Transfiguration Monastery, Orthodox monastery in Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria

The Transfiguration Monastery stands in the Dervent gorge of the Yantra River, 7 km north of Veliko Tarnovo near Samovodene. Its buildings enclose an elongated rectangular courtyard, with stone lower floors and upper floors fitted to the sloping ground. A square stone bell tower with a clock and pointed roof rises beside the main church, whose outer walls carry frescoes by Zahari Zograf.

Founded in the 11th century as a cloister of the Vatopedi monastery on Mount Athos, it became autonomous in 1360 under Tsar Ivan Alexander, linked to the charity of his wife Sarah-Theodora and son Ivan Shishman. After the Ottoman conquest it was repeatedly plundered and burned, then entirely destroyed. Father Zoticus of Rila Monastery reestablished it in 1825; an 1832 sultan's firman allowed a new church by Kolyu Ficheto, completed in 1834, and between 1858 and 1863 Ficheto added the seven-bell belfry, residential buildings and main entrance.

The monastery is also called Sarin or Shishman after Tsar Ivan Alexander's wife Sarah-Theodora and their son Ivan Shishman, who funded it. Its church holds a self-portrait of Zahari Zograf among the frescoes he painted in 1849–1851, and the Wheel of Life on the outer south altar wall. The iconostasis, carved in 1838 by Nikola Fichev and Stanyo Marangozina, carries icons by Zograf and Stanislav Dospevski.

The monastery is located north of Veliko Tarnovo and is open to visitors on most days, though religious services occasionally take place inside. Visitors should wear modest clothing and remain respectful if monks or worshippers are present.

During the 1877-1878 war, the monastery was briefly used as a field hospital and later received donations from Russian soldiers following Bulgaria's independence. This episode connects the site to pivotal moments in Bulgarian history.