Monastery of Lyaskovets

The monastery is located very close to the town of Lyaskovets, built on
the rocks at the east end of Arbanassi plateau. It stands at 440 meters
altitude and is located 6 km northeast of Veliko Tarnovo and 3 km
southeast of the Arbanassi village.

These lands were owned by the Bulgarian boyars Asenovtsi and
there was a Medieval fortress. The preparation for the liberation of
Bulgaria from Byzantium slavery in the uprising in 1185 started in that
fortress. According to a legend, the monastery St. Peter and Paul was
founded in honour of that event. After falling under Tyrkish yoke, the
monastery was not desolate.
The monastery kept constant correspondence with the Russian
monasteries, and messengers from it frequently visited Russia.
Throughout its centuries - old history the monastery has been the
witness to numerous historical events. In 1700, the widow Maria and her
son Stoian together with the famous leader Mircho, prepared a rebellion
against the ottomans. In 1856, a band of volunteers, leaded by Capitan
Diado Nikola, converged in the monastery for a march against the
Ottomans. Six year later, the monastery became a starting point for the
Hadjistavrev revoult.

In 1873, the Bishop Ilarion Makariopolski from the city of Tarnovo established a school of theology in the monastery.

A devastating earthquake in 1913 destroyed to ahes the old
monastery church and erased valued works of the Bulgarian Art. Later
the church has been reconstructed, and a small chapel called St.
Troitsa (Holy trinity) has been built in the monastery yard.

Source: visit.bg