes in the Tarnovo painting style and the foundations of the church. After the Ottoman conquest the monastery was repeatedly plundered and burned, and finally destroyed completely.
It was re-established on the present site in 1825 by Father Zotik, a monk from the Rila Monastery. In 1832 an Ottoman firman allowed a new monastery church, which was built in the 1830s: a cross-shaped, single-domed church with three apses and a covered narthex, associated with the Revival master builder Kolyu Ficheto. Its icons and frescoes were painted by Zahari Zograf of the Samokov school, who worked here between 1849 and 1851. Zograf painted the Last Judgment, the Wheel of Life, the Birth of the Mother of God and the Last Supper, as well as Saints Cyril and Methodius and his own self-portrait. The wood-carved iconostasis dates from 1838, with icons by Zograf and by his nephew Stanislav Dospevski.
Between 1858 and 1863 Kolyu Ficheto built the seven-bell belfry, the residential wings and the main entrance, together with the underground chapel of Saint Andrew and the little Church of the Annunciation above it. In the decades before the Liberation the monastery was one of the main cultural and revolutionary centres of the Tarnovo region, sheltering activists of the national movement from the Velchova Conspiracy of 1835 to the April Uprising of 1876. Bulgarian sources say Vasil Levski himself found refuge here more than once. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 the monastery served as a hospital, and Russian soldiers later gave it bells, chandeliers and liturgical books.
The complex took its present shape in the nineteenth century, with a cemetery chapel of the Resurrection of Lazarus added in 1891 and the refectory and abbot's house with the library in 1894. In 1991 some cells in the old wing were destroyed when rocks collapsed above the monastery. It remains an active monastery and ranks among the largest Orthodox monasteries in Bulgaria.
Curious facts about the Transfiguration Monastery
- It is one of only five stauropegic monasteries of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, meaning it answers directly to the Patriarch.
- The monastery is also called Sarah's or Shishman's monastery, after the family of Tsar Ivan Alexander linked with its medieval patronage.
- In Zograf's Last Judgment, sinners are shown in ordinary civil dress, while fortune-tellers and healers wear peasant costume.
- The Wheel of Life mural on the outer south wall of the altar apse presents the natural course of human life in a religious and philosophical way.
- Zahari Zograf painted a self-portrait next to Saints Cyril and Methodius, and signed the icon of the Transfiguration.
- The medieval monastery stood about 1.7 km from today's site; its foundations were uncovered in excavations in 1952 and 1992.
Tours near Transfiguration Monastery
Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:
Visiting the Transfiguration Monastery: what to expect
- The monastery is about seven kilometres north of Veliko Tarnovo on the road to Samovodene, in the gorge of the Yantra River; check the current opening hours and visiting conditions before you go.
- Look for the frescoes by Zahari Zograf in the church and narthex, including the Last Judgment, and the Wheel of Life on the outer wall.
- The buildings form a long rectangular courtyard in the style of fortified medieval monasteries, with stone lower floors and upper floors that follow the sloping ground.
- The monastery has a library and a museum display with documents, medieval books, icons and works of applied art.
- It is a working monastery, so dress modestly and keep a quiet manner. Trapezitsa hill (about 4 km) and Baldwin's Tower (about 5 km) are described on other pages of this site.
Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.
Map: where Transfiguration Monastery is
Photos of Transfiguration Monastery
Questions
What is the Transfiguration Monastery near Veliko Tarnovo?
It is an Orthodox monastery in the Dervent gorge of the Yantra River, one of five stauropegic monasteries of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Its present buildings date mainly from the nineteenth century.
Where is the Transfiguration Monastery and how far is it from Veliko Tarnovo?
It lies near the village of Samovodene, about seven kilometres north of Veliko Tarnovo in central northern Bulgaria.
Who painted the frescoes in the Transfiguration Monastery?
The frescoes and icons of the main church were painted by Zahari Zograf, a leading artist of the Samokov school, between 1849 and 1851. Some icons are by his nephew Stanislav Dospevski.
How old is the Transfiguration Monastery?
Its medieval foundation is dated variously to the eleventh or the thirteenth to fourteenth century, and it gained autonomy in 1360. After being destroyed it was re-established in 1825.
Who built the monastery church?
The cross-shaped, single-domed church is associated with the Revival master builder Kolyu Ficheto, who also built the belfry, the residential wings and the Church of the Annunciation.
What else is worth seeing near the Transfiguration Monastery?
Trapezitsa hill is about 4 km away, and Baldwin's Tower, the Church of St Demetrius of Thessaloniki and the Holy Forty Martyrs Church are about 5 km away, all in Veliko Tarnovo.
Also nearby
Trapezitsa
Veliko Tarnovo · church ruins on the capital's second citadel
4.5 km away
Church of St Demetrius of Thessaloniki, Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo · church linked to the 1185 uprising
4.5 km away
Holy Forty Martyrs Church
Veliko Tarnovo · royal church of 1230 with tsars' tombs and columns
5 km away
Baldwin's Tower
Veliko Tarnovo · tower tied to a captured crusader emperor
5.5 km away