Typical for Troyan Monastery are the three courtyards - for the faithful, for the monastery workshops and for the monks. Thus an interesting space gradation and first impression upon entering is created. Through the large gate built in a low stone wall one enters in a peaceful picturesque courtyard: in front is the three storey façade of the monastery wings, to the right is the four storey wing with the wooden verandas, sunk in deep shade, while to the left – two low buildings, above which lines out the picturesque panorama of the surrounding hills. Through a porch one enters through the transverse wing into the main monastery courtyard. A picturesque church with a bell-tower and the wooden verandas of the wings form are the outline of that courtyard. For the decorations of the church "The Holy Assumption" the monks invited in 1847 one of the most outstanding painters form the period of the Bulgarian Revival - Zahari Zograph from Samokov. His wall paintings cover all inner walls of the church and the outside western and northern galleries. On one of the facades in the monastery courtyard the master depicted the images of a lion and elephant, symbol of the might and calm of the Bulgarian people. The wood carved iconostasis, whose main effect is the natural noble colour of the wood, was created by skilful woodcarvers from the nearby town of Tryavna. Besides the works of religious art, in Troyan monastery are kept various objects of art and handicrafts. The monastery was also famous during the period of the Bulgarian Revival as a spiritual and cultural centre. Thus, throughout the centuries the monastery became home-place of the Bulgarian creative art. The Troyan Monastery is known above all for the creative work of Zahari Zograph, who painted both the exterior and the interior (a rare practice for the time) of the main church. It was built in 1835, 7 km from the town of Troyan. It is a fine example of the impact of the popular concepts of the world and the influence of housing architecture on religious construction. Here, Zahari Zograph repeated the social and moral "experiments" in religious painting (the compositions Doomsday and the Wheel of Life), left his second self-portrait signed with amazing self confidence in spite of the Ottoman bondage, and painted the figures of Bulgarian and Russian saints. In addition, he painted a completely secular group portrait of the monastic brotherhood in the refectory - something extremely unusual for the time. A chronicle dates back to the foundation of the monastery in the year 1600, nothing but the throne stone of the church remains from the time. The Troyan Monastery belongs completely to the Bulgarian National Revival period. Eminent men of letters worked here during the mid - XVIII century, and a School was also founded. The patriotic mission turned into a tradition. In 1872, Vassil Levski set up here a secret revolutionary committee, which was joined by all the monks and headed by the Father Superior Macarius. Four years later, the monastery became a citadel of the 1876 April Uprising. Fortunately, most of the great works of old and National Revival art have survived. The iconostasis of the main church is a masterpiece of woodcarving. Amazing in its originality, is the carving of the holy altar gates in the St. Nicolas Chapel. The icons introduce us once again to the best-known National Revival artists: the Samoltovians Dimiter Zograph and Nikola Obrazopissov, Tryavna's Simeon Tsonyuv, Dossyu Koyuv, Koyu Tsenyuv, Theodossius Koyuv Vitanov.