Ivanovo Monastery
Rusenski Lom Park is an area of spectacular cliffs along the River Lom, which is a tributary of the Danube, not far from the city of Ruse. The area was a favorite of monks who practiced the Hesychasm tradition during the Second Bulgarian Empire. The monks cut secluded caves and churches into the rock cliffs, and in the monastery named Ivanovo they painted spectacular paintings that brought recognition to the place as a World Heritage Site.
The rock-cut monastery halls excel in special and high-quality frescoes. The painting expresses Paleologan art (the last Byzantine dynasty in the 14th–15th centuries) at its peak. This is a kind of Renaissance before the Renaissance, in which we see nude figures of Atlas, faces with expression and perspective, as well as a special cycle of paintings related to Saint Gerasimos of the Jordan Valley, who lived near Jericho and started the Jordan Basin monasticism in the 5th century AD, including a painting of Gerasimos with the lion.
According to the legend, the monk Gerasimos met a lion with a thorn in its paw during his wanderings in the Judean Desert; he extracted the thorn, and from that time on the animal accompanied him on all his journeys, and breathed her last breath on the day of his death. The tradition of Hesychasm, which originates from Mount Athos, directs man to interpret stories allegorically, and in this respect the lion in the story of Gerasimos symbolizes the desires that the monk must befriend and tame.
Further along the bends of the Lom River is an impressive citadel called Cherven, which was second in importance in the Second Bulgarian Empire to Veliko Tarnovo, and today is an impressive archaeological site, especially due to its wonderful location.
The region of northern Bulgaria is rich in sites related to the Second Bulgarian Empire period (12th–14th centuries AD), and in this respect it is unparalleled. This is a large area from the Balkan Mountains to the Danube River with beautiful natural landscapes, an area of wooded sloping hills with rivers flowing through them creating impressive cliff landscapes. Today it is one of the most remote and forgotten areas in Bulgaria, a fact that actually helps maintain its charm.
Ivanovo rocks Bulgaria
