Rila Monastery the oldest monastery of Bulgaria, UNESCO World Heritage site photo скачать в хорошем качестве

Rila Monastery the oldest monastery of Bulgaria, UNESCO World Heritage site photo

The first Christian monastery in Bulgaria, Rila was founded by the hermit John of Rila (Yoan of Rila, in Bulgarian Ivan Rilski), who is the traditional patron saint of Bulgaria. Rila grew rapidly in power and influence from the 13th to the 14th century. After a devastating fire, it was rebuilt and fortified (c. 1334–35) in its present location by the feudal lord Khrelio (also spelled Hrelyo or Hreljo). During the Ottoman Turkish occupation (14th–19th century) and the accompanying cultural domination of Bulgaria by Greece, Rila again flourished, in part owing to its isolation from Ottoman power centres. In the 18th and 19th centuries Rila was a cradle for the “National Revival” of Bulgaria. The monastery supported book publishing, a library and archives, and various educational institutions.Along with other church properties, the monastery fell under direct control of the post-World War II communist regimes. Unlike most other religious sites, however, Rila was granted protected status (1961) by the Bulgarian government. In 1983 UNESCO designated the monastery a World Heritage site. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church regained its title to Rila subsequent to the fall of Todor Zhivkov’s communist government in 1989, and the succeeding government formally reinstated the complex as a monastery in 1991. Nearly 20000 photo and video have been taken by me on 3-week, 5914 km on land, trip on 3 rented cars in Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria. All 8 UNESCO Heritage sites of Hungary, most of the UNESCO WHS of Bulgaria (7) and Romania ( 8) were visited on this trip with me, my wife and our 3 children of 3, 7, and 16 years of age; total 23 UNESCO WHS and more than 70 destinations were visited during this 23-day (including flight) trip