It is traditionally thought that the monastery was founded by the hermit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_John_of_Rila - St. John of Rila (Ivan Rilski), whose name it bears, during the rule of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsar - Tsar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_I_of_Bulgaria - Peter I (927-968). The hermit actually lived in a cave not far from the monastery's location, while the complex was built by his students, who came to the mountains to receive their education.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Rila-monastery-imagesfrombulgaria.JPG">

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Rila-monastery-imagesfrombulgaria.JPG - -

The interior of the monastery

Ever since its creation, the Rila Monastery has been supported and respected by the Bulgarian rulers. Large donations were made by almost every tsar of the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Bulgarian_Empire - Second Bulgarian Empire up until the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_early_Ottoman_Bulgaria - Ottoman Conquest , making the monastery a cultural and spiritual centre of Bulgarian national consciousness that reached its apogee from the 12th to the 14th century.

The Rila Monastery was reerected at its present place by a local http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feudalism - feudal lord named http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hrelyu_Dragovola&action=edit&redlink=1 - Hrelyu Dragovola during the 14th century. The oldest buildings in the complex date from this period were—the Tower of Hrelyu (1334–1335) and a small church just next to it (1343). The bishop's throne and the rich-engraved gates of the monastery also belong to the time. However, the arrival of the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottomans - Ottomans in the end of the 14th century was followed by numerous raids and a destruction of the monastery in the middle of the 15th century.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Affreschi_di_Rila_1.jpg">

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Affreschi_di_Rila_1.jpg - -

Frescoes in the main church

Thanks to donations by the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Orthodox_Church - Russian Orthodox Church and more precisely the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rossikon - Rossikon monastery of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Athos - Mount Athos , the Rila Monastery was rebuilt in the end of the 15th century by three brothers from the region of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyustendil - Kyustendil , who moved John of Rila's relics into the complex.

The complex acted as a depository of http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_language - Bulgarian language and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Bulgaria - culture in the ages of foreign rule. During the time of the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_National_Revival - Bulgarian National Revival (18th-19th century), it was destroyed by fire in 1833 and then reconstructed between 1834 and 1862 with the help of wealthy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarians - Bulgarians from the whole country, under the famous architect http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alexi_Rilets&action=edit&redlink=1 - Alexi Rilets . The erection of the residential buildings began in 1816, while a belfry was added to the Tower of Hrelyu in 1844. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neofit_Rilski - Neofit Rilski founded a school in the monastery during the period.

The monastery complex, regarded as one of the foremost masterpieces of Bulgarian National Revival architecture, was declared a national historical monument in 1976 and became a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNESCO - UNESCO http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage_Site - World Heritage Site in 1983. Since 1991 it has been entirely subordinate to the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Synod - Holy Synod of the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_Orthodox_Church - Bulgarian Orthodox Church .

On http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_25 - 25 May http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002 - 2002 , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II - Pope John Paul II , the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_peoples - Slavic http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope - Pope visited Rila monastery during his pilgrimage to Bulgaria. He was greeted by the Monastery's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igumen - igumen , Bishop Ioan, who had been an observer at the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Vatican_Council - Second Vatican Council .

The whole complex occupies an area of 8,800 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_metre - m² and is rectangular in form, centred around the inner yard (3,200 m²), where the tower and the main church are situated.

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rila_Monastery&action=edit&section=3 - edit ] Main church

The main church of the monastery was erected in the middle of the 19th century. Its architect is Petar Ivanovich, who worked on it from 1834 to 1837. The church has five domes, three altars and two side chapels, while one of the most precious items inside is the gold-plated http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iconostasis - iconostasis , famous for its http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood-carving - wood-carving , the creation of which took five years to four handicraftsmen. The http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frescoes - frescoes , finished in 1846, are the work of many masters from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bansko - Bansko , http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samokov - Samokov and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Razlog - Razlog , including the famous brothers http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zahari_Zograf - Zahari Zograf and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimitar_Zograf - Dimitar Zograf . The church is also home to many valuable icons, dating from the 14th to the 19th century.

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rila_Monastery&action=edit&section=4 - edit ] Residential part

The four-storey (not counting the basement) residential part of the complex consists of 300 chambers, four chapels, an http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbot - abbot 's room, a kitchen (noted for its uncommonly large http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitcher_%28container%29 - vessels ), a library housing 250 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuscript - manuscripts and 9,000 old printed matters, and a donor's room. The exterior of the complex, with its high walls of stone and little windows, resembles a fortress more than a monastery.

[ http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rila_Monastery&action=edit&section=5 - edit ] Monastery museum

The museum of the Rila Monastery is particularly famous for housing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafails_Cross - Rafail's Cross , a wooden cross made from a whole piece of wood (81×43 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centimetre - cm ). It was whittled down by a monk named Rafail using fine burins and magnifying lenses to recreate 104 religious scenes and 650 miniature figures. Work on this piece of art lasted not less than 12 years before it was completed in 1802, when the monk lost his sight.