The Kilifarevo monastery

The Kilifarevo monastery was built between 1348 and 1350. Its founder is the renowned Bulgarian clergyman, Teodosii of Tarnovo, who with the help of the Tsar Ivan Alexander, transformed the cloister into one of the most important center of the Bulgarian education and literature of the Middle Ages.
The large-scale cultural center was being completely destroyed shortly after the invasion of the Ottoman troops in The Kilifarevo monastery

Bulgaria. Centuries afterwards, in 1718, the monastery was restored in its present-day place. In the end of the 18th century the cloister was raided and destroyed by the so-called Kurdzhalii several times, but only to be rebuilt again and again.
The famous Bulgarian Renaissance master, Kolyo Fitcheto, constructed the present-day one-dome basilica St Dimitar. In addition to the church, currently the complex also includes two beautiful residential buildings in authentic Renaissance style, the older of which dates back to 1849. The monastery has a complete, harmonious appearance, blending with the environment, which ranks it among the finest architectural ensembles of the Bulgarian National Revival period.
The Kilifarevo monastery is declared a monument of culture. It offers accommodation. The monastery is easy to reach following the road to the south of Veliko Tarnovo.