The Zemen Monastery is a Bulgarian Orthodox monastery located one kilometre away from the town of Zemen, Pernik Province in western Bulgaria.
The monastery was established in the 11th century. It is rather small with a church, belfry and two other buildings. It is currently uninhabited. The church is a monument of culture.
The church dates from the foundation of the monastery in the late 11th century and has a cube shape, 9 metres long, 8 metres wide, 11.20 metres high. The material used was travertine. The altar is a stone monolith and the floor is made of colourful tiles. The church is richly painted inside, with two layers of frescoes, the scarcely preserved early one dating to the 11th century. The better preserved Biblical scenes date from the mid-14th century and include several portraits of donors: the first one depicting an unnamed man, his wife Doya and their two children, the second featuring a young man, Vitomir, and a boy, Stoyu. These portraits rank among the oldest and artistically most valuable in the Balkans after the frescoes of the Boyana Church.
Summer working hours (April – October):9:30 – 18:00The box office is open until 17:30.
Winter working hours (November – March):9:00 – 17:30The box office is open until 4.30 pm. Tel. for contacts: 07741/2029, 0896 720 338 Individual visits:
- entrance tickets for individual visitors – BGN 5.00.
- for pupils and students – BGN 1.00
Combined tickets, valid within 1 month: Zemen Monastery – NIM – Boyana Church – BGN 14.00. Group visits: for groups of 10 and more citizens – BGN 3.00. Guide talks:
- in Bulgarian – BGN 5.00
- in a foreign language – BGN 10.00.
- in Bulgarian with translation – BGN 6.00.
Admission is free:
- for people with special needs and their companions
- for preschool children
- every last Monday of the month
- May 18 – International Museum Day
Preferential prices:
- November 1 – the Day of the People’s Awakeners – free entrance for children, pupils and students, for all others BGN 1
Prices for shooting:
- with camera up to 5 pcs. photos – BGN 5.00
- with video camera up to 30 minutes – BGN 15.00
