Kremikovtsi Monastery

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Kremikovtsi Monastery

The Kremikovtsi Monastery of Saint George is a Bulgarian Orthodox monastery near Kremikovtsi, to the northeast of Sofia, Bulgaria. It sits on a hill about 4 kilometers from the old village of Kremikovtsi, now a Sofia neighborhood, at the foot of the Balkan Mountains.

History
The monastery was founded in the mid-14th century during the Second Bulgarian Empire, likely by order of Tsar Ivan Alexander. It was destroyed in 1398 during the Ottoman conquest and re-established in 1493 by the Bulgarian noble Radivoy from Sofia and the Sofia metropolitan Kalevit. The medieval church was rebuilt as a single-nave building without a dome and was dedicated to Radivoy’s two deceased children, Teodor and Dragana. An earthquake destroyed the narthex, which was rebuilt in 1503. The church suffered more quake damage in the 16th–17th centuries and was repaired in 1611. An exonarthex was added in the 18th century.

Buildings and art
In the monastery courtyard, a newer and larger church is dedicated to the Intercession of the Mother of God. This church and other facilities were built in 1901–1902 to house 20 nuns who had arrived from Vardar Macedonia in 1879.

The old church contains frescoes from several periods. The first layer, commissioned by Radivoy, includes a donor portrait of Radivoy and his family with Kalevit and is among the finest 15th‑century Bulgarian art. Later frescoes from the 17th and 18th centuries decorate the space. Notable images include a seated Saint George resting his feet on a dragon in the main area and another Saint George on horseback on a south wall niche. The altar features a painting of the Theotokos (Mother of God).

A silver reliquary commissioned by Radivoy in 1493 once housed the relics of Saint George the New of Sofia; it was stolen in 1990 but recovered and returned in 2000. The monastery’s icon collection spans the 15th–19th centuries, including a 1667 image of Saint George and a Christ Pantocrator painting similar in style to the 1493 fresco, possibly by the same artist.

Culture and manuscripts
In the 15th century, Kremikovtsi was a center of Bulgarian education and culture, with two schools for laypeople and one for clergy. A Bulgarian manuscript produced in 1497 for residents of Sofia, known as the Kremikovtsi Gospel, shows the monastery’s strong calligraphic tradition.