From today, August 3, the Bulgarian National Bank (BNB) has issued a silver collector coin dedicated to the Transfiguration Monastery, with a face value of €10, dated 2026, as part of its "Bulgarian Churches and Monasteries" series. The issue price is €132 (258.17 leva), and the total mintage is 5,000 coins.
Even before 9.00 am this morning, a queue had formed outside the BNB headquarters, with collectors waiting to purchase the new coin.
The obverse of the coin features a stylised depiction of Zahari Zograf's mural "The Wheel of Life", located in the Transfiguration Monastery. Along the right-hand edge is the inscription "BULGARIAN NATIONAL BANK", separated by a beaded circle from the year of issue, "2026", the BNB emblem bearing the year "1879" on its ribbon, and the face value "10 EURO".
The reverse depicts the monastery complex of the Transfiguration Monastery, with an ornamented cross on the left. Around the edge appears the inscription "TRANSFIGURATION MONASTERY", together with a beaded border.
The Monastery of the Holy Transfiguration of the Lord, better known as the Transfiguration Monastery, is the fourth-largest monastery in Bulgaria. It is situated on the banks of the Yantra River near the village of Samovodene, close to Veliko Tarnovo. It was founded during the period of the Second Bulgarian Empire as a dependency of the Vatopedi Monastery on Mount Athos and gained autonomy in 1360. Queen Theodora (Sara) and her son, Tsar Ivan Shishman, donated substantial funds for its development, and it became one of the country's spiritual centres, known as the Sarin or Shishman Monastery.
Following the fall of Tarnovo under Ottoman rule, the monastery was repeatedly burned, looted and eventually completely destroyed. In 1825, its abbot, the Rila monk Father Zotik, began rebuilding the monastery. Construction of the main church was entrusted to Dimitar Sofiyanliyata. After his involvement in the Velchova Conspiracy, the master builder was executed by hanging, and the work was continued by the renowned builder Usta Kolyo Ficheto.
The church interior, its exterior walls and the icons of the iconostasis were created by Zahari Zograf and Stanislav Dospevski. The striking mural "The Wheel of Life", painted on the southern altar wall, depicts the cycle of human life. Construction at the monastery continued until 1863, by which time the south-eastern wing with the small guest house, the main entrance, the clock tower and the small Annunciation Church had all been completed.
+The Transfiguration Monastery became one of the principal cultural and revolutionary centres in the Veliko Tarnovo region. It was visited by Vasil Levski, Filip Totyu, Angel Kanchev, Pop Hariton and other leading revolutionary figures. During the Russo-Turkish War of Liberation, the monastery was converted into a hospital. On 6 July 1991, part of the monks' living quarters was completely destroyed when rocks collapsed from the cliffs above the monastery. No one was injured and the church itself remained untouched. Part of a boulder that split in two during the collapse still stands there today as a testament to what many regard as a miracle.
Photos: BGNES
From today, each customer may purchase only one coin from BNB cash desks, regardless of whether the purchase is made on their own behalf and at their own expense, or on behalf of and at the expense of another person.
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