Rock-Hewn Churches of Ivanovo

Ivanovo Rock Churches are located near the village of Ivanovo, 16 km from the city of Ruse, Bulgaria in the Ruse Province. The site is comprised of churches, chapels and monasteries that are carved into rock. The Churches can be located looming along the tall rocky shores of the Rusenski Lom River, in excess of 30 metres above the level of the water. UNESCO has declared this site a world heritage site. The site dates from about the year 1320, in which a Bulgarian patriarch founded the first monastic community and thereafter the monks built their cells, churches and chapels in the rocks, added a total of 40 churches and about 300 buildings, many of which, unfortunately, have long since disappeared.