Tsarski kladenec well, village of Krastets

Overview

Krastets Peak is located in the Tryavna part of the Balkan Mountains. It can be reached in 30 minutes from Krastets station. The peak is 1007 m high. It is famous for the fact that it was here that the procession with the relics of St. Ivan Rilski stopped, when in 1195 they were transferred from Sredets to Tarnovo. The procession was led by Archbishop Vasily, the head of the Bulgarian church during Assenevtsi. Personally, Tsar Assen and his nobles came here to meet the relics. They stay for 7 days, waiting for the construction of the church of the saint of Trapezitsa to be completed. In honor of the event in the period 1999-2002 a chapel was built in the rock itself, at the base of which is embedded a part of the relics of St. Ivan Rilski, brought on purpose from the Rila Monastery and consecrated with spring water from the cave in Rila Mountain, where the saint lived.

In this area near the peak Krastets on the watershed there is a well, which according to legend was built for the needs of the summer palace. According to other historians, the well is older and was built to supply water to those passing through the passage. Now the well has been restored and a summer tourist shelter with tables and benches has been built next to it.
According to an old legend, the place is named Krastets because of the many crosses of clergy accompanying the procession of carrying the relics of St. Ivan Rilski. Then, in 1195, the Bulgarian king Assen I solemnly transferred the relics of the saint from Sofia to Veliko Tarnovo - the then capital of Bulgaria. The big procession passed through the Maglizh Pass. In the summer palace on Krastets peak the procession was welcomed by Tsar Assen. The relics stayed there for seven days, after which the procession continued to Tarnovo, where the relics were laid in the church built for this purpose on Trapezitsa Hill.
Location: Existence of asphalt road-transport and railway network near Krastets station. Part of a walking route