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The beautiful intricate carvings on
Raphael’s crossby the country’s best painters.
The biblical scenes that cover
the walls are brightly painted
and show an attention to detail
that was the hallmark of the
National Revival move ment.
Among the many artists
respon sible were Zahari Zograf
and his brother Dimitûr, of
the Samokov school of icon
painters, which developed
in a town near Sofia.
The walls are also filled with
delightful displays of icons,
some pro duced by 19th-cen-
tury artists from Samokov
and Bansko (see p617). Others
date from much earlier. On the
left-hand side of the church,
usually hidden away in a
wooden drawer, is the serene
12th-century Icon of the Virgin.
A chapel on the right of the
church contains a smaller icon-
ostasis and the simple grave
of Tsar Boris III, marked with
a plain wooden cross.TREASURY MUSEUMThe museum collection
includes about 20 miniature
crosses, jewelled silver boxes
containing ancient Bibles, a
ruby-encrusted communion
cup and other church silver.
The highlight, however, is
Raphael’s Cross. Just 81 cm
(32 in) high, the cross bears
a series of biblical scenes
carved with needles, each
one enclos ed in silver-plated
frames no larger than a finger-
nail. The work, completed
in 1802, took 12 years and
cost the monk Raphael
his eyesight.
The lower floor has varied
exhibits, including a 2-m (6-ft)
long musket and several
swords and pistols. Nearby is
a collection of books from the
monastery library. The oldest
dates back to the 10th century
and is written on parchment
in the Glagolitic script of the
old Slavonic languages. Also
on display is the Suchava
Tetra, a large Bible produced
in 1529. Its embossed gold
and enamel cover depicts
Christ on the cross, with the
four evangelists watching from
each corner. Several other
ancient Bibles are on show
below some extravagantly
jewelled icons.
A neighbouring glass case
is filled with a selection of
19th-century gold church
plate. At the far end of the
room is a 14th-century
ivory-inlaid bishop’s throne
that belonged to the original
monastery church. AlongsideCHURCH OF THE NATIVITY
Construction of the Church of
the Nativity began in 1835, two
years after the monastery had
been devastated by fire. It was
done by 19th-century master
builder Petûr Ivanovich, who
had previously worked on
Mount Athos in Greece.
The church’s design was
intended to be innovative
and original, as befitted the
National Revival period. For
the interior, empha sis was
placed on spatiality so as to
draw worshippers into the
centre of the building. The
three large domes were posi-
tioned to allow maximum light
to fall on the spectacular gilt
iconostasis, while keeping the
rest of the interior in sombre
darkness. The murals on the
inner walls are also typical of
the period and were executed
Deep in the heart of a forest reserve, Rila Monastery
has an imposing external presence. The entire
complex is ringed by mighty walls, giving it the
outward appearance of a fortress. Visitors usually
enter through the Dupnitsa (Western) Gate, crossing
over ancient stone slabs worn smooth by pilgrims’
feet. Several floors of wooden balconies enclose the
court yard and the central Church of the Nativity, with
Hrelyo’s Tower to one side. To the right of the Dupnitsa
Gate is the Treasury Museum, located in the south
wing. The north wing, to the left of the gate, contains
the old kitchen and leads to the Samokov (Eastern)
Gate, which conceals the entrance to the Monastery
Farm Museum and leads out to a cluster of restaurants
and souvenir shops.
Exploring the Rila Monastery
The Church of the Nativity, the courtyard’s dominant feature
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp636–8 and pp639–41