The Rozhen Monastery of the Nativity of the Mother of God ( bg, Роженски манастир "Рождество Богородично", ''Rozhenski manastir "Rozhdestvo Bogorodichno"'',

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: Μονή Ροζινού, ''Moni Rozinou'') is the biggest monastery in the

Pirin Mountains , photo=Pirin-mountains-Bansko.jpg , photo_caption=Pirin scenery in winter , country= Bulgaria, , parent= , geology= granite, gneiss, marble, limestone , area_km2=2585 , range_coordinates = , length_km=80 , length_orientation= north-s ...

in southwestern

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, nestled in the

Melnik Earth Pyramids The Melnik Earth Pyramids ( bg, Мелнишки пирамиди) are rock formations, known as hoodoos, situated at the foothills of the Pirin mountain range in south-western Bulgaria. They span an area of 17 km2 near the town of Melnik, ...

. It is one of the few

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

Bulgarian monasteries well preserved until today. The earliest archaeological evidence of medieval life at the place is a grave with a few coins and decorations from the time of

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

Michael VIII Palaiologos Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Μιχαὴλ Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνὸς Παλαιολόγος, Mikhaēl Doukas Angelos Komnēnos Palaiologos; 1224 – 11 December 1282) reigned as the co-emperor of the Empire ...

(1259–1282). Some other items also date to the 13th century while the

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

above the central gate of the church dates to the 13th or 14th century. A couple of new buildings were constructed in the monastery at the time of

Despot Alexius Slav Alexius Slav ( bg, Алексий Слав, el, ; 1208–28) was a Bulgarian nobleman ('' bolyarin''), a member of the Asen dynasty, and a nephew of the first three Asen brothers. He was first probably the governor of the Rhodopes domain of th ...

. The earliest written source testifying to the monastery's existence is a note on a chant book from 1551, today in the

Great Lavra The Monastery of Great Lavra ( el, Μονή Μεγίστης Λαύρας) is the first monastery built on Mount Athos. It is located on the southeastern foot of the Mount at an elevation of . The founding of the monastery in AD 963 by Athanasiu ...

library on

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; el, Ἄθως, ) is a mountain in the distal part of the eponymous Athos peninsula and site of an important centre of Eastern Orthodox monasticism in northeastern Greece. The mountain along with the respective part of the penins ...

. The monastery church was built before the 15th century and painted in 1597; some of those frescoes are preserved. In 1611, the south facade was painted. The Rozhen Monastery was devastated by fire between 1662 and 1674, destroying the library and severely damaging most buildings. The monastery was restored over the next century with the financial help of rich Bulgarians from the whole country. The reconstruction began in 1715 and was fully finished in 1732. The monastery reached its apogee in the 19th century, when it was a regional centre of

Orthodox Christianity Orthodoxy (from Ancient Greek, Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Late antiquity, A ...

and owned a lot of land in the area. Famous Bulgarian revolutionary

Yane Sandanski Yane Ivanov Sandanski (, ) (originally spelled in older Bulgarian orthography ) (18 May 1872 – 22 April 1915), was a Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary.Per Julian Allan Brooks' thesis the term ‘Macedo-Bulgarian’ refers to the Exarchist po ...

's grave is located near the monastery.

Honour

Rozhen Peninsula Rozhen Peninsula ( bg, полуостров Рожен, poluostrov Rozhen, ) extends 9 km in the southwest direction towards Barnard Point, Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, and 8.8 km wide. It is bounded by ...

Livingston Island Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of Antarctic islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was the first land discovered south of 60 ...

in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the nearest point of the South Orkney Islands. By the Antarctic Treaty of 195 ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...

is named after Rozhen site in relation with the Rozhen Monastery.

Gallery

File:Rozhen Monastery 09-2009 (24).jpg, Monastery garden File:Rozhen Monastery 09-2009 (3).jpg, Morning Worship File:Rozhen_Monastery_-_fresco.jpg, A fresco in the Rozhen Monastery File:Rozhen Monastery TodorBozhinov (28).JPG, Entrance to the monastery church File:Rozhen Monastery 09-2009 (14).jpg, External frescoes of the church

External links

Photos from Rozhen Monastery

Images from Rozhen Monastery
{{Authority control Religious buildings and structures completed in 1732 Bulgarian Orthodox monasteries Christian monasteries in Bulgaria Buildings and structures in Blagoevgrad Province Christian monasteries established in the 13th century Medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church buildings