Chiprovski monastery “Sv. Ivan Rilski”

The monastery , named after the mane of the hermit Ivan, was builtup in the beautiful valley of the Chiprovska river in the X century.In the temple chronicles are mentioned six fires and devastations.The Chiprovsko uprising in 1688 brought a new destruction to the monastery and the rich library consisted of many Slavic books and precious icons were destroyed. The monastery was rebuilt and its delegation often visited Russia and had good connections with many Russian cloisers.The Russian emperor Pavel made as a gift to the Ciprovski monastery a richly decorated Gospel. But in 1806 the Ottoman leader of the region destructed the temple to the ground and burned everything. The monastery is situated on ahill near a small river.Its church is not a high one, made of stone, covered with tiles and one vault.From the outer side of the north wall there is a stone decoration –two-vaulted closed window with a cross and a rose , painted on it.A piece of an inscription is still saved. Beautifully worked out are the wooden iconostasis on the altar and some icons. A marble tile reminded for the heroic deed of the rebels from the Chiprovsko uprising. Their bones are still preserved in a niche. The Chiprovski monastery is settled in a the gorge of the Ogosta river, 6 km. north-east from Chiprovtci.It is 43 km. from the town of Montana in the West direction. The town of Chiprovtci is known for the production of ores from the time of the Thracian and the Roman.In the XV –XVI centuries it is a great centre of trade, crafts and ore-mining.During the XIX century a big progress reached the carpet industry. The Milin kamak cave is an interesting object, which is situated on a slope . Its weird formations is worth to be seen.