The monastery complex lies about 12 miles (20 km) south of Ruse, on the high banks of the Rusenski Lom, 105 feet (32 m) above the river. Monks occupied the caves from the 1220s until the 17th century, and the future Patriarch of Bulgaria, Joachim I, founded it. At its peak the complex had about 40 churches and around 300 other premises.
Cells, churches and chapels were cut from solid rock, and most of the other premises are not preserved. Named rooms include the St Archangel Michael Chapel, the Baptistery, the Gospodev Dol Chapel, the St Theodore Church and the Main Church. The article gives no dimensions for individual structures.
Frescoes of the 13th and 14th centuries survive in five churches. The 14th-century murals of the Main Church are called among the most representative examples of Palaeologan art. UNESCO inscribed the site in 1979.
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