Cherepish Monastery

The Cherepish Monastery of the Dormition of the Mother of God is a historic Orthodox monastery near Cherepish railway station, in the Vratsa Diocese of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. It was founded during the Second Bulgarian Empire, in the reign of Tsar Ivan Shishman (1371–1393), but was destroyed during the Ottoman invasion. The earliest evidence of its existence is its monastic rule, or typikon, written between 1390 and 1398 and kept in the Historical and Archaeological Museum in Sofia. The monastery was restored in 1660. Over the centuries it was burned down repeatedly, but was always rebuilt. During the Bulgarian National Revival, it became an educational centre and a place of training for priests and theologians. The renowned Bulgarian educator Sophronius of Vratsa found refuge in the monastery. Revolutionary committees from the Vratsa and Belogradchik regions also met here.

It was in this monastery that Vazov wrote Една българка (A Bulgarian Woman).