Arbanasi - Historic rural Bulgarian monasterial town

Austere houses that resemble minor fortresses on the outside with high, solid walls and heavy gates and secret hiding places, but which are spacious and comfortable, richly decorated and furnished on the inside. The oldest of Arbanassi’s five churches is The Birth of Christ (1637 - 1649). Dug into the ground without a belfry and with hidden cupola, but hiding a genuine art gallery with over 3,500 stunningly realistic figures and Biblical scenes, painted by unknown artists throughout the ages.

There are two monasteries in the village of Arbanassi - St. Nikola and Holy Vigin