"ST. Peter and Pavel" Batkun Monastery
"St. Peter and Pavel" is the only monastery in the region of Pazardjik. In accordance with the Greek inscription on a marble plaque, which was found in "St. Dimitar" Church
in the village of Patalenitza, we could suppose that the monastery was built or removed in the 12th century. According to Stefan Zahariev the monastery was built over the ruins of a pagan temple in the Old Bulgarian Epoch. According to Viktor Grigorovich, a Russian voyager, the ancient monastery, which is near Batkun, was founded by Batkun bans.
The monastery was destroyed after the Turkish invasion. It was rebuilt later. However in 1774 it was destroyed again. Then there was forcible conversion to Mohammedanism of one part of the Bulgarian population in the near Rhodopa Valley Tchepino. It was restored later |
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"St St Peter and Pavel" Monastery in Batkun
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but then it was a smaller building with a stone church. The monastery gave shelter to many local "haidouk voivodes" – Todor Banchev, Beiko Gashtanov and to their followers. They were met always very friendly by the abbot of the monastery – Gerrassim.
Vassil Levski stayed at the monastery in 1872 during one of his tours in the region of Pazardjik. He visited Batkun Monastery and founded a revolutionary committee with the representatives from the near villages – Patalenitza, Batkun, Tzrancha, Elidere (now Vetrendol), Iamurchovo (now Mokrishte).
The church of monastery
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The monastery has always attracted the pilgrims from near and far places. The more public-spirited Bulgarians as Stefan Zahariev, Stanislav Dospevski, etc. visited the Monastery in the summer months to relax in the beautiful nature. Stanislav Dospevski had a family room, which he painted by himself. Aly Bey, the Pazardjik governor, visited and respected the monastery, too. He was healed there.
An old clapper in the yard of the "St. St. Peter and Pavel" Monastery and a marble plaque from the monastery fountain with a commemorative inscription, made in 1781 and now built in the monastery wall, remind us about the monastery past.
There is an unusual and very interesting landmark in the "St. Peter and Pavel" Monastery – an old vine, which is an eyewitness of various times and epochs. The story of this vine gets lost to hoary antiquity. The monastery abbot – archimandrite Vassiliy Petrov worked and lived here more than thirty years /he died in 1977/. He said that after some deep analysis some vine-growers determined its age – more than 500 years. It is the oldest in the Balkan Peninsula.
The measurements of this century plant were exceptional. The thickness of its stem was extraordinary. The circumference was 1.10 meters. Many years ago the head was about 70-80 times bigger and covered the whole yard of the monastery.
In 1978 a strong storm broke the scaffold and threw the vine to the ground.
The biggest and the most productive branch had fallen. In the trunk of the old vine two new stems have come into leaves and now they are fruitful. It has black, hard grapes used mainly |
for wine making.
The five-century plant is announced as a nature landmark and it is protected by the state.
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