Aladzha Monastery (Bulgarian: Аладжа манастир) is a medieval Orthodox Christian cave monastery complex in northeastern

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, 17 km north of central Varna and 3 km west of Golden Sands beach resort, in a protected forest area adjacent to the Golden Sands Nature Park. The monastery caves were hewn into a 25-m high vertical karst cliff near the upper edge of the Franga Plateau on several levels. The complex includes two small nearby

catacombs Catacombs are man-made underground passages primarily used for religious purposes, particularly for burial. Any chamber used as a burial place is considered a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etym ...

. Dedicated to the

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

, it was an active hesychast monastic community of the

Second Bulgarian Empire The Second Bulgarian Empire (; ) was a medieval Bulgarians, Bulgarian state that existed between 1185 and 1422. A successor to the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Tsars Kaloyan of Bulgaria, Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II ...

since the 12th century and perhaps survived until the early 18th century. Nearby, remains of a 5th-century cave monastery have been found.

A cave monastery may have existed not far from the modern monastery Aladzha, near Varna. Its early dating to the fourth century is secured by fragments of glassware, but coins of Justinian indicate that the complex may have still been in use during the 500s.

As late as the early 20th century, the forested hills surrounding the monastery and known as ''Hachuka'' (''Mount of the Cross'') or ''Latin'', were regarded by locals as sacred and inhabited by a mythical

chthonic In Greek mythology, deities referred to as chthonic () or chthonian () were gods or spirits who inhabited the underworld or existed in or under the earth, and were typically associated with death or fertility. The terms "chthonic" and "chthonian" ...

daemon A demon is a malevolent supernatural being, evil spirit or fiend in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology and folklore. Demon, daemon or dæmon may also refer to: Entertainment Fictional entities * Daemon (G.I. Joe), a character ...

treasure keeper, ''Imri Pop'' or ''Rim-Papa''. Today, the

grotto A grotto or grot is a natural or artificial cave or covered recess. Naturally occurring grottoes are often small caves near water that are usually flooded or often flooded at high tide. Sometimes, artificial grottoes are used as garden fea ...

is a popular tourist destination. Its present name appeared in the late Ottoman period; ' ( Turkish for ''motley'') referred to its colourful

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

s, now almost destroyed. Thematic light shows are being staged in the summer.

Gallery

File:MozaiculdelaAladza06.jpg, Mosaic in Aladazha Monastery File:MozaiculdelaAladza03.jpg, Detail from a mosaic in Aladazha Monastery File:AladzaCatacombs Tombs.JPG, Stone tombs in Aladzha Monastery's catacombs File:Engel aus Kloster Aladscha.jpg, Medieval fresco in the monastery

References

Sources

* {{coord, 43, 16, 39, N, 28, 00, 59, E, display=title, type:landmark_source:dewiki Christian monasteries established in the 12th century Buildings and structures in Varna Province Tourist attractions in Varna, Bulgaria Lower Danube Cave Churches Complex Christian monasteries in Bulgaria Places associated with hesychasm Bulgarian Orthodox monasteries Varna Municipality Cave monasteries