Glozhene Monastery

The Glozhene Monastery is an Orthodox monastery in the western Balkan Mountains at 870 meters altitude, perched directly on the edge of a cliff above the Cherni Vit river. The complex includes the main church, residential buildings for the monks, and guest rooms built into the slope and connected by narrow paths.

Prince Georgi Glozh founded the monastery in 1224 with an icon of Saint George that he brought from Kievan Rus. The complex was destroyed and rebuilt several times during Ottoman rule, with the current church dating from the 19th century.

The name comes from Prince Georgi Glozh, who founded the monastery in the 13th century. Monks live here following Orthodox rules and welcome pilgrims who pray before the icons and light candles.

Access is via a narrow road from the village of Glozhene that winds uphill in hairpin turns. Overnight stays are available for a donation, and the site is open year-round, though the road can become slippery in winter.

A tunnel carved into the rock once connected two monastery buildings and served Vasil Levski in the 19th century as an escape route from Ottoman troops. The Kiev Gospel from 1716, now kept in the monastery, is one of the oldest Slavic manuscripts in Bulgaria.