Glozhene Monastery/Glozhenski Manastir in Bulgaria - Resorts Guide Bulgaria

The Glozhene Monastery lies 3 km southwest of the Glozhen village and 13km southeast of Yablanitsa.

Usually monasteries tuck away in the mountain’s recesses. However, Glozhene Monastery is perched on a vertical rock, which is a part of stone massif called “Lisets”. The stone terraces of the monasteries afford a splendid view.

The legend recounts that the Russian prince Glozh founded a settlement of his name in the outskirts of the Vith river. There he built the monastery of “St. Transfiguration”; it existed till the 17th century when the Ottomans began their attacks. To avoid the Ottoman’s onslaughts, the monks built their cloister on a rock terrace, which was almost inaccessible. In 1904 and 1913 the primary monastery church was destroyed by two earthquakes. So you can enter the precincts of the monastery only passing a stone tunnel called “Crossed rock”. In one of the monk cells there is a rectangular deep niche, probably a deacon’s niche in which were hidden the most precious things of the church. In the neighboring village of Malak izvor (Little spring), the monks founded a nunnery and a monastery school. Facts of great importance are the foundation of a Bulgarian monastery school and a nunnery in the town of Lovech.

The Monastery of Glozhene has been declared a monument of culture.