The Aladzha Monastery is the most famous mediaeval rock monastery along the bulgarian Black sed coast. It was mainly inhabited by monks during the 13th and 14th centuries AD. It’s located very close to the biggest resorts near Varna – Golden Sands, St.St. Constantine and Helena, and Sunny Day which makes it a really popular tourist attraction.

The halls of the monastery are carved on two levels in a rock almost 40 metres high. On the first level there is a monastery church, the monks quarters, a dining room and kitchen, a small burial church, a crypt and the maintenance rooms. The second level is a natural rock alcove, on the easter end of which the monastery chapel is built.

After the fall of the 2nd bulgarian Tsardom under Ottoman rule at the end of the 14th century the monastery slowly deteriorated until it eventually was abandoned in the period between the 16th and 19th centuries. A little less than a kilometre away to the west of the monastery a group of caves known under the name of “The Catacombs” were found. The artefacts found within them include ceramics, coins, graffiti, etc. It’s estimated that “The Catacombs” were inhabited during the early christian era (4th to 6th century AD). On a later stage the caves and the monastery formed parts of a bigger monk palace.

The Aladzha monastery in modern times serves as a museum and tourist attraction. In 1912 it was declared a national antiquity and in 1957 as an architectural monument of culture of national value.

A great escape from the fast paced atmosphere in the Varna centre, the Aladzha monastery offers an alternative experience to most museums as well as an easily accessible location with its own parking and public transport stations nearby. If you wish to visit the Aladzha monastery you can take advantage of My Rent a Car and visit the park by getting a car of your choosing anywhere from Varna Airport, Varna Centre, Golden Sands, St. St. Constantine and Helena, Sunny day or other points within Varna.