Monastery of St. Petka in Svoge

There are evidences that the monastery was founded during the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. It is known that during the Ottoman rule the monastery church is destroyed twice. The second time is restored in 1860 by Grozdan Kitov, born in Breze - a teacher who subsequently adopted the spiritual name Gerasim and became abbot of the monastery. He was both a priest and a teacher in the newly established church school in the monastery. The founding of the monastery school was intended to prepare priests for the region. For first teacher in Svoge must be accepted Father Gerasim, he lived to a ripe old age and died in 1904. His tomb and monument are preserved in the eastern part of the churchyard.

After the Liberation the religious school becomes a secular and until 1908/1909 the educational work in Svoge continues in the monastery outbuildings.

In 1870 the monastery is visited by Vasil Levski, and after the liberation - by Ivan Vazov, who dedicated to it his poem "Daydream in the old church".

The monastery was active several years after September 9, 1944 (date of the beginning of the Communist regime). The old monastery church gradually cease to have effect at the expense of neighboring parish church "St. St. Peter and Paul ", built in 1927.

Today, from the former monastery is preserved only the church "St. Petka". From the old monastery buildings, which housed a religious school, is almost nothing left.

The old church has dimensions 12 x 5 m. It is small, one nave and one apse, without dome, with narthex and reinforced with buttresses. The interior of the church is covered with frescoes painted in 1860, when it was restored. Under them are visible older images that can’t be dated accurately without removing the upper layer.

The iconostasis has preserved all icons made during the Renaissance.

On the basis of the architectural features and a part of the explored old frescoes, the church was built not later than the 16-17 century.

Sources: Свети места