Monastery of Plakovo

The "St. Prophet Ilya" Monastery of Plakovo lies in the north part of
the Balkan range, close to the village of Plakovo, 18km south of Veliko
Tarnovo.

According to legends, in the past, Tsar Ivan Asen built a big
monastery. Remains of the old monastery church have been preserved up
to the present day. During the ottoman invasion the old monastery was
destroyed, and later it was reconstructed. During the slavery times the
monastery was destroyed several times and in 1845, it was restored for
the third time and the current monastery church was built as well. The
church is unique monument of the Bulgarian religious architecture.
Above the entrance gate, an unknown artist painted the unique scene of
the ascension of "St. Prophet Ilia", with donors’ epigraphs. In 1856,
Kolyu Ficheto built the big residential buildings and the 25.90 m high
church tower. The church still keeps the icon of Jesus with the 12
disciples, painted by Zahari Zograf in 1845.

During the Turkish yoke, the monastery was an important
spiritual and cultural center. A great number of old transcripts and
books has been preserved.

The monastery played an important role in the liberation of
Bulgaria. In 1835, a revolution called "Velchova zavera" started in the
Plakovo monastery.

Source: visit.bg