The Zemen Monastery ( bg, Земенски манастир, ''Zemenski manastir'') is a
Bulgarian Orthodox
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgarsk ...
monastery located one kilometre away from the town of
Zemen
Zemen ( bg, Земен ) is a town in Pernik Province, western Bulgaria. Located near the Pchelina Reservoir on the banks of the Struma River, it is the administrative centre of Zemen Municipality.
Geography
Location
Zemen is located in a ...
,
Pernik Province
Pernik Province is a province in western Bulgaria, neighbouring Serbia. Its main city is Pernik, and other municipalities are Breznik, Kovachevtsi, Radomir, Tran, and Zemen.
Population
Pernik province had a population of 133,750 according ...
in western
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 ...
.
The monastery was established in the 11th century. It comprises a church, belfry and two residential buildings. It is currently uninhabited. The church is a monument of culture.
The church dates from the foundation of the monastery in the late 11th century and has a cube shape, 9 metres long, 8 metres wide, 11.20 metres high. The material used was
travertine
Travertine ( ) is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and even rusty varieties. It is formed by a pro ...
. The altar is a stone monolith and the floor is made of colourful tiles. The church is richly painted inside, with two layers of frescoes, the scarcely preserved early one dating to the 11th century. The better preserved Biblical scenes date from the mid-14th century and include several portraits of donors: the first one depicting an unnamed man, his wife Doya and their two children, the second featuring a young man, Vitomir, and a boy, Stoyu. These portraits rank among the oldest and artistically most valuable in the
Balkans
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
after the frescoes of the
Boyana Church
The Boyana Church ( bg, Боянска църква, ''Boyanska tsărkva'') is a medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church situated on the outskirts of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, in the Boyana quarter. In 1979, the building was added to the UNESCO W ...
.
Gallery
File:Zemen Monastery TB (8).jpg, Front view of the church
File:Zemen Monastery TB (6).jpg, Apse view of the church
File:Zemen Monastery TB (3).JPG, Courtyard and 19th-century residential buildings
File:ZemenMonastery-church-frescoes.JPG, Medieval frescoes in the Zemen moneastery
File:Zemen Monastery TB (2).JPG, Interior view of the church with its medieval frescoes
File:Zemen-monastery-st-anne-joachim.jpg, 14th-century fresco of Joachim
Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocryphal ...
and Anne
Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie.
Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...
References
External links
Zemen Monastery at BulgarianMonastery.com
Christian monasteries established in the 11th century
Christian monasteries in Bulgaria
Bulgarian Orthodox monasteries
Buildings and structures in Pernik Province
Medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church buildings
Mraka
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