Rila Monastery
릴라 수도원
Rila Monastery, officially the Monastery of Saint John of Rila, is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It sits in a deep valley of the Rilska River in the southwestern Rila Mountains, 1,147 metres above sea level and about 117 kilometres south of the capital, Sofia. Around 60 monks live there.
See it on the 3D globe →At a glance
- Country
- Bulgaria
- Location
- Rila Mountains, Bulgaria
- Built
- 10th c.
- Type
- Religious building
Quick answers
Where is Rila Monastery?
Rila Monastery is in Rila Mountains, Bulgaria.
Bulgaria's largest Orthodox monastery, known for its striped arcades and vivid frescoes.
The monastery was founded in the 10th century and is named for the hermit Saint Ivan of Rila, who lived from 876 to 946. It is a popular pilgrimage place, and in 2008 alone it welcomed about 900,000 visitors. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it appears on the back of Bulgaria's 1 lev banknote that was issued in 1999.
Who started it?
Tradition says the hermit Saint Ivan of Rila founded it during the time of Tsar Peter I. But the hermit himself lived in a cave nearby, without any belongings. His students, who came to the mountains to study with him, built the monastery. Ever since, Bulgarian rulers supported it, and almost every tsar of the Second Bulgarian Empire gave large gifts before the Ottoman conquest.
What does it look like?
The complex covers 8,800 square metres and has a rectangular shape with a 3,200 square metre inner yard. In the yard stand the old Tower of Hrelja, built in 1334 to 1335, and the main church. A fire destroyed much of the monastery in 1833, and it was rebuilt between 1834 and 1862. The church has five domes and a gold-plated iconostasis, a carved wooden screen that took four craftsmen five years to make.
Fun facts
- It was founded in the 10th century by the hermit St John of Rila.
- The oldest buildings are the Tower of Hrelja and a tiny church next to it, from the 1330s and 1340s.
- The monastery appeared on the back of Bulgaria's 1 lev banknote from 1999.
- The carved iconostasis in the main church took four craftsmen five years to make.
On the globe
The model shows Bulgaria's largest Orthodox monastery with its striped arcades and vivid frescoes.
Nearby on the globe
Sources
Updated: 2026-10-14