complex consists of 300 chambers, four chapels, an abbot's room, a kitchen (noted for its uncommonly large vessels), a library housing 250 manuscripts and 9,000 old printed matters, and a donor's room. The exterior of the complex, with its high walls of stone and little windows, resembles a fortress more than a monastery. Monastery museum The museum of the Rila Monastery is particularly famous for housing Rafail's Cross, a wooden cross made from a whole piece of wood (81×43 cm). It was whittled down by a monk named Rafail using fine burins and magnifying lenses to recreate 104 religious scenes and 650 miniature figures. Work on this piece of art lasted not less than 12 years before it was completed in 1802, when the monk lost his sight. Gallery Burials John of Rila Hreljo Boris III of Bulgaria James David Bourchier Neofit Rilski Bibliography Emil Ivanov: Das Bildprogramm des Narthex im Rila-Kloster in Bulgarien unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der Wasserweihezyklen, Diss., Erlangen, 2002. Emil Ivanov: Rila-Kloster, Artikel: RGG4, Bd. 7, 2007, Sp. 520. References Further reading External links Official website of the Rila Monastery Rila Monastery at the UNESCO World Heritage website 3D Panoramas of Rila Monastery Bulgarian Orthodox monasteries Christian monasteries in Bulgaria Medieval Bulgarian Orthodox church buildings World Heritage Sites in Bulgaria Christian monasteries established in the 10th century Buildings and structures in Kyustendil Province Churches completed in 1862 Tourist attractions in Kyustendil Province Burial sites of the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Bulgaria) Religious museums in Bulgaria