Bulgaria Inside

A nice walk starting in the central part of Sopot will take you to St. Spas Monastery. You need to head to the first station of the Sopot lift. Ask locals for directions if you get confused which path to follow.

The monastery is situated a kilometer north of Sopot, five km away from Karlovo and 19 km away from Kalofer.

According to historians, St. Spas Monastery was founded in the 13th century and benefited from royal preferences.

St. Spas was involved in cultural and revolutionary activities. On December 7 1858, the monastery became the site where Bulgarian revolutionary Vasil Levski took holy orders. Copies of Istoria Slavianobulgarska (the first summarized Bulgarian history book) were made there. Revolutionary Todor Kableshkov created a secret Sopot committee in St. Spas.

A school functioned alongside the monastery and a satirical newspaper was printed there.

As many other monasteries, St. Spas was burned down and renovated numerous times during the Ottoman rule. Its church was renewed and decorated in 1870. It was destroyed once again during the Russo-Turkish wall. Only the altar survived.

Vuznesenie Gospodne church still preserves wall paintings affected by the revolutionary events and struggles in the region.

Writer Ivan Vazov mentioned the monastery in his Under the Yoke novel.

The monastery was once again renewed in 1879. Its bell was made in 1873 in Craiova and presented as a gift.

St. Spas offers no food and accommodation. Yet, you can take a short walk from Sopot and sit in its garden to enjoy the peacefulness of the place. Try the water of the monastery fountain or take another walk to the healing spring situated nearby.