Description of the attraction
The Alin Monastery is located on the slope of Mount Plana below the Kaleto peak (1190 meters above sea level), 6 km from the village of Alino and 20 km from the town of Samokov. It was founded in the XVI-XVII centuries during the early Renaissance and was a local book center.
The village of Alino, after which the holy monastery was named, was first mentioned in the Ottoman documents of 1576. Its population was engaged in the extraction of mountain ore, which was then processed in Samokov. The monastery was built thanks to the generous donations of the villagers. The names of some of them have survived: priest Zlatin, priest Stoyko, priest Vylko, hieromonk Elisey, etc.
The only thing that has survived from the monastery complex to the present day is a church and a dilapidated residential building. The church is a one-nave temple without a narthex, with a semi-cylindrical vault and one apse.
According to the preserved church inscription, the temple was painted in 1626. In the upper part of the altar one can see the traditional image "The Mother of God is wider than Heaven", below - scenes from the Holy Scriptures: "Communion of the Apostles", "Hospitality of Abraham", "Annunciation", "Adoration of the Sacrifice of Christ". On the eastern side, the walls of the temple are decorated with frescoes illustrating the scenes of Christ's miracles: "The Marriage at Cana of Galilee", "The Disbelief of Thomas", "Prepolovedenie", etc. Various images of Christ are represented on the vaults: the young Christ Emmanuel, Christ the Almighty and Christ in the image of an angel. In the western part of the building, images of church holidays and the Passion of Christ alternate. In the 19th century, the image of the patron saint of the temple, Christ the Savior, was added to the western facade. The icons of Christ, the Mother of God, John of Rilski, John the Baptist and a small cathedral icon of 1845, exhibited in the iconostasis, are also of historical value. All the frescoes are made in the style of the Athonite masters: a simple composition not cluttered with details; naive, primitive depiction of saints. However, some differences in the author's handwriting indicate that the painting was done by several authors.
