(4230) Asenovgrad - ul. Rodopsko lale

Gornovodenski monastery "St. Kirik and Julita "is located in the western Rhodope ridge Chernatitsa , about 2 km southwest of the town. Impressive is the transformation of the monastery over the years. It is known that the monastery was built in the XIV century and here is one of the respected traditions - close to the holy place to have a sacred spring - Ayazmo. During the Islamisation of Chepino in the XVII century the monastery shared the plight of many Christian churches and destroyed . At the end of the century in its place was built the monastery "St. Petka " . Not long after close has been re-built and the old monastery "St. Kirik and Julita " . At the beginning of the XIX century and two cloisters were burned and destroyed by Kurdzhalii . After the restoration of Gornovodenski monastery in 1816 , he goes through several stages and performs different functions in the service of the people and God. During the struggle for national independence church monastery belonged to the Greek hands in the middle of the XIX century and returned to the Bulgarian church only in 1930 during the 20s and 30s of XX century years "St. St Kirik and Julita " hosted a religious school. In 1943-1944 , the monastery served as a concentration camp named "St. Kirik ." After September 9, 1944 the communist authorities abandoned monastery , and later transformed it into a home for the mentally ill . In 1981 , the Union of Architects in Bulgaria is allowed to restore the monastery and to adapt to social needs. Since 1987 the monastery functions as a recreational and creative base of the Union. By 2010, he still acted like a three star hotel, which is open to visitors . After years of legal battles Plovdiv Bishopric regained possession of the monastery .