High up in the Rila mountain amidst magnificent woods lies the Rila Monastery. In 10th century the highly esteemed Bulgarian saint St. John of Rila chose this place for his seclusion, and in his lifetime attracted here many followers. After he died his ascetic dwelling and his tomb (both preserved until our days) became a holy site of worship. Near them rose the first buildings of the monastery, which developed in the course of centuries and became a spiritual and cultural centre of medieval Bulgaria. It was from here that in times of hardships the light spread to keep up the awareness of Bulgarians of their faith, origin and language. In the beginning of the 19th century the monastery was destroyed by a devastating fire; then all people gathered money and assisted in all possible ways so that in about thirty years (between 1834 and 1862) the whole complex was almost completely rebuilt. The monastery’s architecture and decoration (mural paintings, icons, wood-carving) and the numerous pieces of art, gathered here, make Rila monastery one of the most expressive monuments of Bulgarian Renaissance.