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Twenty kilometres northeast of Sofia, nestling in a crook of the Balkan mountains, the village of KREMIKOVTSI is home to one of western Bulgaria's most charming ecclesiastical attractions, the fourteenth-century monastery of St George . Occupying a spur of a fir-shrouded hill overlooking the village, the original monastery church lurks in a small courtyard, dwarfed by a more modern church built at the beginning of the twentieth century. The original church's interior is covered with vibrant frescos dating from the 1500s, evidence that wealthy Bulgarian nobles were spending considerable sums of money on religious art even at the height of the Ottoman occupation. A picture of St George, seated on a throne and using a dragon as a footrest, straddles the archway leading through to the naos, the inner sanctum of the church. The naos itself is dominated by a rendition of the Virgin Mary behind the altar, arms outstretched in a protective gesture. Look out, too, for a niche on the right bearing another portrayal of St George, this time riding his horse and planting a spear in the dragon's throat. The best time to visit the monastery is at the weekend or on one of the big feast days, as the caretaker who unlocks the church for visitors can be difficult to track down at other times. The monastery attracts most visitors on St George's Day ( Gyergyovden , May 6), although it also gets pretty busy on other big holidays, notably Assumption ( Golyama Bogoroditsa , August 15) and the Birth of the Virgin ( Malka Bogoroditsa , September 8). Note that there's nowhere to eat or drink in the village, save for a couple of rudimentary cafes, so bring your own supplies.
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