Central Balkan Range Monasteries
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The monasteries in the Central Balkan Range are not accessible via key motorways and highways. The Central Balkan Range National Park - the route is based on visits to seven Balkan Range monasteries – Glozhene Monastery, Trojan Monastery, Novo Selo Monastery, Batoshevo Monastery, Sokolski Monastery and Dryanovo Monastery. Other stopovers include the Ethnographic complex Etura near Gabrovo, Bacho Kiro Cave and the eco-trail above Dryanovo Monastery, all in central northern Bulgaria.
The starting point of the route is the town of Yablanitsa, but not necessarily for the delicious Turkish delight and halva made locally. It is close to the village of Malak Izvor and to Glozhene Monastery in the northern slopes of the Balkan Range. The monastery was founded in 13th c. by Ukrainian Prince Georgi Glozh with a blessing from Tsar Ivan Assen II. Bulgaria’s best loved national hero Vassil Levski, who in the 1860s devised the strategy for the country’s liberation from Turkish rule, found refuge in the Glozhene Monastery on many occasions. After the Liberation, in the late 19th c., prominent Bulgarian politician and writer Vassil Drumev was exiled there.
The next stopover in the route of mountain guide Vladimir Stratiev is Novo Selo Monastery in the town of Apriltsi. The Novo Selo Monastery is the first monastery built during the National Revival. Most of the other monasteries originated earlier than the Revival which started in mid-18th c. Novo Selo Monastery is located in Novo Selo neighborhood of the town of Apriltsi and was built in 19th c. by local leaders. The daughters of some of them became the first nuns there. The monastery was the regional headquarters of the anti-Turkish April Uprising. In the course of nine days a Bulgarian authority was established here and the Novo Selo Republic was proclaimed. Novo Selo was besieged by the Turkish troops for an unequal battle. Finally the survivors found refuge in the monastery. Bullet traces can still be seen there, as the holy place keeps the relics of nuns who died from Turkish swords. Today Novo Selo Monastery looks like a haven as if no massacre took place here. It has a lovely garden with a fountain in front, and the four majestic spruce trees add a special touch to the vista.
Just above Ostrets neighborhood on the outskirts of Apriltsi, the road surges upwards to take us to the highest peak in the Balkan Range, Botev standing at 2376 m above sea level. Batoshevo male monastery is only 10 km away in the slopes of the mountain. The monastery was founded in 13th c. by the then Bulgarian patriarch. During the National Revival it housed one of the first monastery schools, the precursors of the Bulgarian secular education. Next is Sokolski Monastery just above Etura, some 15 km to the southeast of the town of Gabrovo. The name of the monastery derives from the name of its founder and first Father Superior Iosif Sokolski.
The first thing that captures the eye as you enter the monastery is its beautiful yard with a garden. Center stage is given to a unique round fountain designed by the celebrated National Revival architect Kolyo Fitcheto. It has 8 falcon-shaped spouts. The church of the monastery boasts of remarkable exterior and interior frescos created by local artists a century and a half ago. There is evidence that a rock monastery stood in this place during the Middle Ages. No wonder then that there is monastery here today too.
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