Hrelyo’s Tower

Hrelyo's Tower (Hrelyova kula) is the oldest surviving building in the complex of Rila Monastery, Bulgaria's most important monastic centre and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Raised in 1334–1335 on the orders of the feudal lord Stefan Hrelyo Dragovol, a powerful nobleman of the medieval Bulgarian realm, the tower outlasted the devastating fire of 1833 that consumed almost the entire monastery — which is why today it stands in the courtyard as an almost solitary witness to the Bulgarian Middle Ages.

What to see About 23 metres tall and arranged over five storeys, the tower has the austere look of a medieval keep, with massive stone walls. Its top floor holds a small chapel dedicated to the Transfiguration, whose partly preserved frescoes are among the oldest murals in the whole complex. The contrast between this severe donjon and the polychrome 19th-century galleries around it, with their striped black-white-and-red arcades, tells the story of the place at a single glance.

Practical The tower is visited as part of Rila Monastery, deep in the Rila Mountains; you reach it by car or coach from Sofia (about two hours) or from the Panichishte–Sapareva Banya area. The monastery is an active place of worship: enter modestly dressed (shoulders and knees covered) and quietly, especially during services. Late spring and summer are best, when the mountain roads are open. Nearby, it is well worth walking up to the cave and tomb of St John of Rila, the monastery's founder.