The Monastery of SS. Peter and Paul (known as Petropavlovski) is located 9km away from Veliko Turnovo, near the town of Lyaskovets. It is thought to have been first built in the first half of the 10th century. It was also known as Boyanovo Monastery, which led to the supposition that it was founded by Boyan the Magus, son of Tsar Symeon.
It is more probable that it was founded by the Assenovtsi brothers and that it played a part in the nationwide uprising against the Greeks in 1185. It shared the fate of all other monasteries in 1393, was restored in 1422, was burnt down in 1598 and rebuilt in 1662. In 1708 Peter the Great presented it with a gilt tetraevangelium which is now in the Ecclesiastical and HistoricalMuseum, Sofia. Sophronius of Vratsa, and Neophyte Bozveli spent some time here and so did Maxim Raikovich who was its abbot for a short time. The Metropolitan llarion Makariopolski opened the first BulgarianTheologicalSchool in the monastery in 1872, later known as the Theological Seminary of Petropavlovsk.
The monastery is open for visitors every day from 7am to 7pm. There is an interesting clock tower in the monastery and as the monastery is built on the edge of a cliff, from its balcony you get a splendid view towards the valley.
