PHENOMA practical book for schools 2019 PHENOMA practical book for schools 2019 | Page 103

its beauty, it still keeps a large part of Bulgarian history and culture. The present
look of Rila Monastery dates back to 19th century. The beautiful main church in
the middle was erected in 1834 – 1838. The frescoes inside were created by the
most famous and talented Bulgarian artists at the time. The museum of Rila
Monastery is the place that keeps its 1000 years of history. While the oldest
building were replaced with more solid ones, artefacts from the centuries were
preserved in the monastery’s archives. Currently, the museum consists of 4
separate exhibitions – a historic museum, ethnographic museum, icons
exhibition and resemblance of traditional Bulgarian room. The historic museum
hosts the largest exposition. A central piece of it is the Rafail’s cross – a wooden
carved cross with the finest carvings, resembling 36 religious scenes with 600
figures. It was created by a monk named Rafail in late 18th century. It took the
monk 12 years to complete is and eventually he lost his sight.
In the ethnographic exhibition, our guests saw traditional Bulgarian costumes
from different parts of Bulgaria. Another important place is the icons exhibition,
featuring some of the oldest icons of the monastery.
We took our guests there because we wanted them to touch to the real
Bulgarian history and religion and feel the holiness of the place.