Nunnery St. Lukа
The nunnery St. Luka (the nunnery of Granitsa) is located at the northern foot of the Osogovo mountain, about 4 km southwest of the village Granitsa and 6 km south of the town of Kyustendil in the place Pustia Manastir. The monastery was found in the tenth century, but it was repeatedly destroyed by the Turks. It was renewed in the twentieth century (1948). Today the monastery is completely renovated. It is a small complex of one-nave, one-apse church without a dome and with a bell tower and monastery buildings attached to it. Up to 16 people can spend the night there.
According to a legend, St. Ivan Rilski studied in the monastery. In XV century abbot there was Yakov - father of the restorers of the Rila Monastery - Yoasaf, David and Theophan. In the monastery yard there is a fountain, dedicated to the three monks, whose birthplace was the village Granitsa.
Nowadays the monastery is active and it is a monument of culture.
Near the monastery in the village of Granitsa is located a century-old beech forest with an area of 1.3 hectares. In order to protect it in 1995 it was declared a protected area.
From Kyustendil to the nunnery it is 7 km.
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Do you know that:
- Kyustendil was the last of the big Bulgarian towns to fall under Ottoman rule.
- the renowned composer and conductor Marin Goleminov is from Kyustendil.
- the arch is a preserved wall of an old community center.
