Description of the attraction
The Holy Trinity Monastery stands on the Tarnovo Upland in the Balkans. The village of Samovodene is located 1.5 km north of the monastery, and the city of Veliko Tarnovo is 6 km to the south.
There are several points of view regarding when the monastery was built. Some researchers believe that this happened in 1070, and the founders of the monastery were Bishop George and his son Kalin - this is stated in the inscription found in the church building. It is assumed that earlier the temple was part of a defensive structure on the way from Derventa Pass to Tarnovo. According to another version, the monastery of the Holy Trinity was built in the XIV century. However, most scholars are inclined to believe that the monastery was founded in 1368. Its creation is associated with the personality of St. Theodosius of Tarnovsky. Who in the XIV century left the Kilifarevo monastery and settled in a cave (it is located about 200 meters from the monastery of the Holy Trinity). Soon, many believers gathered around the hermit, which ultimately led to the creation of the monastery.
The cave in which Theodosius lived has survived to this day. You can get into it through the entrance located at a height of five meters. In the Middle Ages, monks got inside by climbing a rope ladder. Here and today you can see the iconostasis with a cross, partially preserved, carved into the stone wall. Not far from Theodosia cave is another, large in size (it could accommodate 50-60 people), which was used as a refuge for monks during robbery raids. The entrance to the cave was closed and this saved the ministers from death.
The monastery complex was erected at the initiative of Patriarch Euthymius and with the support of the Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Shishman. In those years, the monastery was the second most important book center in Tarnovo. The famous Four Gospel of Tsar Ivan Alexander was made here, which is now kept in the British Library.
After the conquest of Bulgaria by the Ottomans, the monastery fell into decay. However, thanks to the patronage of the Romanian and Moldavian governors in the period from the 15th to the 19th centuries. the monastery survived. It was plundered in 1803, and after a plague epidemic in 1812 it was finally abandoned.
In 1847, the monastery was restored with donations from the local population. Today the monastery of the Holy Trinity is a unique monument of the culture and history of Bulgaria.
