Nowadays Ivanovo rock churches are a tourist destination but during the mid centuries, they were the spiritual center of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom ...

18km south of Ruse, the  Ivanovo rock-hewn churches are one of the sights on the road to Dve Mogili along with the medieval fortress of Cherven, the Monastery of Basarbovo and The Orlova Chuka cave. The regional Historical museum of Ruse offers guided tours of the region.

The churches of Ivanovo are founded by Monk Joakim in the '20s of the XIII century. Later the mоnk became the first patriarch of Veliko Tarnovo. The churches are naturally formed in the rocks and are shaped and expanded by their dwellers. All the cells and chapels had gradually formed the Monastery of Saint Archangel Mihail. The Bulgarian kings Ivan Asen II (1218-1241) and Ivan Alexander (1331-1371) had been protectors of the churches.

Medieval frescoes can be seen now in six of the temple.  The most famous are the ones in the church of the Holy Virgin. They date back to the middle XIV-th century.The quality of the painting was seen by Unesco to be of outstanding value and made the Churches part of the Wold cultural heritage list.

During the XIV century, the Monastery is a center for isichasm - a tradition of prayer in the Eastern Orthodox Church, according to which a man ceased to acknowledge his senses in order to achieve special knowledge of God.

Gradually the temples are going to decline with thе spreading of the Ottoman Empire throughout the country. 

Nowadays Ivanovo Rock Churches are a National Archeological Park. The uniqueness and the beauty of the spot make it favorite for many.