Bachkovo Monastery, also called the Petritsoni Monastery, lies on the Chepelare River, about 6 miles (10 km) south of Asenovgrad. Gregory Pakourianos, a Georgian statesman and Byzantine commander, founded it in 1083 as a Georgian Orthodox center. The article names no architect. It describes a blend of Georgian, Byzantine and Bulgarian culture, and says the ossuary mixes Georgian and Byzantine building methods. The Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church now oversees it.
The ossuary is the only surviving part of the original and stands about 1,000 feet (300 m) from the current complex. It has two stories and a crypt with 14 burial niches. The Cathedral Church of the Virgin Mary, finished in 1604, holds a 1310 icon of the Virgin Eleusa.
The monastery was looted and destroyed after the Turkish invasions and restored near the end of the 15th century. The refectory was rebuilt in 1601, and its 1846 Panorama mural is by Alexi Atanasov.
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